Splashbacks and tiling in Oldham

Why splashbacks and tiling for an Oldham home?

If the kitchen in your Oldham home is sound but the tiles are dated, cracked or stained, a new splashback is one of the simplest ways to refresh it without replacing units.

Homeowners in Oldham often add a splashback as the final stage of a new kitchen, once the worktops are in and the bare wall above them needs a washable finish. Oldham sits about 6 miles north-east of Manchester, and our Greater Manchester coverage takes in everything in between.

What is in a typical job?

Every kitchen is different, so we confirm the scope in writing. Most jobs of this kind include:

Old tiles removed and walls prepared, patched or boarded where needed
Grout and sealant chosen for easy cleaning, with flexible sealant at the worktop joint
Stone upstands and splashbacks templated and fitted alongside a stone worktop
Toughened glass splashback measured after the worktops are fitted, with socket cut-outs
Full-height or feature tiling behind the hob, sink or open shelving
Free survey visit to check the walls, agree the layout and give an itemised quote

Guide prices for splashbacks and tiling in Oldham

Typical splashbacks and tiling prices for homes in Oldham, including VAT and adjusted for the North West. Your own figure depends on the size of the kitchen, the layout and what is moving. Costs across the North West tend to sit under UK averages, which these ranges reflect.

Guide prices for splashbacks and tiling in Oldham
Typical project	Guide price
Tiled splashbackBetween worktop and wall units	£140–£380
Kitchen wall tiling, 4–6 m²Preparation, tiling and grouting	£280–£760
Toughened glass splashback behind the hob, fittedMade to measure after the worktops are in	£240–£570
Stone upstands and splashbacksTemplated with the worktop	Priced with the worktop

Tiling guide ranges cover preparation, adhesive, grout, trims and fixing, with the tiles themselves confirmed once chosen; the glass range includes a made-to-measure panel, and stone upstands are priced with the worktop. Prices include VAT at 20%.

Kitchens in homes around Oldham

Typical homes in this part of Greater Manchester include Victorian terraces, 1930s semis, converted mill and warehouse flats and post-war estate houses. Two-up two-down terraces often have a small back kitchen or a galley in the rear outrigger, while 1930s semis usually have a separate kitchen beside the dining room.

Terraced streets with back alleys, city-centre flats with booked lifts and permit parking can all affect delivery timing and how long worktops are carried in. Mains water across Greater Manchester is mostly soft, so limescale is less of a problem and taps and boiling water taps tend to stay cleaner.

Building regulations, electrics and gas in Oldham

Tiling or fitting a splashback in England needs no planning permission or building regulations approval. If sockets or switches are moved to suit the new wall finish, that is electrical work to BS 7671; adding to an existing kitchen circuit is not notifiable under Part P, but a new circuit is. Behind a gas hob, follow the hob maker's clearance instructions, and in a listed building, removing historic tiles or panelling may need listed building consent.

Listed mill conversions and homes in conservation areas may need consent for new external vents, and apartment owners usually need the freeholder's or managing agent's consent.

Worth knowing before the fit

Ask to see where the tiling will start before the first row goes on in your Oldham kitchen, so narrow cut tiles end up in corners rather than on show.
Choosing stone worktops for an Oldham kitchen? Ask for upstand and splashback heights to be confirmed before the template visit, not after.
Hold a few of your chosen tiles against the wall in your Oldham kitchen, in daylight and under the kitchen lights, before ordering the full quantity.
Order spare tiles from the same batch to cover cuts and breakages, and keep a few back so a later repair matches.

Questions about splashbacks and tiling in Oldham

How much do splashbacks and tiling cost in Oldham?

Guide prices in Oldham are about £140 to £380 including VAT for a tiled splashback. The final price depends on the size of the kitchen and what is moving, and is set out in an itemised written quote.

Can you measure up in Oldham before quoting?

Yes. Every quote starts with a free, no-obligation survey visit to your home in Oldham. We measure the room, check the walls, floor and service positions, then send an itemised written quote.

Can a glass splashback go behind a gas hob?

Yes, usually, as long as the glass is toughened and the hob maker's instructions allow it. Toughened glass handles heat far better than ordinary glass, but a gas hob must still keep the clearances set out in its installation instructions, so we check those before ordering. The panel is measured after the worktops are fitted and made with cut-outs for sockets, because it cannot be cut once toughened.

Which grout and sealant are easiest to keep clean?

A darker or mid-tone grout in narrow joints is usually the easiest to keep looking clean in a kitchen, and an epoxy or stain-resistant grout helps behind the hob and sink. Where the tiles meet the worktop, a flexible sealant is used rather than grout, because that joint moves slightly. The sealant can be cut out and renewed later without disturbing the tiles.

Can you tile over existing kitchen tiles?

Sometimes, but it is rarely the better choice in a kitchen. Tiling over old tiles adds thickness, so sockets, switches and the edge against the wall units may no longer line up, and the new tiles rely on the old ones staying firmly bonded. If the existing tiles are sound and flat it can work for a small area; otherwise we remove them and prepare the wall.

Splashbacks and tiling in neighbouring towns

We also carry out splashbacks and tiling in these towns near Oldham: