Vetted tilers in Cape Town. Book now.

Cape Town tilers charge around R180 – R320 per m² labour for floors and R220 – R380 per m² for walls, with a call-out minimum of R350 – R650. Shower waterproofing is R2,000 – R4,500 per shower and screed or levelling R120 – R250 per m², common in older homes. Labour and tiles are quoted separately, with tiles ranging from R150 – R900+ per m².

Porcelain with water absorption under 0.5% is the safe choice for Cape Town bathrooms, stoeps and anywhere salt air and winter damp reach. Cheap ceramic and unsealed natural stone soak up moisture and can spall or grow mould in a single wet season. Use an epoxy or polymer-modified grout in showers so the joints do not blacken.

Black grout is mould feeding on soap residue in damp, poorly ventilated bathrooms, and Cape Town's wet winters give it months of ideal conditions. Bleach cleans the surface but never reaches the roots in porous cement grout. Regrouting with an epoxy grout, a working extractor fan and squeegeeing the glass after showers usually ends the cycle.

Absolutely — heritage and Victorian homes often have timber sub-floors or soft lime plaster behind the tiles, and one leaking shower can rot joists you cannot see. A membrane across the floor, up the walls and into the drain is standard before tiling. If the tiler is not talking about waterproofing, find one who is.