01Move
DNA dimensions
m²/day, avg ticket (£640–£24,000), TTA (Tile Association) / NICF (National Institute of Carpet & Floorlayers) membership, wet-room + UFH share, LVT / engineered-wood share, designer / architect referral mix.
All playbooksServices
Tiling & flooring playbook.
A UK independent tiler / flooring specialist running large-format porcelain bathrooms + kitchens, natural stone, mosaic feature walls, electric + wet underfloor heating systems, engineered wood + LVT (Karndean / Amtico) floor installs and Schlüter wet-room build-outs. The 2026 win is the wet-room + UFH + large-format porcelain stack — £8k–£24k per bathroom at 38–48% margin.
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Reference fit-out · Tiling & flooring
Overview
A UK indie tiling + flooring firm in 2026 runs four engines: standard bathroom + kitchen tile (£68–£140/m² fitting, 14 m²/day, 42–52% margin, 2–3 jobs/week per fitter), wet-room + UFH + large-format porcelain (£8,000–£24,000 ticket, 38–48% margin, 1–2/week — Schlüter tray + Warmup UFH + 1200×2400 stone-look porcelain), LVT + engineered wood (£28–£68/m² fitting, 36 m²/day, 48–58% margin, 2–4 jobs/week — Karndean Designflooring / Amtico Spacia for retail + AGA), and commercial + retail fit-out (£44–£90/m², £4,000–£18,000 ticket, 32–42% margin, 1–2/month). Maths for 2-fitter + apprentice: £12k bathroom + £14k wet-room + £8k LVT + £4k commercial = £38k/month gross. Wet-room + UFH stack is the brand engine — Schlüter Approved + Houzz reels of porcelain bookmatched bathrooms drive £14k+ tickets.
14
m²/day/tiler
£3,400
Avg ticket
28%
Wet-room share
What you'll need
Equipment list with real 2026 UK prices.
Sized for a 2–4 chair shop. Buy mid-range on chairs and clippers; cheap kit fails inside 12 months and walks away with your barbers.
01
Tiler kit
Panel van + racking + tile-rail
£14,000–£22,000 used
Sigma 3B 95cm tile cutter + Rubi TZ-1200
£480–£900
Rubi DU-200 EVO wet saw (large-format)
£900–£1,400
Notched trowels + spacers + tile-levelling system (Raimondi)
£280–£640
Mortar mixer + buckets
£280–£480
Schlüter wet-room tray + Kerdi membrane kit
£480–£900 per job
Festool Planex dust-extraction sander
£900–£1,800
Karndean / Amtico LVT install kit (knee kicker, cutter, roller)
£420–£900
Warmup UFH commissioning meter + control probes
£640–£1,400
02
Showroom / store
Showroom + storage (60–140 m²) — optional but converts £14k+ jobs
£1,400–£4,400/month rent
Display tile samples + LVT board library
£3,400–£8,400
Opening adhesive + grout + Schlüter + UFH stock
£2,400–£6,400
Powered Now / Tradify
£90–£280/month
03
Compliance + accreditation
TTA (Tile Association)
£480–£900/year
NICF (National Institute of Carpet & Floorlayers)
£280–£480/year
Schlüter Approved Wetroom Installer
Free + 2-day course £640
Karndean / Amtico Approved Installer
Free + 1-day course
Warmup UFH commissioning certified
Free + 1-day course
CSCS card per tiler
£60 per 5 years
Public + product + £5m liability + accidental-damage
£640–£1,800/year
Where to set up
Location is half the business.
Service area
20-mile radius
Designer + showroom-referral logistics.
Showroom / storage
60–140 m² Class E ground-floor optional
Sample boards convert £14k+ wet-room enquiries.
Catchment
≥25,000 households + 6 bathroom showrooms + 8 interior designers
Retail + designer + commercial mix.
Merchant proximity
Within 15 min of Topps Tiles / CTD / Mandarin Stone trade
Daily tile + adhesive runs.
Loading + parking
Van bay + pallet drop
Porcelain + LVT pallet delivery.
Area tier
Rent / month
Notes
London + SE
£2,400–£8,400 showroom
Premium porcelain + wet-room. Designer dense.
Regional city + suburbs
£900–£2,400
Sweet spot. Bathroom + LVT mix.
Market town + rural
£480–£1,400
Farmhouse stone + engineered wood.
Licences & registrations
Get the paperwork done before you sign a lease.
UK figures for 2026. Lead times assume you submit complete applications — councils will pause the clock if you miss documents.
Requirement
Who issues
Cost
Lead time
ReqCompanies House Ltd
Companies House
£100
Usually 24 hours
OptTTA membership
Tile Association
£480–£900/year
6 weeks
OptNICF membership
NICF
£280–£480/year
4 weeks
OptSchlüter Approved Wetroom Installer
Schlüter UK
£640 (2-day)
8 weeks
OptKarndean / Amtico Approved Installer
Brand-direct
Free (1-day)
6 weeks
OptWarmup / Thermogroup UFH certified
Brand-direct
Free (1-day)
4 weeks
ReqCSCS card per tiler
CITB
£60 per 5 years
2 weeks
ReqWorking at Height + asbestos awareness
CITB
£280 per tiler
4 weeks
ReqPublic + product + £5m liability + accidental damage
Tradesman Saver / Hiscox
£640–£1,800/year
1 week
ReqEmployer's liability + tools-in-transit
Broker
£280–£640/year
1 day
ReqVehicle (commercial)
AXA / NIG
£640–£1,400 per van
1 day
ReqWaste carrier registration
Environment Agency
£154/3 years
2 weeks
ReqICO data protection
ICO
£40–£60/year
1 day
Build-out timeline
From decision to open in 12 weeks.
01
Phase 0 — Setup
Weeks 1–4- Companies House + TTA application
- Van + Sigma + Rubi cutter
- Public liability + accidental damage cover
02
Phase 1 — Accreditation
Weeks 4–10- Schlüter wet-room course + Karndean Approved + Warmup UFH cert
- Trade accounts (Topps Tiles + CTD + Mandarin Stone + Karndean)
- Powered Now go-live
03
Phase 2 — Showroom + portfolio
Weeks 8–14- Showroom fit-out OR sample board library
- First wet-room install (loss-leader portfolio)
- Houzz + Instagram + Pinterest profiles + photographer
04
Phase 3 — Soft launch
Weeks 12–16- Interior designer + bathroom showroom outreach
- Checkatrade + MyBuilder + TTA Find-a-Tiler listing
- First paid wet-room + LVT commissions
05
Phase 4 — Open
Week 16+- Large-format porcelain Instagram campaign live
- Repeat designer + showroom contracts
- Commercial / retail fit-out pipeline
Budget
Realistic startup and monthly cost ranges.
One-off · Startup
Setting up the shop
Showroom + storage lease + deposit
£3,400 → £14,000
Van + sign-writing + racking
£16,000 → £26,000
Tiler kit (Sigma + Rubi + wet saw + tools)
£3,400 → £6,400
Schlüter + Karndean + Warmup install kits
£1,800 → £3,800
Showroom display tile + LVT + sample library
£4,400 → £12,000
Opening materials stock
£2,400 → £6,400
Software + IT + phone
£640 → £1,800
Branding + TTA + NICF + Schlüter + insurance + licences
£1,800 → £4,400
Houzz + Instagram + portfolio shoot
£1,400 → £3,400
Pre-launch marketing + Checkatrade
£900 → £2,400
Working capital (3 months)
£8,400 → £18,000
Typical total
£45.5k–£98.6k
Recurring · Monthly
Keeping the lights on
Showroom + storage rent
£900 → £4,400
Van (lease + fuel + insurance)
£640 → £1,400
Materials COGS (32–42% revenue)
£8,400 → £22,000
Wages (2 tilers + apprentice + part-time fitter)
£8,400 → £22,000
Software + accreditation + insurance
£280 → £900
Marketing + Houzz + Checkatrade + Instagram ads
£640 → £2,400
Typical total
£19.3k–£53.1k
Numbers that compound
How a tiling & flooring actually looks on a chart.
Illustrative planning ranges, not measured customer data. Toggle the views to see ramp, mix and weekly load.
12-month revenue ramp
Low vs high scenario (£ monthly)
High Low
Illustrative example for planning, not measured customer data.
First 90 days
Dates that actually matter after opening.
01Day 1
Soft open: 1 bathroom retile started (£3.4k job). Sample boards delivered to showroom.
02Day 7
First week: 2 bathrooms, 1 LVT kitchen, 1 wet-room quoted (£14k accepted). £8.4k revenue.
03Day 30
Steady: 6 bathrooms, 1 wet-room, 4 LVT installs. £28k revenue. Schlüter Approved + Karndean Approved live.
04Day 90
Full ramp: £36k/month, 3 designer accounts active, large-format porcelain Instagram reel hits 280k views.
05Day 180
Mature: £42k/month, wet-room share at 28%, commercial fit-out pipeline established (2 retail clients).
What's inside
DNA, route, automations, integrations, benchmarks, advisors — tuned for a tiling & flooring.
02Move
Suggested route
Join TTA + NICF, get Schlüter Approved Wetroom Installer + Karndean / Amtico Approved Installer + Warmup UFH certified, partner with 4–6 interior designers + 3–5 bathroom showroom firms (Drummonds, Lusso, CP Hart) for premium fit-outs, build a large-format porcelain (1200×2400) niche for stone-look kitchen splashbacks + outdoor patios.
03Move
Automations
Site-visit measurement + photo auto-attach to quote, tile + adhesive cut-list auto-from-area, install-day SMS, grout-cure + UFH commissioning handover, warranty registration to Schlüter / Karndean, review request 7 days post-install.
04Move
Integrations
Powered Now / Tradify, RoomPlanner / CAD-Pro tile-layout, Stripe, GBP, Houzz, Instagram + Pinterest, Xero.
05Move
Benchmarks
m²/day, wet-room + UFH share and designer-referral share vs TTA cohort.
06Move
Advisors
Encore advisors from Tile Association, ex-Schlüter / Karndean / Warmup technical reps, NICF master fitters and bathroom showroom co-founders.
Stack
Modules used in this playbook.
01DNA Engine02Route Map03Launch Twin04Automation05Verified06Encore
Related playbooks
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