Victorian tiling is a specialist skill and based on the mess ups we have seen it requires an installer with more skill than a standard tiler and we have never seen one installed properly by a builder. In reality a standard tiler with at least 6 years exp is only good enough to begin to learn Victorian tiling and hope to do a proper job.
Many companies like to charge allot for this service where as we are more affordable and provide the best service around with our installations nearly at 100% quality.
The price of these tiles really does add up quickly and generally the smaller they are and the more colorful they are then the more expensive they will be. The pic directly below is one of the cheapest designs you can have. The border is basic which really cuts costs and the tiles are 10 cm big.
Unlike regular tiling everything needs to be screeded before hand, so this always adds at least a day to any job . Then they take about 3 times longer to lay than normal tiling and more intricate designs will take even longer.
At the very least Victorian tiling will be 3 times more expensive than regular tiling with both labor and tiles price.
Colorful geometric style designs do get quite pricey and they take more time to install than checkerboard types above. Certain colored tiles cost allot more than standard colors and hallways generally are more complex than pathways and so will cost more. Here are some geometric examples.
I know Victorian tiling and associated work is costly however this is something that only needs to be done once (if done right) and adds allot of value and quality to the look of any property. The tiles are reproductions of the original ones and are hard wearing. If maintained properly they can look good and clean for many years to come. Just think these tiles on the restorations we do are around 100 years old!
The most important thing is to get them installed by an verifiable experienced installer whos work you can physically go and see. I have just seen so many bad new installations and been called up to repair many bodged jobs. It offends me to see how badly most of these new installations are done as I know the cost of the tiles.
The worse the installation the faster they seem to deteriorate as water gets in and wonky tiles trap mold. Salts wash out of large grout lines and stain all the black tiles. They need to be screeded properly, tiles installed seemlesley with minimal spacing and if kept clean by the client, will remain fantastic for many years.
If you wish to see my in depth guide to the different Victorian tile manufacturers I have tried to follow the link. I have tried to accuratelly compare Olde english, Original Style and sheeted Victorian tiles.