Short answer:on a new home, tiling goes smoothly when three things are sorted early: your tile and grout selections for every room, the set-out details you care about (niches, feature walls, where the cuts land), and where the tiler fits in the builder's program. A whole-house tiling package brings the bathrooms, ensuite, laundry and kitchen splashback together, so the finish is consistent in every wet area.
We tile new builds for builders and homeowners across Adelaide's southern suburbs, including a full new-build package in Seaford. This is the checklist we'd give anyone building in Seaford, Seaford Rise, Seaford Meadows, McLaren Vale or anywhere in the south.
What a new build tiling package covers
- Main bathroom and ensuite walls and floors, including the shower recess and any niches.
- Powder room and toilet floors (and walls, if tiled).
- Laundry floor and splashback.
- Kitchen splashback, installed after the benchtop is in.
- Floor tiling through living areas, where your plans call for it.
The point of a package is consistency: the same standard of set-out, grout lines and edge finishing from room to room, and one tiler accountable for all of it. See our new-build tilingservice for what's included.
Selections to lock in early
Tiles for each room
Floor tiles in wet areas are worth choosing with slip resistance in mind, not just looks. Our guide to bathroom floor tiles explains slip ratings, tile size and grout. If you want large format tiles, say so early: they need a very flat slab, and in the shower they usually go with a linear drain.
Grout colour
Grout colour changes how a room reads more than most people expect. A matching grout makes the tile look seamless; a contrast grout shows off the pattern. Pick it with the tile, not on the day.
Set-out and features
Shower niches, feature walls, herringbone or vertical layouts, and where the cuts land all need deciding before the walls are sheeted, because niches are framed in and some layouts change how tiles are ordered. Our splashback guide covers layouts such as herringbone and chevron.
Where tiling fits in the build
On a new build we work to the builder's program alongside the other trades, so turning up when we say we will genuinely matters. The wet areas have a fixed order: the walls are sheeted, the floor is screeded to the right falls, then the area is waterproofed and the membrane cures before tiling. Our waterproofing guide explains what the standard requires, including shower walls waterproofed to 1800 mm. Kitchen and laundry splashbacks come after the benchtops, so they sit later in the program.
If you're building through a builder, ask how tiling is handled and when selections are due. If you're organising trades yourself, get in touch with your build stage and we'll talk timing.
Questions to ask your tiler
- Are you licensed and insured? In SA you can check a builder or tradesperson on the CBS licence register.
- Who does the waterproofing, and to which standard?
- How do you handle the floor falls to the waste in the showers?
- What's included in the price, and what counts as an extra?
- Can I see a new build you've tiled?
New build tiling in southern Adelaide
We've completed a full new-build tiling package in Seafordcovering the bathrooms, ensuite, laundry and the kitchen splashback, working to the builder's program, and we take on new-build work in McLaren Vale and across the south. See the project gallery, then send us your plans or your build stage for a free quote.
