The condition of what is underneath
The single biggest variable, and the one that is invisible until we look. A floor that needs a new screed and walls that need sheeting can add days before any tile is cut.
What a project costs.
We do not publish a rate per square metre, because the number would be meaningless: the same floor area can be two completely different jobs. What we can do is be specific about what actually moves the cost, so you can read any quote — ours or anyone else's — and understand what is in it.
What moves the number
Tile format
Small tiles mean more tiles per square metre. Large panels mean fewer, but a flatness tolerance and a two-person handling requirement that small tiles never impose. Both directions cost more than the comfortable middle.
The number of internal corners
Corners are where waterproofing is hardest and cuts are most visible. A niche, a hob, a bench and a step are each a small job priced like a big one.
The material itself
Stone is slower than porcelain, and translucent stone is slower again because of dry-laying, sealing before grouting and white adhesive. Mosaics and any pattern that needs alignment across a corner add hours.
Access and the state of the site
A third-floor apartment with a lift booking, or a live build with three other trades in the room, costs more in time than the same job in an empty house.
Common questions
- Why won't you give a price over the phone?
- Because the number would be wrong. The cost of a bathroom is dominated by the condition of what is underneath, and nobody can see that down a phone line. We would rather give you a range now and a fixed price after we have looked.
- Do you supply the tile?
- No — we install only, and we carry no material margin. That is deliberate: when we tell you a stone will stain or a format will not work on that substrate, there is nothing in it for us either way. Tile, adhesive and membrane are quoted separately so you can change the selection without renegotiating the installation.
- What makes one bathroom twice the price of another the same size?
- Substrate condition, tile format, and the number of internal corners. A small bathroom in an older house, with a niche, a hobless shower and 1200mm panels, is a fundamentally different job from a square new-build ensuite in 300×600.
Or email quotes@nunestiling.co.nz