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A standard bathroom (around 15m² of tiled surface) takes a tiler 4–6 days from start to finish: 1 day prep and substrate, 2–3 days tiling walls and floor, 1 day grouting, 1 day silicone sealing. Add a day or two for wetroom membranes or natural stone work. Larger formats and patterned designs (herringbone, large slabs) take longer. The plumber and electrician usually need to revisit after tiling for final fittings.

Substrate movement — tiles laid on flexing or shifting subfloor (timber joist floors without proper backerboard), or onto fresh screed that hasn't fully cured. Once cracking starts, regrouting is a temporary fix unless you address the substrate. For timber-joisted floors, fitting plywood or cement backerboard and using flexible adhesive and grout prevents recurrence. Wide grout lines are also more crack-prone than narrow.

Yes, with prep. The old tiles must be sound (no hollow ones, no movement), cleaned, lightly abraded, and treated with a tile-on-tile primer. Adhesive is then applied and new tiles set. Issues to watch: door clearance (extra tile thickness raises the floor), increased weight on the substrate, and the original problem that motivated the new tiling (was the old tile delaminating? bare grout? tile-over may not solve the underlying cause).

Porcelain is denser, harder, less porous, and more durable — better for floors, wetrooms, and outdoor use. Ceramic is softer, easier to cut, and cheaper — fine for walls and lower-traffic areas. The price gap is usually €5–€15 per m² in materials. For floors and bathrooms where they get wet, porcelain is recommended. For backsplashes and feature walls, ceramic gives more decorative range.

Yes, in any space with a level access shower or open-format wet area. Surface-applied membranes (Schluter Kerdi, Ardex 8+9, BAL Tank-It) create a fully waterproof envelope before tiling. Cost is €300–€700 extra per shower area. The cost of a leak years later — water-damaged ceiling below, joist rot, tile lift-up to find the leak — is 10–30x what the membrane cost up front.