Preparation is the job
A tiler is only as good as the surface underneath. In Stevenage houses that usually means overboarding a springy timber floor, self-levelling a screed that has dipped, or flattening a wall that is 15mm out over two metres before anything is set out. We price preparation openly rather than tiling over a problem and blaming the building later.
SG1 and SG2 substrates
Stevenage is new-town 1950s and 60s terraces and semis across Shephall, Chells and Pin Green, plus older Old Town stock and modern infill. Large parts of SG1 and SG2 are system-built or no-fines concrete, so fixings, boarding and any structural opening need the right method for that construction. That decides the boarding, adhesive class and whether a decoupling layer is needed, and it goes in the quote as a visible line.
Large format and natural stone
Tiles over 600x1200 need full back-buttering, a flat bed and laser-checked levels or every lip shows in raking light. Marble and light stone are sealed before grouting and fixed in white adhesive so nothing bleeds through.
Wet rooms and tanking
Wet areas get cement or foam board, two-coat tanking with taped joints and reinforced corners, formed falls and a linear drain. Tanking is never skipped to hit a price.
Tiling across Stevenage
Stevenage is about forty minutes from our base, so jobs are booked as continuous days — set out, fix, grout, silicone — rather than trailing over three weeks. New-town bathrooms and kitchens are small and often still on original pipe runs, so first fix is a bigger share of the job than in a modern house.