Anyone priced tile work lately

Willc

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2005
Location
Shelby
I just was quoted a little under 10 dollars a square they supply substrate and mastic. I supply tile and grout it is a small job but unleveled. Does this sound ok with me having no experience in tile or the outcome of the job if I tried to learn verses a pro job ?
 
I just did 2 rooms. Appx 80 sf. Tear out linoleum, put down backer. I provided tile. $500 materials and labor. ...subbed via JB Short.
 
When I worked for myself doing tile, I charged $5/sqft labor, $20 per sheet underlayment installed (materials included), added a couple bucks per bag of thinset and grout to cover wear and tear on buckets, drills, mixers, trowels, floats, sponges. I typically bought all of the materials mainly for quality control.

I always used permabase for underlayment. 3'x5' just under $10 per sheet. (I hate the hardibacker. It is compressed paper. I know they say it wont degrade or swell, but I dont believe it. It dosent cut for crap and dosent screw down very well)
I always used Mapei ultra flex 2 thinset. Its like $25 per 50# bag that usually covers 75sqft. Or used the stuff that you can put in the latex additive for exterior.
I use either Mapei or TEC grout. TEC is smoother. I hate Laticrete brand grout, it eats my hands up. 25# of grout usually covers 100 sqft of 12x12 tile with 3/16 grout joints.

I also warrantied my work. Only call backs I ever had is when somebody dropped something heavy and broke a tile.

Make sure they use SCREWS. Never nails.
 
I haven't done tile work in years, but my rate was $6 sq/ft no material. The flooring store also made something so I'm sure it came close to that. Now I just polish wood!
 
GotWood said:
Doing and doing well...2 different things.
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There is a HUGE learning curve to it. Mastering the wetsaw will make or break a job. You can have the straightest joints in the world, but crappy cuts along walls and especially door jambs can make it look like poo.

Mastering grouting is another one that gets me. Grout joints should finish out like the fine cement that they are. They should never look like brick mortar.
 
I just finished doing 70sq ft of backsplash in my kitchen...I was most worried about the grout.

I am stoked about how it turned out.
 
mbalbritton said:
Agreed, but I still stand by my statement.
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I completely agree with you too. I vote do it yourself. Usually the only average Joe can't spot a good/bad job. The biggest thing that will make the job is door jams. Just lay it out first, the whole floor and make your cuts and don't mud it down till its complete. Also, don't forget to consider how/where to center and starting points.
 
I suggest to do all the closets first to get past the curve. And BE SURE TO USE SPACERS!!! And each tile size / thickness has it's own recommended spacer. And then use a different pattern in the door jams to break up the patterns between the closets (smaller size / different color or 45 degrees or something creative). You can do all the door jams and it helps break it up as well. That way it makes transitioning from beginner closet tiles to the rest of the house when you're primed and ready and from room to room if they aren't square to each other. Then I usually start on the longest run that's close to the center and most noticable in the entire house as a base point. You can let the walls in the back kinda fall out and use trim. And I hope your house was built in the past 35 years or so for nobody knew what framing squares was when my house was built. GOOD waterproof knee pads is a tile man's best friend like the ones with a thick plastic cover.

You-tube is also the best friend for wannabe jacks of all trades. That's what I do just before I do anything new to me I've never done.

Another tile fact I know is that I bidded a demo job once (ONCE!!!) for an 8 unit apartment complex just removing tile in the kitchens and baths and thought I was going to die before I finished... I bidded 1 week and it took me almost every bit of 2. The machine that I rented left my hands and arms numb for an entire week. I even hired a helper to finish out the last 2 units.
 
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