How to Hire a Tiler in Sydney: A Guide From Leerberg Tiling

Leerberg Tiling has been laying tiles across Sydney for over 53 years from our base at 23 Forsyth Street in West Ryde. The Leerberg family started the business in 1972 and we have spent more than five decades watching homeowners try to find a tiler who will do the work properly without overcharging or cutting corners.

Roughly half of the work that we are called to do these days is fixing bathrooms that other tilers got wrong. We have a fairly clear view of where the homeowner-tiler relationship goes wrong and what the warning signs are.

We hold NSW Fair Trading contractor licence number 206514C and a separate waterproofing licence under the same business name. We can be reached on 02 9808 1824 between 9am and 6pm Monday to Friday and from 9am to midday on Saturday.

At a glance

• Business: Leerberg Tiling
• Owner: The Leerberg family, three generations
• Established: 1972
• Address: 23 Forsyth Street, West Ryde NSW 2114
• Phone: 02 9808 1824
• Licence: NSW Fair Trading contractor licence 206514C
• Memberships: Housing Industry Association
• Hours: Mon–Fri 9am–6pm, Sat 9am–12pm

The seven non-negotiables before paying any deposit

The seven non-negotiables that every Sydney tiler should pass before any homeowner pays a deposit are listed below. These are the bare minimum verification steps that protect the homeowner from the cowboy operators who continue to operate in the Sydney market despite NSW Fair Trading licensing requirements being in place since the Home Building Act 1989 came into effect.

The verification of these seven items takes less than 20 minutes in total and the homeowner who skips this process has no real recourse if the tiler turns out to be unlicensed or uninsured at the time the work is performed. The homeowner who completes the verification and finds that the tiler fails any one of the seven checks should walk away and continue looking for a tiler who passes all seven.

• Current NSW Fair Trading contractor licence number, verifiable at fairtrading.nsw.gov.au
• Separate NSW waterproofing licence held by the tiler or by the licensed waterproofer the tiler engages
• Public liability insurance of $5 million minimum, $10 million preferred, with certificate of currency available on request
• Workers compensation insurance for any employees on site
• HIA or Master Builders Association membership as a positive trust signal
• Real registered business address that the homeowner can find at abr.business.gov.au
• Three local references from the past two years that the homeowner can phone and verify

The credentials that the homeowner must verify

The credentials that every Sydney tiler must hold are the bare minimum protections that the homeowner relies on when something goes wrong with the work. The verification of each credential takes less than five minutes and the homeowner who verifies all of the credentials before signing a contract has the protection of NSW consumer law if a dispute arises later.

The first credential is the NSW Fair Trading contractor licence which is required under the Home Building Act 1989 for any residential building work over $5,000 in New South Wales. The work performed by a tiler without this licence is not legally enforceable in the same way that work performed by a licensed tiler is enforceable. The homeowner can verify the licence at fairtrading.nsw.gov.au using the licence search function which displays the licence type, the expiry date, any conditions, and any disciplinary history that has been recorded against the licence holder.

The second credential is the NSW waterproofing licence which is a separately licensed trade in NSW for any work involving internal wet area waterproofing. A tiler who holds a tiling contractor licence is not automatically licensed to perform the waterproofing work that goes beneath the tiles in a bathroom or laundry. At Leerberg Tiling we hold both licences which means we perform the waterproofing in-house and we issue the AS 3740 certificate on every bathroom job that involves new membrane.

The third credential is public liability insurance which protects the homeowner if the tiler causes damage to the property during the work or if a leak from poorly installed waterproofing causes damage to a neighbouring apartment. The minimum cover that any reputable Sydney tiler should hold is $5 million with $10 million preferred for tilers working on strata buildings on the Lower North Shore and Eastern Suburbs where damage to a unit below can result in claims that exceed the lower coverage level.

How to read a tiling quote

A proper Sydney tiling quote should be itemised, specific, and detailed, and the fastest way to identify a cowboy operator is to look at the quote that they provide.

What a legitimate Sydney tiling quote includes

The legitimate quote that a Sydney tiler issues for a bathroom renovation should include all of the following items.

• Total tiling area in square metres, measured for walls and floors separately
• Labour rate per square metre, broken down by tile type or pattern complexity
• Waterproofing work as a separate line item with square metres of wet area
• Product names for waterproofing membrane and adhesive
• Tile removal scope including full strip-out vs partial removal
• Surface preparation including floor levelling and wall sheeting replacement
• Grout type specified as cement grout or epoxy grout
• Skirting, silicone, and corner finishing
• Waste removal and skip hire if required
• Waterproofing certificate issuance on completion as a line item
• GST clearly stated as a separate component
• Payment schedule with deposit, progress, and completion stages
• Warranty period offered on each component of the work
• Estimated start date and duration
• Items specifically excluded from the quote

What cowboy quotes look like

The cowboy quote is a single line that says “tile bathroom $4,500” with no breakdown, no scope, no products specified, no warranty, and no licence number.

What is missing from the cowboy quote matters more than what is included. A quote that does not mention waterproofing means the tiler is going to skip it entirely, or hide the cost inside the headline number with the intention of cutting corners on the membrane work, or add waterproofing as an “extra” charge once they are on site and the homeowner is committed.

The classic cowboy quote tactics that we have watched Sydney homeowners fall victim to over the past five decades include several recurring patterns.

• Lump-sum quotes with no detail designed so the homeowner cannot comparison shop
• Suspiciously low headline numbers used as loss-leaders to win the job before adding “extras” once on site
• Cash discounts which usually mean no GST, no insurance, no recourse
• Large upfront deposits of 40 percent or more before any work begins
• No written contract for jobs that legally require one under the Home Building Act 1989
• Pressure to decide quickly with phrases like “this price is only good for today”
• Refusal to provide a waterproofing certificate by saying “we don’t bother with that”

If the homeowner sees two or more of these patterns in the same quote, the tiler is not the right tiler for the job regardless of how friendly the tiler seemed during the inspection.

How many quotes the homeowner should get

Three quotes is the right number for the homeowner to obtain on a Sydney bathroom job. Less than three quotes and the homeowner cannot meaningfully compare prices and scopes, and more than five creates decision paralysis without giving the homeowner additional clarity.

When the homeowner compares three quotes from licensed Sydney tilers for the same scope of work, the typical pattern is the following.

The cheapest quote is almost always the wrong choice. The cheapest tiler is either cutting scope by skipping waterproofing or by using cheap adhesive, or adding extras once on site to make up the gap, or inexperienced and undercharging because they need the work to fill a gap in their schedule.

The most expensive quote is not always wrong either. Sometimes the homeowner is paying for a more experienced operator, better materials, longer warranty, or faster turnaround. The homeowner should look at what the expensive quote includes rather than rejecting it on the basis of the headline number alone.

The median quote, from a properly licensed tiler with verified insurance and a verifiable track record, is almost always the right answer for a standard family bathroom in the Sydney market.

Questions to ask before signing a tiling contract

Once the homeowner has narrowed the list to one or two tilers, the questions below separate the professional Sydney tilers from the cowboys. The homeowner should ask each candidate tiler the same questions and compare the answers across the candidates.

The questions that we recommend the homeowner ask cover the work itself, the company performing the work, the money side of the contract, and the timing of the job.

• Will the person quoting the job actually do the tiling?
• What adhesive will be used? (C2TES1 grade for porcelain on walls is the right answer)
• What waterproofing membrane will be used? (Davco K10 Plus, Ardex WPM 300, Mapei Mapelastic, and Bostik Hydroseal are all reputable products)
• How will the floor-to-wall junction in the shower be handled? (The right answer involves a bond breaker)
• Do you have public liability and workers compensation insurance? Can I see the certificates?
• How many bathrooms have you done in this suburb in the past two years?
• What happens if the waterproofing fails within the warranty period?
• How long have you been operating under the current business name and ABN?
• What is the deposit amount? (10 percent maximum)
• What is the payment schedule across the duration of the job?
• What is specifically not included in this quote?
• When can you start and how long will the job take?

The tiler who answers all of these questions clearly and in writing is a tiler the homeowner can engage with confidence. The tiler who is evasive or who refuses to put the answers in writing is the tiler the homeowner should keep looking past.

The price tiers in the Sydney tiling market

Sydney tilers fall into four broad price tiers and knowing which tier each candidate tiler belongs to helps the homeowner read the market accurately.

Cowboy operators ($30–$45/m² labour)

Often unlicensed or recently licensed. No real insurance. Often subcontracting cheap labour with no oversight. Cash jobs. No certificates. Most of the remediation work that we are called to do at Leerberg Tiling is fixing bathrooms originally tiled by operators in this tier.

Recommendation: avoid regardless of how cheap the headline price appears.

Inexperienced licensed operators ($45–$60/m²)

Properly licensed but in their first or second year of running their own business. Quality is highly variable. The risk for the homeowner is that the homeowner’s bathroom is the bathroom the tiler is learning on.

Recommendation: acceptable for low-stakes work like a laundry tile job or a kitchen splashback. Risky for full bathrooms.

Experienced trade tilers ($55–$80/m²)

Ten or more years of experience. Licensed, insured, written warranties. The bulk of competent Sydney tilers operate in this tier and the quality of work is consistent across the tier.

Recommendation: the right answer for most Sydney bathroom and kitchen tiling jobs.

Specialist and heritage tilers ($80–$120/m²)

Twenty or more years of experience, often family businesses. Specialise in complex jobs including natural stone, herringbone patterns, large format porcelain, and heritage homes.

Recommendation: the right answer for complex bathrooms, premium homes, and homeowners planning to remain in the property for fifteen years or more.

What we do not do at Leerberg Tiling

We do not subcontract any tiling work to third parties.

We do not send unsupervised apprentices to job sites.

We do not require deposits above 10 percent of the quoted job value.

We do not lock customers into long-term contracts.

We do not charge call-out fees for on-site quotes.

We do not quote bathrooms over the phone.

We do not work without a written contract for any job above $5,000 as required under the Home Building Act 1989.

We do not skip the waterproofing certificate that NSW law requires for wet area work.

Warranty

The contract that we sign with the homeowner before any work begins includes a written warranty period.

• 12 months on minor repair work such as re-silicone, regrouting, or tile replacement
• 7 years on full bathroom waterproofing membrane installation
• Longer warranty periods on selected jobs depending on scope and materials
• Warranty is stated in writing on every quote

Customer reviews from real Sydney jobs

The reviews below are from real customers who have used our services across Sydney over the past three years. The reviews have been included with permission from the customers who wrote them.

John K, Killara, 2024

“Had Leerberg do the bathroom in our 1968 brick veneer. Pulled the tiles out and found rotten timber in the wall. They fixed the timber before tiling. Bathroom looks great. Recommended them to my brother in Wahroonga.”

Margaret S, Mosman, 2023

“Three other tilers quoted my apartment bathroom and only Leerberg pointed out the strata work hour rules and the lift booking before quoting. Came in on price. The building manager was happy with how they handled the parking and access.”

David T, Pymble, 2022

“Leaking shower making the carpet wet in the hallway. Leerberg came out, found the shower base had cracked, replaced four tiles plus regrouted the whole shower. Cost about $1,200. No leak two years later.”

Anne L, Lane Cove, 2024

“Family bathroom retile and laundry tile job at the same time. Found asbestos in the old floor vinyl. Leerberg organised the licensed removal. 3 weeks total. Communication was good.”

Peter M, Hornsby, 2023

“Quoted four tilers for our bathroom retile. Leerberg was not the cheapest but the quote was the most detailed. They itemised waterproofing separately from tiling and explained why. Job done well, no issues.”

How to reach us for a quote

We provide free on-site inspections and written itemised quotes for any bathroom, kitchen, or other tiling work anywhere in Sydney.

• Phone: 02 9808 1824
• Address: 23 Forsyth Street, West Ryde NSW 2114
• Hours: Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm, Saturday 9am to midday

The homeowner who calls during these hours will speak directly to a member of the Leerberg family rather than to a call centre or to an answering service.

We do not charge for the on-site quote and there is no obligation to engage our services after receiving the quote. We can usually attend a Sydney property for an on-site quote within a week of the initial enquiry, and we can usually start a planned bathroom job within 3 to 5 weeks of the quote being accepted.

Leerberg Tiling 23 Forsyth Street, West Ryde NSW 2114 Phone: 02 9808 1824 NSW Fair Trading licence 206514C Family-owned and operated since 1972