Tiling is the trade where the difference between good and bad work is invisible on day one and obvious a year later. The tiles are down, the room looks finished, everyone is happy. Then the grout cracks along one line, a corner starts sounding hollow underfoot, and water begins sitting in the same spot after every shower.
None of that is bad luck. Each of those faults comes from a decision made before the first tile went down. This guide explains what actually goes wrong with tiling and flooring in Islamabad and Rawalpindi homes, how the work is priced, and what to check before you accept a quote.
How tiling and flooring is priced
Tiling is quoted per square foot after a survey, not as a flat figure over the phone, and that is not evasion. The price genuinely depends on four things: the area, what is already on the floor, what you are laying, and how much cutting the room needs. A square room with a flat screed is quick. A bathroom full of fittings to cut around, on a floor that has to be levelled first, is a different job at the same square footage.
When comparing quotes, make sure you are comparing the same thing. Ask whether the figure includes removing the old floor, levelling, adhesive and grout, skirting and trims, and disposal of the debris. Those items are where two quotes for the same room end up thousands of rupees apart. Our tiling and flooring rates are quoted on survey and confirmed in writing before anything starts.
Six things that go wrong, and why
1. Lippage: one tile standing proud of the next
You feel it before you see it, usually with a bare foot or a chair leg catching. Lippage comes from an uneven bed of adhesive, tiles that are not flat to begin with, or a floor that was never levelled. Large-format tiles show it worst because there is more length over which a small difference becomes a visible step. It cannot be fixed with grout. The tiles have to come up.
2. Cracked grout lines in the same place every time
A single crack running in a straight line, often across a doorway or where two rooms meet, usually means there is no movement joint. Floors expand and contract, and if there is nowhere for that movement to go, it goes into the weakest point, which is the grout. Regrouting it without adding the joint means it cracks again.
3. Hollow sounding tiles
Tap along a floor and you can hear it: some tiles sound solid, some sound empty. The empty ones were laid with adhesive dotted on the corners rather than combed across the whole back of the tile. They hold for a while, then one cracks under a point load, and the ones around it follow.
4. Bathroom floors that hold water
This is the most common tiling fault we are called out for in newer houses. The floor was laid flat, or falling slightly the wrong way, instead of falling towards the drain. Water sits in a corner after every shower, the grout stains, and eventually it finds the wall or the room below. No amount of cleaning fixes it, and sealing the grout does not either. The floor has to be relaid to a fall.
5. Wooden and laminate floors that lift at the edges
Laminate needs an expansion gap around the perimeter, hidden behind the beading. Laid tight to the wall, it has nowhere to go when it takes up moisture, so it pushes up in the middle or peaks along a joint. It also needs a dry subfloor and the right underlay. A laminate floor laid straight onto a slab that still holds moisture will fail no matter how good the boards are.
6. Marble that looks dull a year after fitting
Marble is not finished when it is laid. It is ground and polished after fitting, and that is what gives the surface its depth. Dull, slightly rough marble usually means the polishing stage was rushed or skipped. The good news is that grinding and polishing can be done later on marble that is otherwise sound, without relaying anything.
What good tiling work looks like
- Set out from a line, not from a wall. Walls in most houses are not straight. A tiler who starts from the wall ends up with a visibly tapering cut on the far side of the room.
- Full adhesive coverage, combed in one direction, not dots on the corners.
- Cuts placed where they are least seen, which usually means at the edges and under fittings, not in the middle of a doorway.
- A fall towards the drain in every wet area, checked with water before the job is signed off.
- Movement joints at doorways and across large areas.
- Mitred corners on skirting and trims, matched to the floor rather than left as a butt joint.
Regrouting: when it is worth it and when it is not
If the tiles are sound and only the grout has stained, cracked in places or gone soft, regrouting transforms a room for a fraction of the cost of relaying it. If the tiles are hollow, lipped, or the floor does not drain, regrouting is money spent on the symptom. A quick test: tap across the floor and listen. If it sounds solid everywhere, regrouting is probably the right call.
Before you accept a quote
- Ask whether removal of the existing floor and disposal of debris is included.
- Ask whether the floor will be levelled first, and what happens if it needs more than expected.
- Ask who supplies the tiles, and agree on wastage. Cutting means you need more than the exact floor area.
- For wet areas, ask what the fall is to the drain and how it will be checked.
- Agree the price in writing, with the per square foot rate and the area stated, before work begins.
Where we work
We lay and repair floors across Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The problems differ by area: in newer builds like Bahria Town it is usually bathroom falls and hollow tiles from a quick finish, while in older sectors such as F-10 it is more often relaying over an old uneven screed, or grinding and polishing original marble back to life.
Where a floor problem turns out to be water rather than tiling, we will say so. Damp coming up through a slab or in from outside is waterproofing work, and tiling over it only hides it for a season.
Common questions
Can you lay new tiles over an existing floor?
Sometimes, if the existing floor is sound, flat and well bonded, and the extra height does not cause a problem at doors. We will tell you after seeing it rather than promising either way.
How long does a room take?
Most single rooms are a one to two day job for laying, plus grouting after the adhesive has set. Marble grinding and polishing adds time, and the room should stay out of use while it cures.
Do you do small repairs, like a few cracked tiles?
Yes. Matching an old tile is the hard part, so keep any spares from the original job if you have them.
Get a price for your floor
Send photos of the room and the existing floor on WhatsApp at +92 329 6712923, with a rough idea of the area. You get a written price range before anyone travels to you.