Tiling versus wall panels in the bathroom: what each costs installed

What tiling costs per square metre, finished

Installed tiling in an average Tallinn bathroom usually lands somewhere between 60 € and 120 € per square metre, including tiles, adhesive, grout and labour. Where you fall in that range depends mostly on tile size and pattern: large-format tiles laid in a simple grid go faster than small mosaic pieces or a herringbone layout, and labour is the bigger half of the bill in most jobs.

Tile material itself ranges widely, from around 8 € per square metre for basic ceramic to well over 40 € for porcelain stoneware or anything imported. But even with mid-range tile at 15–20 € per square metre, labour, adhesive, grout, spacers and edge trims typically add up to more than the tile costs.

As a standalone job, tiling work through Abimeister starts from 35 €, with the final price depending on area, tile size and wall condition. For a full bathroom this is usually quoted as a fixed price after seeing photos or measurements, valid for 30 days.

What wall panel installation costs, finished

Wall panels — PVC or composite sheets, sometimes called wet wall panels — usually come out at 40–80 € per square metre installed, noticeably less than tiling in most bathrooms. The panels themselves are cheap relative to tile, often 10–25 € per square metre, and they go up quickly: no grout, no tile cutting around every pipe, and drying time is not a factor the way it is with adhesive and grout.

The saving is almost entirely in labour hours. A wall that might take a day and a half to tile can often be panelled in half that time, and the trade doing the work does not need to plan around curing times between coats or layers.

The trade-off is at the joints and the edges. Panels need trims, corner profiles and a sealed edge everywhere they meet the bath, floor or another panel, and those junctions are where the job is won or lost. Silicone sealing around the bath, shower tray and internal corners is usually a separate line, from 45 € as a standalone job, and it is not optional if you want the wall behind it to stay dry.

Where the real price difference comes from — preparation

The headline square-metre price rarely explains the gap between quotes. What explains it is the state of the wall underneath. Old plaster that is loose, damp, or uneven by more than a few millimetres needs to be dealt with before either tiling or panelling can go ahead, and that work is priced separately because it varies so much from one bathroom to the next.

Tiling is less forgiving of an uneven wall than panelling. Tile adhesive can level out small irregularities but not large ones, so a wall that is out of true by more than about 5–10 millimetres over a metre usually needs skimming or a levelling coat first. Panels sit on battens or adhesive pads and can bridge minor unevenness more easily, which is one reason they are often cheaper on older Kalamaja or Nõmme wooden-house walls.

In a Soviet-era panel flat, walls are often reasonably flat but may have old tile or paint that needs stripping back, plus damp-proofing around the shower area either way. This prep stage, not the finish material, is usually what separates a 60 € per square metre quote from a 110 € one.

What a quote usually includes and what is charged separately

A fixed quote for tiling or panelling normally covers removal of old surface material, basic wall preparation, the fixing work itself, and finishing at edges and corners. It does not usually include major plaster repair, waterproofing membrane where the wall structure calls for it, or moving plumbing fixtures such as the mixer or shower head.

Silicone sealing around the bath and shower tray is often quoted as its own item rather than folded into the per-square-metre rate, since it depends on the layout rather than the wall area. The same goes for skirting details, corner trims on panel jobs, and disposal of old tile or panel waste, which can add a noticeable amount if the bathroom is being fully stripped back.

• Wall preparation and levelling — often separate, priced after inspection
• Waterproofing membrane behind tile in wet areas — usually separate
• Silicone sealing at bath, shower tray and corners — typically its own line, from 45 €
• Moving or extending plumbing and electrics — separate, quoted on site
• Removal and disposal of old tiling or panelling — often separate
• Tile or panel material — either supplied by the customer or bought with a 10 % handling fee added

When the cheaper option costs more within a couple of years

The place corners get cut on both jobs is waterproofing and sealing, because it is invisible once the wall is finished and does not affect how the room looks on the day the work is done. Skipping a waterproofing membrane behind tile in a shower area, or leaving panel joints unsealed, does not show up immediately. It shows up as damp plaster or a soft floor a year or two later, and by then the fix is a full strip-out rather than a resealing job.

Panels have a specific weak point: the trims and joints. A panel job done quickly with poorly fitted trims will look fine on installation day, but water finding its way behind a loose trim over the bath is a common reason panelled bathrooms need reworking sooner than a properly tiled one. Tiling has the opposite risk — grout that was rushed or the wrong adhesive used on a damp wall, which shows as cracking or tiles coming loose.

If the bathroom needs more than a new wall finish — old pipework, no extraction, a layout that no longer makes sense — it is usually worth pricing the whole renovation rather than patching one surface. A full bathroom renovation through Abimeister starts from 3500 €, quoted after seeing the space, and it is worth comparing against the total of doing the wall finish now and the plumbing or waterproofing separately later.