Wall tiles are lighter, thinner and cheaper than floor tiles, and they do more than most people expect: they protect plaster from water, give a bathroom or kitchen a washable surface, and turn one plain wall into a feature. Outdoors, stone and brick-look cladding changes the face of a house. Send one request with the wall areas, the finish you like and whether you want laying, and tile suppliers and tilers in your area quote you directly. It is free and carries no obligation.
Wall tiles or floor tiles?
Wall tiles are glazed on a lighter body, which makes them easier to cut and hang but not strong enough for traffic. Never lay a wall tile on a floor, because it will chip and crack. The reverse is fine: porcelain floor tiles can go on a wall, and many people use large porcelain tiles to carry one look from floor to wall. Check the weight: a heavy tile on a tall wall needs the right adhesive and fixing.
Pale, glossy wall tiles bounce light and make a small room feel bigger. Matt, textured and dark tiles suit a feature wall behind a bed, a basin or a TV.
What the wall is made of
Tile only sticks as well as the wall behind it. The surface should be flat, dry, firm and free of dust or paint that flakes.
- Plastered brick: let new plaster cure for several weeks, then prime if it is very dusty or absorbent.
- Gypsum board or drywall: only in dry areas, or use cement-based tile backer boards in wet areas, since ordinary board swells and fails when damp.
- Painted walls: sand to give a key, remove loose flaking paint, and use a good flexible adhesive.
A wall that is out of plumb gives a crooked tile line, so a competent tiler checks it with a spirit level and fixes a straight batten along the bottom row. Tiles are set up from the batten, and the cut tiles at the floor are added last.
Layouts, trims and half walls
Common layouts are brick bond, straight stack, vertical stack, and herringbone. A straight stack shows every wall flaw, so it needs a flat wall and rectified tiles. For a bathroom, a half wall tiled to about 1.2 m, finished with a border strip or a trim, costs less than tiling to the ceiling and suits a painted upper wall, as long as the shower area is tiled to full height.
Finish exposed edges and external corners with aluminium or PVC trims, rather than cutting two tiles to mitre. See bathroom tiles for wet areas.
Outside walls and cladding
Stone-look and brick-look cladding on feature walls, gate pillars and fireplaces needs frost-resistant tiles with low water absorption, and a flexible, weatherproof adhesive. On the Highveld, a wall tile that absorbs water cracks as it freezes. Ask for the water absorption figure on the spec sheet. A rough 2026 guide is R100 to R500 per m² for wall tiles, plus R170 to R380 per m² to lay them.
What to include in your request
- Each wall's width and height, in metres
- What the wall is: brick, plaster or board
- The look, finish and layout you like
- Trims for corners and exposed edges
- Your suburb and the date you need it done
Wall Tiles for different projects
- Homeowners renovating: a feature wall in the lounge, or tiling a bathroom and kitchen wall that has gone tired
- New builds and extensions: internal wall tiling and a face-brick or stone cladding feature, from the plans
- Landlords and body corporates: plain wall tiles in wet areas that wipe clean and stay neutral for tenants
- Guesthouses, hotels and restaurants: feature walls in reception, bars and dining rooms, and washable tiles in kitchens
- Shops, offices and showrooms: feature walls and washable tiled backdrops in shops and showrooms
- Schools, clinics and public buildings: washable, hygienic wall tiles for clinic rooms, school ablutions and passages
- Workshops, warehouses and gyms: hard-wearing washable wall tiling in workshops, food rooms and wash bays
- Patios, stoeps and pool areas: stone-look and brick-look cladding on braai walls, pillars and patio feature walls
Frequently asked questions
Can I tile directly onto painted walls?
How do I calculate the wall tile quantity?
Do wall tiles need a special adhesive?
How long does a wall take to tile?
Wall Tiles by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg