Bathroom Remodel Tile: What the Contract’s Tiling Line Covers, and What Sits Under It
Short answer: In many of our bathroom contracts, the Tiling line covers the shower: wall tile and floor tile in the shower area, then grout. The tile for the rest of the bathroom floor is often on a different line, Flooring, though some contracts write the floor into the Tiling line instead. Neither line says how high the wall tile goes, how big the tile is or what pattern it follows, so those are things to ask about before you sign. What sits under the tile, the cement board and the waterproofing, is written somewhere else again.
What the Tiling line says
The most common wording in our bathroom contracts is a single sentence: “Installation of new wall and floor tiles in the shower area, complete with precise grout application for a seamless finish.” Another version reads “Wall and floor tiles will be installed in the shower area, followed by grout application.”
Read it literally. It names the shower area. It names wall tile, floor tile and grout. It does not name tile size, wall height, pattern, grout width or color. All of those are decisions, and a contract that does not list them is leaving them to a conversation. That is fine as long as the conversation happens and the answers get written down. The in-home estimate guide covers where that conversation usually starts.
The rest of the floor is a different line
The “floor tiles” in that sentence are the shower floor. In many of our contracts the floor outside the shower has its own numbered item, Flooring, with wording like “Replacement of the bathroom floor tiles with new, high-quality options to match the updated aesthetics and ensure durability.” Another version says the bathroom floor tiles “will be replaced with new ones.”
So a contract can have two tile lines that look like one. If you read only Tiling, you might think the whole bathroom is covered. If you read only Flooring, you might miss that the shower walls are a separate item. Read both, and check that between them they cover every surface you expect to be tiled: shower walls, shower floor, bathroom floor, and any wall tile outside the shower.
If you are still choosing between tile, vinyl plank and hardwood for the floor, our guide to which floor goes where covers that choice.
Other ways tile shows up in our contracts
Not every contract follows that pattern. The variations are worth knowing, because they show how much the wording depends on the job:
- Over the tub. Some contracts write wall tile above the bathtub plus new floor tile, instead of a walk-in shower.
- Behind the tub. Some add the wall behind a tub to the shower area, and one adds the wall above a jacuzzi tub.
- One line for everything. Some contracts list the shower floor, the shower walls and the bathroom floor together in a single Tiling item, with no separate Flooring line for tile.
- A ceiling. One contract includes ceiling tile.
- A partial repair. One contract replaces only a few damaged floor tiles near where the old tub stood, rather than the whole floor.
- Tile supplied by the owner. One contract names the tile as owner-supplied. The guide on who buys the materials explains how that usually splits.
- A pattern upgrade. That same contract also lists a tile-pattern layout upgrade, for herringbone or diagonal layouts, as an optional extra.
That last one is a good example of how a tile decision becomes a contract item. A diagonal or herringbone layout means more cutting and more layout time than a straight grid. If you want a pattern, ask whether your contract treats it as part of the Tiling line or as an add-on.
What the Tiling line leaves out
Tile is the layer you see. The layers under it are what keep water out of the walls, and in our contracts they are listed elsewhere. Many contracts describe the new shower under another item, such as Framing Adjustments, Walk-in Shower or Shower Base and Waterproofing, and that is where words like “mud shower base,” “cement boards” and “comprehensive waterproofing” appear. One contract spells out that the waterproofing goes on before the tile.
The Tiling line also does not say how the floor tile meets the shower curb, where one material ends and the other begins, or what happens at the edges. A couple of contracts add finishing the transitions to their tile item, but most do not mention it.
For what is behind the tile, see what’s behind shower tile, layer by layer. It explains each layer. This guide is about how the contract describes them.
Two add-ons that sit next to the tile
Two items show up often in the optional add-ons list: “Moisture protection for shower wall” and “Grout sealer for stain resistance.” The list gives a name and a price, not a description. One contract describes the first as a membrane behind the shower tile, but most only give the name.
Many of the same contracts already list “comprehensive waterproofing” in the base scope. That raises an obvious question: what does the add-on cover that the base scope does not? The add-ons guide suggests asking for each option to be spelled out. That is a suggestion, not a standard from our contracts.
Questions to ask before you sign
- Which surfaces does Tiling cover, and which does Flooring cover? Is anything tiled that neither line names?
- How high does the shower wall tile go, and who decides?
- Who chooses tile size, pattern and grout width, and when does that choice have to be made?
- How is the edge between the shower floor and the bathroom floor finished?
- Is a pattern, such as herringbone or diagonal, part of this price or an add-on?
- What do “moisture protection” and “grout sealer” include, and are they already in the base scope?
- Where in the contract are the cement board and waterproofing, and is that item separate from the tile?
Checklist
- Tiling line read next to the Flooring line
- Every tiled surface named by one line or the other
- Wall tile height asked and written down
- Tile size, pattern and grout color decisions have an owner and a date
- Add-ons spelled out, not just named
- Tile supplier named (you or the contractor)
- Cement board and waterproofing item found in the contract
FAQ
Does the Tiling line include the bathroom floor? In many of our contracts, no: it covers the shower area, and the bathroom floor tile is on a separate Flooring line. Some contracts do the opposite and write the whole floor into the Tiling line. Check that yours names both.
Does the contract say how high the shower tile goes? In the common wording, no. It says wall tile “in the shower area” and nothing about height. Ask, and ask for the answer in writing.
Is waterproofing part of the tile work? In our contracts it is usually listed with the shower construction, not in the Tiling line. For the layers themselves, see the layer-by-layer guide.
When do I have to choose the tile? Before the tile stage, and usually well before. Our guide to what each payment is tied to shows where the stages fall, and the materials guide covers what to order first.
Eric Zhang is the owner of Sun Shore Construction, a general contractor in Greater Boston founded in 2020. He has more than a decade of hands-on renovation experience.
Planning a bathroom remodel? Get a free in-home estimate: call us or fill out the form on sunshoreconstruction.com.
