The floor in most bathrooms, most entries, and many kitchens. It is the most expensive common floor in the house and, for a buyer, the most informative, because tile tells you things wood cannot.
$10 to $20 per sq ft installed for porcelain or ceramic; $22 to $30 per sq ft for marbleMonitorFinishes
The quick answer
Porcelain and ceramic tile run $10 to $20 per sq ft installed in the GTA, marble $22 to $30 per sq ft. Tile lasts 75 to 100 years, so when it fails the tile is usually not the problem. A single chipped tile is a dropped pan. A crack running in a line across the floor, or repeating along one grout joint, means the floor underneath is moving, and that is a structural question, not a tile one.
Tile is a rigid material laid over a floor that flexes. That has two consequences. First, it lasts essentially forever when it is installed right: InterNACHI puts tile at 75 to 100 years, longer than the mortgage. Second, and this is the part that matters, when tile cracks, the tile is usually not the problem. A single chipped tile is a dropped pan. A crack running in a line across a floor, or a repeating crack down the same grout joint, is the floor underneath moving: deflection, an undersized subfloor, or structural movement. Tile does not crack in a straight line for cosmetic reasons.
How to spot it
Dated formats and colours (4x4 squares, mauve, pink, the 1980s bathroom); wide, dark, crumbling grout lines; individual tiles that sit proud or low; and cracks. Look at where the crack runs. Random and isolated is cosmetic. Linear, continuous, or repeating along a joint is a question for the mechanical side.
What it costs
GTA, 2026: porcelain or ceramic $10 to $20 per sq ft supplied and installed. Marble $22 to $30 per sq ft. Bathroom-scale ceramic can come in lower, from about $3 to $6 per sq ft for the material itself. Tile labour is skilled and slow, which is why it is priced by the hour at $65 to $100 in the GTA and why a small bathroom floor can cost more than a large bedroom's.
What to do
Monitor and price the cosmetic job. But if you see a linear crack, stop pricing tile and start asking about the floor structure. That is a different card and a different axis.
Education and triage, not a home inspection. Casaroo prices tile per square foot and tells you when a crack is asking a structural question instead. Only an inspection answers it. We flag; we don't inspect.
Common questions
There is a crack across the tile floor. Is that expensive?
The tile is not the expensive part, and that is exactly why it matters. A crack running in a line, or repeating along the same grout joint, means the floor beneath is deflecting or the structure has moved, and re-tiling over it simply produces a new cracked floor in two years. Get the floor structure looked at before you price a single tile. An isolated chip or a single cracked tile is a different matter and is genuinely cosmetic.
Can I tile over the existing tile?
Sometimes, and contractors do it, but it raises the floor height, which then fights with doors, thresholds and appliances, and it puts weight on a floor that may already be flexing. It also buries whatever the old tile was telling you. If the existing tile is sound and level it can be a reasonable shortcut; if it is cracked or hollow-sounding, tiling over it is covering a question rather than answering it.
Installed rates and tile labour: (**Tier B**). Bathroom tile material rates: (**Tier B**). Tile lifespan (75 to 100 yr): (**Tier B**).
Last reviewed 2026-07-12.
This guide is general education, not a home inspection and not advice for your specific property. Always
consult the appropriate licensed professional, and get a licensed home inspection before you remove conditions
or buy. Cost ranges are 2026 estimates that vary by region, size, and access; confirm specifics with a
qualified professional.