For tilers
How to price a tiling job by the square metre
Price tiling by measuring walls and floors separately, pricing each per m² at your own rate, then listing preparation, tanking, removal and extras as separate lines. Cross-check the total against your day rate and output. Published guides put labour at £15 to £50 per m², but your own figures are what count.
Updated
Measure walls and floors separately
Walls and floors go at different speeds, so price them apart. Measure each wall to be tiled, take off doors and windows, and note reveals, boxing and niches separately because they are mostly cuts. For floors, measure the tiled area and note where it runs under units or through doorways. Writing the m² on the quote shows the customer what they are paying for and lets the customer compare it with other quotes.
Price preparation as its own lines
Most disputes about tiling prices are about preparation that was assumed rather than written down. List as separate items: removing old tiles (Checkatrade's guide gives about £13 per m² as a consumer reference), making good, levelling compound, overboarding or a decoupling membrane, tanking (MyJobQuote gives £100 to £250 as a consumer figure) and waste disposal. If you will only know after stripping, say what you will charge if the wall needs more.
Adjust for size, pattern and cuts
Large format, natural stone, herringbone and mosaic all take longer per m². A common approach is a per m² extra over your standard rate for each, which is how the price list on this site is laid out: wall and floor rates, then extras for large format, stone and pattern work. Rooms with a lot of cuts for their size, such as a cloakroom, are worth pricing nearer a day rate.
Cross-check against your day rate
Divide the total labour by your day rate and compare it with the days you expect, allowing for grouting visits and curing time. Checkatrade's consumer guide uses 10 to 15 m² of wall or 8 to 12 m² of floor a day as typical output; your own output on your own jobs is the better figure. If the two methods disagree, the job has something you have not priced.
Publishing your prices
Premium listings on this site can carry a price list: day rate, minimum charge, wall and floor per m², and the extras above, labour only. Tilers' own public price pages are collected too, whether or not the tiler is listed here. Once five or more of those prices are on file for one kind of figure, such as a day rate or a wall price per m², that figure on this site moves from the published cost guides to the middle half of tilers' own prices. The price data release publishes once 20 are on file overall.
Common questions
Should I price tiling by the m² or by the day?
For a defined job, per m² with preparation listed separately is clearer for the customer. Day rates suit repairs and work where the time is hard to judge.
Should my quote include the tiles?
Say clearly either way. A labour-only price looks lower than a supplied-and-fixed one, and customers compare them without noticing the difference.
Where do the cost figures on this site come from?
From Checkatrade and MyJobQuote's published cost guides, named next to each figure. A figure switches to the middle half of tilers' own published prices once five or more are on file for it.