What to Ask Your Tile Contractor Before Work Starts

Most tile problems do not appear on the first day. Cracked tiles, loose hollow spots, mouldy grout, and water leaking through walls all show up 6 to 24 months after installation — long after the contractor has left and the renovation is considered done.

The frustrating part: many of these problems are caused by decisions made before the first tile was laid. Wrong adhesive. Skipped waterproofing. Cement grout in a wet shower. No expansion joints on an outdoor floor.

A few direct questions before work starts can tell you whether your contractor knows what they are doing — and give you a chance to correct the specification before it is too late to fix cheaply.

How Low Brother Ceramics Can Help Before Your Contractor Starts

Low Brother Ceramics is a tile supplier in Bentong, Pahang, serving homeowners, contractors, and renovation projects across Bentong, Raub, Karak, Temerloh, and nearby areas.

We do not replace your contractor's installation responsibility — but we can help you make better decisions before work starts. Customers regularly visit our showroom with room measurements, contractor quotations, tile samples, or photos of their renovation area to compare suitable tile options and confirm the right specification before anything is ordered or installed.

Before your contractor begins work, you can ask us about:

Suitable tile types for bathrooms, kitchens, balconies, carparks, living rooms, and external areas
Anti-slip tile options for wet bathrooms, outdoor areas, and households with elderly users
Tile size and surface suitability for Malaysian homes and tropical conditions
Estimated tile quantity and wastage allowance based on your area measurement
Whether the tile choice is practical for cleaning, maintenance, and long-term use
Box-order pricing, project supply, and tile availability for larger renovation jobs

If your contractor is handling the labour but you want to choose your own tiles, our team can help you prepare the right product information before work starts. This makes it easier to avoid wrong tile selection, insufficient quantity, unsuitable surface finishes, and unnecessary replacement costs later.

Jump to a question:

What adhesive are you using, and is it rated for this area?
Is waterproofing included, and where exactly?
What type of grout are you using — cement or epoxy?
What is the R-rating of the floor tiles?
Are you leaving expansion joints in the outdoor areas?
How are you handling the substrate and levelling?
Who is doing the actual tiling work?
What is the tile quantity calculation, and where does the extra go?
What is the payment schedule and warranty?
Can I see a previous job?

1. What adhesive are you using, and is it suitable for this area?

Adhesive is one of the most important details in any tiling job because different areas need different bonding strength and flexibility.

In many Malaysian tiling projects, two common adhesive grades are:

C1 standard cement-based adhesive — usually used for dry indoor areas with lower movement and moisture exposure.

C2 flexible adhesive — commonly used for wet areas, outdoor areas, balconies, kitchens, large-format tiles, and surfaces exposed to temperature change or movement.

The problem is that some contractors use the same adhesive for every area to save cost or simplify the job. This can become a problem when tiles are installed in bathrooms, balconies, carparks, outdoor areas, or on large-format surfaces.

For example, a bathroom floor, outdoor balcony, or car porch usually needs stronger adhesive performance than a normal dry indoor wall or floor. If the wrong adhesive is used, the tiles may loosen, sound hollow, crack, or lift after months of water exposure, heat, or movement.

What to ask: "What brand and grade of adhesive are you using? Is it suitable for wet areas, outdoor areas, and large-format tiles?"

A good contractor should be able to explain why a specific adhesive is being used for each area. If the answer is only "standard adhesive" or "we use the same one everywhere," ask for the product name and check whether it matches the tile location.

If you are buying the tiles yourself, do not choose based on colour and size only. Bring the tile name, size, and intended area to the supplier before your contractor confirms the adhesive. For customers choosing tiles at our Bentong showroom, our team can help check whether the selected tile is meant for bathrooms, kitchens, balconies, outdoor areas, or carparks, so the contractor has clearer product information before installation starts.

2. Is waterproofing included, and where exactly?

In Malaysia, waterproofing is frequently skipped to reduce cost or time. It is the most expensive shortcut in the long run.

Waterproofing is required:

Shower floors and walls — up to at least 1.8m height on shower walls, full floor coverage
Bathroom floors — full coverage, including under the toilet base
Balconies — any elevated slab exposed to rain
Wet kitchen floors — if on an upper storey or above a habitable room below

Signs that waterproofing was skipped or done poorly:

Mould appearing on the ceiling of the room below the bathroom
Tiles cracking or lifting from the wall within 1–2 years
Damp patches on external bathroom walls

What to ask: "Is waterproofing included in your scope? Which membrane product are you using, and what areas are covered? Can I see it applied before you tile over it?"

Seeing the waterproofing membrane applied and cured before tiling starts is completely reasonable to ask. Any contractor unwilling to show you this step is a concern.

3. What type of grout are you using — cement or epoxy?

Most Malaysian bathroom and kitchen renovations use standard cement grout. In wet areas, this is a compromise.

Cement grout is porous. In shower areas and wet kitchen floors, it absorbs moisture continuously. Within 6–18 months, this leads to the dark grey or black grout lines that most homeowners associate with ageing bathrooms. The staining is mould growing inside the grout — not just surface dirt.

Epoxy grout is non-porous, waterproof, and does not support mould growth. It costs roughly three times more than cement grout and requires a more skilled application. But in shower areas and bathroom floors, it lasts significantly longer and requires far less maintenance.

What to ask: "Are you using cement grout or epoxy grout in the shower and bathroom floor areas? If cement grout — what is the sealing plan, and how often would I need to reseal?"

If your contractor is using cement grout in the shower, at minimum ask them to apply a penetrating grout sealer after installation. This extends the clean period before mould takes hold.

4. What is the R-rating of the floor tiles?

Every floor tile has a slip resistance rating (R-rating). For many residential wet areas, R10 is commonly treated as a practical minimum. For outdoor areas or homes with elderly users, R11 is often a safer choice.

R-Rating	Suitable For
R9 or below	Dry areas only — not safe in wet bathrooms
R10	Wet domestic bathrooms and kitchens — residential minimum
R11	Outdoor areas, commercial bathrooms, households with elderly users

Contractors who source tiles for their clients may choose based on price or appearance without checking slip resistance. If your contractor is supplying the tiles, ask for the R-rating certificate for any tile going on a wet floor.

What to ask: "What is the R-rating of the floor tiles you are proposing for the bathroom and kitchen? Can you show me the product spec sheet?"

If they cannot answer this, ask them to find out before work starts. Any reputable tile brand provides this specification. If the contractor says "I don't know, it's a good tile," that is not a sufficient answer for a wet floor.

For bathroom, balcony, and carpark tiles, slip resistance should be checked before purchase — especially for wet floors, outdoor areas, and homes with elderly family members. Low Brother Ceramics helps customers compare anti-slip tile options for these areas so the final tile choice matches the real use of the space.

5. Are you leaving expansion joints in the outdoor areas?

Outdoor tiles in Malaysia expand in the afternoon heat and contract in the cool of the night. Without gaps between tile runs — filled with flexible sealant rather than grout — the tiles will eventually push against each other and crack, pop, or buckle.

Expansion joints are required:

Every 4–5 metres in outdoor tiled areas
At all perimeter edges (where tile meets a wall, a column, or a different surface)
At any change in direction or plane

Many contractors grout over the expansion joint areas to save time. The result looks perfect on day one and starts cracking within 1–2 years.

What to ask: "Where are the expansion joints going in the outdoor areas? What sealant product are you using to fill them?"

If the contractor says "we don't need expansion joints" for an outdoor installation, this is a red flag. No outdoor tiled surface in Malaysia's climate can move freely without them.

6. How are you handling the substrate and levelling?

Tiles telegraph the surface beneath them. If the substrate is uneven, cracked, or not properly cleaned, the tiles will reflect that — through hollowness, cracking at high points, or visible lippage (edges of adjacent tiles at different heights).

Before tiling, a contractor should:

Check the substrate for hollow spots, cracks, and contamination
Apply a skim coat or self-levelling compound where the floor is uneven
Allow the substrate to cure before tiling on top
Clean the surface of dust, grease, and curing compounds that reduce adhesive bond

What to ask: "How are you preparing the substrate before tiling? Are you checking for level, and what is your tolerance for lippage between tiles?"

For large format tiles (60×60cm and above), lippage tolerance needs to be tighter — any unevenness is more visible across a large tile surface.

7. Who is doing the actual tiling work?

Some contractors quote jobs, coordinate materials, and then subcontract the actual tiling to a different team. This is not necessarily a problem — but you should know.

What to ask: "Is your own team doing the tiling, or are you subcontracting? If subcontracting — can I know who is coming and see examples of their previous work?"

This matters because your agreement is with the contractor you hired. If their subcontracted tiler makes an error, the responsibility for fixing it still sits with the contractor you contracted. Make sure this is clear before work starts.

8. What is the tile quantity calculation, and where does the extra go?

A good contractor calculates tile quantity based on room measurements plus a wastage allowance (typically 10–15%). Some contractors over-order significantly and the excess tiles leave with the workmen.

What to ask: "Can you show me the tile quantity calculation? And once the job is done, do I keep the leftover tiles?"

Leftover tiles from the same batch are valuable for future repairs. Confirm upfront that any unused tiles remain with you after the job.

If you already have room measurements, a contractor quotation, or a simple floor plan, you can bring it to Low Brother Ceramics before ordering. Our team can help estimate tile quantity, wastage allowance, and whether the selected tile is available in enough boxes for the project.

9. What is the payment schedule and warranty?

Payment should be agreed before work starts. For many tiling jobs in Malaysia, a deposit before work starts and the balance after completion is common. For larger projects, a staged payment schedule tied to progress milestones is safer than paying everything upfront.

Be cautious if a contractor asks for full payment before any work begins. Once full payment is made, you have less leverage if the work is delayed, rushed, or poorly finished.

Warranty should also be discussed clearly. Do not only ask, "Got warranty?" Ask what the warranty actually covers.

For example, clarify what happens if tiles crack, loosen, sound hollow, grout fails, or water leakage appears within the warranty period. Also ask whether the contractor covers labour only, or both labour and replacement materials.

What to ask: "What is your payment schedule, and what installation problems are covered under warranty? If tiles crack, loosen, sound hollow, or grout fails within one year, who pays for the repair labour and replacement materials?"

10. Can I see a previous job?

For any contractor doing a significant tiling project — bathroom, kitchen, or outdoor area — asking to see a completed previous project is reasonable. It shows the quality of their cutting, the consistency of grout lines, how they handle corners and transitions, and whether their work holds up over time.

What to ask: "Do you have a reference project I can see — ideally a bathroom or outdoor area that is at least a year old?"

A contractor who has done good work for years will have references. A contractor who cannot or will not provide any reference is worth being cautious about.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if a contractor is quoting a fair price?

Get at least two or three quotes for the same scope and specification. If one quote is significantly lower, ask what they are leaving out — it is usually adhesive grade, waterproofing, or grout type. You can also ask our team at the Bentong showroom — we supply tiles regularly to contractors and homeowners across Pahang, so we have a reasonable feel for what installation jobs in this area typically cost.

My contractor says waterproofing is not needed. Is that true?

For shower areas and bathroom floors in Malaysia: no, it is not true. Waterproofing is essential in any area with direct water exposure. The only exception is if the bathroom is on a ground floor slab with no room below — but even then, floor waterproofing is best practice.

What should I do if tiles start cracking after installation?

Tap the tiles with a coin or knuckle. A hollow sound means the tile has lost adhesive contact with the substrate. This is typically caused by wrong adhesive, no expansion joints, or a substrate problem. Contact the contractor under warranty — do not ignore hollow tiles, as water will eventually get behind them.

Can I supply my own tiles and have the contractor install them?

Yes. Many homeowners in Pahang buy tiles from Low Brother Ceramics and engage a separate contractor for installation. This is a common arrangement — we supply the tiles with full product specifications, and your contractor quotes for labour and installation separately. Make sure your contractor knows the tile specifications (size, thickness, material) before they quote for the job.

Related Guides

How to Prevent Slippery Bathroom Tiles — R-ratings, anti-slip options, and what to specify for wet floors
Outdoor Tiles for Balcony, Carpark and Driveway in Malaysia — full outdoor tile specification guide for Malaysian conditions
Best Tiles for Your Kitchen in Malaysia — material guide for kitchen floors and backsplashes

Before your contractor starts, you are welcome to visit the Bentong showroom with your room measurements, renovation photos, or contractor quotation. Our team can help you compare suitable tile options for bathrooms, kitchens, balconies, carparks, and other renovation areas — so you go into the installation with the right tiles already confirmed.

Low Brother Ceramics has supplied tiles to contractors and homeowners across Pahang since 1991. WhatsApp us at 016-383 1925 or visit our showroom in Taman Anggerik Utama, Bentong, Pahang.