small areas of tiling

[Diamond Pool Finishers]

what i dont understand is lots of tilers coming on here asking what to charge for really small areas or awkward areas ,if its that small / awkward just hit them with daywork and be done

 

[simonb43]

That what i done yesterday. Bathroom floor, about 4m2. nothing in. Easy job but still charged day rate plus materials. I will not work for any less as its not worth it. I still have bills to pay !!!

 

[Diamond Pool Finishers]

thats what i mean dude :hurray::lol:

 

[CJ CERAMICS]

i understand what you are saying and to some degree i agree but
how does that work when speed and ability have to be factored in.
if say for instance you have a small kitchen splashback say 4m but have 2 windows using glass mosiacs and say 8 electrical sockets but you are not the quickest tiler or new to the game how can you charge day rates plus if it will take you longer than a fully experienced tiler?
chris

 

[Diamond Pool Finishers]

cj thats why you do the job on daywork to take the stress/rush out of it , I also check against m2 and charge what is dearer m2/daywork

 

[CJ CERAMICS]

hi gooner i charge per day rate aswell because we know that m2 doesnt really apply on small areas like that. but the responce i gave was not for me but for those amongst us who are a little less experienced. in this case day rate cannot apply if it will take them longer to do the job. Every job is different and if you are not the quickest then better to give a fixed price that you and the customer are happy with.
cheers chris

 

[Diamond Pool Finishers]

soss cj got wrong end of stick ,i agree

 

[CJ CERAMICS]

no probs mate i do actually agree with what you said.

 

[Rad2474]

I take each job on it's merits as i'm not as fast as more experienced tilers i have to be realistic on what way to charge. But that's all part of the learning process.

 

[psychowitch]

I think for the less experienced tilers its something thats really difficult to gauge until your about 2/3 years into your career and tiling constantly. Knowing how long it will take only comes with experience so those asking how much to tile a small area will get stung most of the time.. either they will undercut and it will take them longer if you base it on a day rate... or they will charge a day rate ++ and lose the job because its to expensive.

Put it this way you charge £150 quid for 3sqm splash back? is 3sqm going to take you a day to fix and about 2hrs the next day to grout up...do you still charge £150 or £75? It might take another guy with less experience 3 days to lay it... 2 1/2 to tile andd 1/2 day to grout...should he charge £450 ? On a day rate it sounds reasonable but in reality its way to expensive...

When starting out I dont think there is anyway you can base your price accurately on time to install... You will never hit your day rate because it will always take you longer than you think (Ive done jobs (see another post!) where its taken me a week to do a job were 20year guy would take 3/4 days... I do it on a sqm at the moment..and I win my fair share of jobs so my pricing is fairly accurate.

My suggestion at first would be to work out a pricing plan psqm and DONT look at the day rate it hurts to look at it and think what an experienced tiler might be earning..over the months look at the jobs you have won and the price..write on them how long it takes to complete..as similar jobs come in up your price by 10% and see if you still win the jobs after about 2 years you should be able to look at those jobs and say its only taking me *** amount of time and working it out on a day rate I get xxxx and still win the job...... btw 2 years isnt long it will go by very quickly !