Small works
Tile and grout repairs
Cosmetic in an hour, structural if the board behind has gone
The short answer
Replacing a few cracked tiles and regrouting a bathroom is a half-day job that makes a disproportionate difference to how a property presents. If tiles sound hollow or move as a group, the board or plaster behind has failed with water damage and needs to be cut out first.
What the work involves
Raking out grout, lifting damaged tiles, checking the substrate is sound and dry, bedding replacements, regrouting the area and resealing the perimeter with silicone.
Rules and responsibilities in Scotland
No certification applies. In rented property, persistent damp behind failed tiling can engage the Repairing Standard.
What commonly goes wrong
Regrouting over a moving or hollow substrate, which cracks again within months.
What it usually costs
Indicative ranges only, to help you judge a quote. They are not an estimate for your property — only the business doing the work can give you that.
- Regrouting a standard bathroom is usually a half-day.
- Matching discontinued tiles may mean keeping spares or retiling a wall.
- Substrate replacement moves the job into tiling plus plastering.
What to do, in order
- 1Tap the tiles and note any hollow or loose areas.
- 2Find matching or salvaged replacement tiles first.
- 3Have the substrate checked before regrouting.
- 4Regrout and reseal in the same visit.
- 5Keep spare tiles in the property for the next repair.
Local detail for the Lothians
- Bathrooms formed in converted tenement rooms often sit on timber floors that flex — a common cause of repeated grout cracking.
- Older Lothians bathrooms with sand-and-cement beds are more forgiving than modern boards.
- Fresh grout is one of the cheapest pre-sale improvements.
When you need a professional
Hollow-sounding walls, movement, or damp on the far side of the wall need investigation before tiling starts.
Common questions
- Can grout be cleaned instead of replaced?
- Sometimes. Staining cleans; crumbling or missing grout does not, and needs raking out and replacing.
- Why does grout keep cracking in the same place?
- Movement. Either the substrate flexes or the joint should be silicone rather than grout.
Lothian Property is a property information and professional-introduction service operated by Maybury Scotland Limited. Lothian Property is not an estate agency. Where requested, we may connect homeowners with independent estate agents and other property professionals. How we work.
Related pages
- Silicone and sealant renewal
Replacing failed bath, shower and worktop seals before the water gets into the structure.
- Wall patching and making good
Filling cracks, holes and old fixing points so a room is ready to paint.
- Replacing a basin, toilet or tap
Swapping a cracked basin, dated toilet or failed tap without retiling the whole bathroom.
Last reviewed 5 September 2026.