Terms and conditions for a tiler

A tiling business needs terms that deal with what actually goes wrong: the screed that is nowhere near flat, the tiles the customer ordered himself, the shower that leaks into the ceiling below, and the final invoice that arrives long after the grout has gone in. I draft customer terms around how you work, for a fixed fee of £995, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Wall and floor tilers in England and Wales, from sole traders to firms running several fixing crews: bathrooms and wet rooms, kitchens, porcelain, natural stone, external paving and commercial floors. Most tilers work for homeowners and also for kitchen and bathroom fitters, builders, shopfitters and developers. Consumers and business customers are treated very differently by the law, so one set of terms has to be written with both in mind.

What matters in a tiler's terms

Substrate, strip-out and what you are tiling onto

Almost every tiling failure traces back to what was underneath: plasterboard that was never overboarded, a screed outside tolerance, a flexing timber floor, damp, or another trade's work that somebody else signed off. Your terms should give you the right to inspect before starting, to price preparation as a variation once the old tiles are off, and to decline to tile over a substrate you have warned about in writing. Strip-out also turns up old adhesive and bitumen that may contain asbestos, and tile rubble you carry away makes you a waste carrier, which requires registration with the Environment Agency.

Wet rooms, tanking and water reaching the room below

The claim that ruins a tiler's year is a shower leaking into a ceiling downstairs months after handover. The terms need to record who applied the tanking, that you will not tile over a waterproofing system installed by others unless it has been tested and accepted in writing, and that silicone joints are maintenance items the customer keeps sound. For business customers, cap liability at a sensible figure and exclude consequential loss such as redecoration and lost rent. Under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 that cap has to be reasonable, and it can never cover death or personal injury caused by negligence.

Tiles supplied by the customer, batches and natural stone

Tilers are handed tiles far more often than they sell them. The terms should put ordering quantities on whoever ordered them, require a wastage allowance for cuts and breakages, and make clear that you are not liable for the standing time or the sequence problems caused when a batch runs out mid-job and the replacement shade no longer matches. Natural stone varies, travertine has holes, and marble etches when someone cleans it with the wrong product. Where you do supply tiles to a business customer, the Sale of Goods Act 1979 quality obligations apply, and retention of title is worth little once tiles are cemented to a wall.

Setting out, tolerances and when the job is finished

Arguments about finish are usually arguments about expectations nobody wrote down. The terms should require the customer to approve the setting out, the pattern, the cut positions and the grout colour before fixing starts, because none of that can be revisited once the adhesive has gone off. They should state the tolerance you work to on lippage and joint width, note that hand-made and rectified tiles behave differently, and put a short snagging period after which the work is accepted. A change of mind about layout after fixing is a new job at a new price, agreed in writing.

Underfloor heating, movement and cracking

Cracked tiles and cracked grout lines are rarely the fixing. They are usually a structure moving, a missing perimeter expansion joint, or a customer who ran the underfloor heating up to full straight after the floor went down. Your terms should require the adhesive and the heating to be left to cure for the period you specify, make the commissioning schedule the customer's responsibility where the heating is not your work, and exclude liability for movement in the building itself. Say which movement joints your price allows for, and where the layout needs more, price them as extras rather than absorbing them.

Deposits, payment and homeowner cancellation rights

A deposit covering materials and holding the start date is normal, with stage payments on longer jobs and the balance due on completion rather than when the customer has finished decorating. For business customers such as developers and shopfitters, the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 gives you interest and fixed compensation on overdue invoices. For homeowners the rate must be modest and clearly stated. Where the job was agreed at the customer's home or by email, the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 give fourteen days to cancel, and starting inside that period without an express written request can mean not being paid for the work done.

What it costs

Customer or supplier terms and conditions, £995. One set of terms, customer-facing or supplier-facing, drafted around your business. Five working days.

Review of your existing terms, £495. You already have terms and want to know how much of a problem they are. Returned marked up with my amendments and an explanation of the changes. Three working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the terms and conditions drafting page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A full set of terms drafted around your business, not a template with your name inserted
• A covering note in plain English explaining every commercial choice I made and why, so you can defend the terms in a negotiation without ringing me
• Liability, payment, termination and IP provisions set at a level that will survive a procurement review
• Consumer-facing wording drafted to be enforceable where you sell to consumers
• Guidance on how to incorporate the terms properly, which is where most businesses actually fail
• One round of amendments after you have read them

What is not included

• Negotiating your terms with individual customers
• Sector-specific regulatory compliance beyond the contract terms themselves
• Website privacy notice and cookie compliance, which I quote separately
• Terms governed by the law of another country

Questions I am often asked

The customer bought the tiles and a lot of them are cracked. Where does that leave me?

Breakage and wastage sit with whoever chose and ordered the tiles, provided your terms say so before the first one is cut. What you need alongside that is a standing time clause, so that when fixing stops while a replacement batch is ordered you are paid for the days held and for returning to a job that has fallen out of sequence.

Do I need different terms for shopfitters and housebuilders?

One set of terms can carry both, with a consumer section and a business section. Worth knowing: business to business tiling on a commercial site is usually a construction contract, so the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 brings a right to adjudication, payment notice rules and a ban on pay when paid. Work for a residential occupier sits outside it.

Can I refuse to tile over a substrate I am unhappy with?

You can, and the terms should give you that right expressly, with the customer either paying for the preparation or accepting in writing that you fix over it at their risk. A warning given on site and never recorded is worth very little later, when the floor lifts and everyone is asked whose decision it was.

Related guidance and services

• Terms and conditions drafting, £995, the service this page describes
• Contract review, £495
• Ask Caesar, £495 a month
• Terms and conditions for a kitchen and bathroom fitter
• Terms and conditions for a carpet and flooring fitter

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: September 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.