Tile Floor Questions Checklist

Ask whether the tile edges are cut square after firing or left as they came from the kiln, and what that means for how tight the joints can be.

Edge treatment is the main reason two tiles that look alike end up with very different joint widths in a finished floor.

Ask whether tiles within a pack vary in size or flatness, and lay two sample tiles side by side on a flat surface to see for yourself.

Variation between tiles decides how flat the finished floor can be and how much lippage shows at the joints.

Ask what the surface actually is, whether a glaze, a polished face or the material all the way through, and what shows once it wears.

A worn glaze exposes a different colour beneath, while a through-body tile wears far less visibly.

Ask whether this tile needs sealing before or after laying, and what that would mean for you afterwards.

Sealing is a recurring task on some materials and unnecessary on others, and it is easily left unmentioned.

Whether a particular tile needs sealing, and with what, is stated by its manufacturer, so ask for that in writing rather than assuming.

Ask what the size being proposed changes about what the floor beneath has to be, since larger tiles ask more of the surface under them.

Owners choose a size for its look, and the size then quietly determines a great deal about preparation.

How tile size affects what is needed beneath is for a qualified tiler to establish for your floor, not something to settle from a brochure.

Take a sample tile home and put it on the floor in the room, since a tile reads completely differently on a vertical display.

Floor tiles are seen from standing height in your own light, which is nothing like a showroom rack at eye level.

Ask where the setting out starts and where the cut tiles will finish, then stand in the doorway and notice where your eye actually goes.

A thin sliver of tile against the most visible wall is the classic regret, and it is entirely a planning decision.

Ask for a dry lay of the first area so you can see the layout on the floor before anything is bonded down.

Seeing it laid out loose is the last easy moment to change your mind about direction or starting point.

Note where this floor is seen through an open doorway from another room, and ask that the joint lines be considered from that position too.

Tiled floors are often set out for the room they are in and then look misaligned from the room you view them from.

Ask what happens where the tiles meet a run of units, a bath panel or a hearth, and whether a full tile or a narrow strip lands there.

These junctions are at eye level when you are standing at a worktop, which is where a poor cut is most obvious.

If the tiles carry a direction or a pattern, write down which way you want it to run in each area before the work starts.

Direction is settled at the very start of the work, and it is not something anyone will revisit afterwards.

Ask how the layout deals with a room that is not truly square, and where that discrepancy will be absorbed.

Almost no room is square, and choosing which wall carries the taper is a visual decision worth making deliberately.

Decide and record the joint width you are expecting, and ask to see it set out on the floor rather than described to you.

Joint width changes the whole character of a tiled floor and is otherwise chosen by whoever mixes the first bucket.

Ask what grout colour is proposed and look at it against the tile in the room light rather than under shop lighting.

Grout either disappears or draws a grid across the floor, and the same colour does different things in different light.

Ask what happens to the grout colour once it has been walked on, and whether it can be cleaned back or renewed later.

Pale grout in a traffic line is one of the most common disappointments in an otherwise good floor.

How a specific grout should be cleaned or renewed is set out by its manufacturer, so ask for their instructions rather than trying general methods.

Ask whether the material used at the perimeter and at internal corners is the same as the grout in the field of the floor.

Edges are often finished with something flexible that ages and discolours differently from the grout beside it.

Note where a mop, a pram wheel or a pet bowl sits, and consider how a pale line would look in exactly that spot.

Grout collects at the places where the floor is used hardest, which is rarely where anybody imagines it.

Ask whether a narrow joint is possible with this tile, and what the tiler says the risk is if you insist on one.

A narrow joint looks better and leaves less room for variation between tiles, and the trade-off should be spoken about.

Ask what the tiles will be laid on, and whether anything has to go down first before tiling can start.

The layers beneath are usually where the real work and the real preparation sit.

Whether an existing floor can receive a tiled finish is established by a qualified professional for your particular floor.

If the floor beneath is timber, ask what the tiler says about movement in that floor and what they propose to do about it.

Timber floors flex under load, and how that is addressed is often the deciding factor in whether tiles or grout crack later.

Movement in a floor beneath tiles is a matter for qualified trades to assess, so record what you are told rather than judging it yourself.

Ask where movement joints have to appear in the finished floor, and ask to see those positions marked before work begins.

A joint agreed in advance sits where you can accept it, while one improvised on site rarely does.

Ask what happens where the tiled floor passes through a doorway into another room, and whether the tiling continues or stops there.

Doorways are both a visual decision and a place where a rigid floor often needs to be interrupted.

Note anywhere the existing floor bounces, creaks or sounds hollow, and mention each spot before tiling is planned over it.

You can feel these areas with your own feet, and they are exactly what a tiler needs to hear about early.

Ask what the whole build-up adds in depth, and what that does to doors, thresholds and the bottom of any fitted unit.

Tiled build-ups are thicker than most coverings, and doors and kickboards are the first things to be affected.

Ask what the supplier says about this surface underfoot when it is wet, and ask for their written statement rather than a reassurance across a counter.

Suppliers hold written information about their products, and a written answer is what you can act on later.

How a floor behaves when wet is a safety matter for a qualified professional and the manufacturer to address for your specific room.

Note every place water regularly reaches this floor, including in front of a sink, beside a shower and inside a door from the garden.

Naming the wet spots turns a vague conversation about surfaces into a specific one about your rooms.

Ask what texture this tile has and how that texture is cleaned, since grip and easy cleaning usually pull in opposite directions.

A textured floor that nobody can keep clean is a different problem from a smooth one, and both are foreseeable.

If a floor drain or a fall towards one is involved, ask who forms that fall and how the tiles follow it.

The fall is formed beneath the tiles rather than by them, which puts it in a different trade to the one you are speaking to.

How water is drained from a floor is for qualified trades to set out, so ask them rather than assuming the tiling deals with it.

Ask what sits behind and beneath the tiles where the floor meets a shower or a wet area, and get the answer recorded.

What is concealed in a wet area is invisible on completion and is the part that matters most over time.

What lies behind tiles in a wet area is a matter for a qualified installer, so ask what is proposed and have it recorded before tiling starts.

Decide where matting goes at outside doors and note whether the door can still pass over it once the floor is finished.

Matting keeps grit and water off a tiled floor, and it needs planning while door clearances can still be adjusted.

Note whether these rooms are used barefoot in the morning, and consider honestly what a hard cold surface means for that.

The coldness of a tiled floor is the complaint that most often arrives once cold weather returns.

If heating is to run beneath the tiles, ask what the tile manufacturer says about that and what the tiler needs to know in advance.

This affects the tile choice, the layers beneath and the sequence of work, so it must be stated at the outset.

Suitability of a tile over a heating system is confirmed in writing by the manufacturer and the installer for your specific arrangement.

Ask what sits between the heating and the tiles, and whether anything is included beneath the heating to stop warmth going downwards.

What goes under a heated floor decides how it performs, and it is often left out of an early description of the work.

Ask what happens to the tiled floor if the heating beneath is brought on too soon or run too hard after the work.

Heating a new floor the wrong way is a known cause of cracking and is easily done by an owner who was never told.

If you live in a flat, read your ownership terms for anything about hard floor coverings before choosing tile, and note exactly what wording you find.

Some ownership terms say something about hard coverings and some say nothing, and reading it yourself is quicker than asking three people who half remember it.

What the wording means for your property is a question for a qualified professional, and what applies locally has to be confirmed rather than assumed.

Listen to how the room sounds when it is empty, and consider what a hard floor with few soft surfaces will do to it.

Tiled rooms are noticeably louder to live in, and rugs and soft furnishings are the usual remedy.

Ask to see tiles from more than one box opened together, since the spread of shade within a batch is what you are actually buying.

A single display tile shows one face of a batch, while several boxes show the range that will end up on your floor.

Ask what happens if the order has to be topped up part way through and the same batch is no longer available.

Running short is common on floors with many cuts, and the replacement batch rarely matches exactly.

Ask how much extra is being allowed for cuts and for keeping spares, and note where the spare tiles will be stored.

Spare tiles from the original batch are the only realistic way to make an invisible repair long after the work.

Ask what is involved in taking out and replacing a single cracked tile once the floor is finished.

The answer depends on the whole build-up, and it is worth hearing before you commit to a rigid floor.

Removing and replacing a tile is work for a qualified tiler, and what it involves depends on how the floor was built up.

Ask whether the same grout can be matched later, and whether a repaired area would be noticeable next to grout that has been walked on.

New grout beside aged grout is often more visible than the replaced tile itself.

Ask what would happen if a pipe or a cable beneath this floor ever needed to be reached.

A solid floor closes over whatever is under it, and knowing that in advance sometimes changes what goes where.

Access to services under a solid floor is a question for the relevant qualified trades, so ask what would be involved before the floor is closed up.