what price would you charge???

[CJ CERAMICS]

sorry to have to ask this question as i know that different areas have different prices.

but i went to price a job yesterday( 10m kitchen Floor) for a customer who lives next door to a tile supplier who gives me work.

when i got there i noticed that the floor had a dip in the middle and one in the doorway, the one in the middle ran the full length of the room. so the floor will need levelling. there is also 2 layers of vinyl tiles down which will need removing. Also a frige freezer washing machine and dishwasher to remove.

now i've estimated that it will take 1 day to remove said appliances uplift old vinyl remove glue from floor prime and level.

1 day to cut and lay tiles brickbond (600 x 300 porcelain) and seal with ltp matt sealer.

1 day to grout and reseal.

so 3 days in total.

I have 3 days free at the back of next week before i start a bathroom so to fill these days i qouted £360.00 inc slc.....adhesive and grout is mapei and is being given to the customer at cost price.

Phoned customer with the qoute to be told "that seems very expensive".

Is that in your opinion expensive as i didnt think it was considering the work involved.

thanks
chris

 

[kilty55]

its too cheap imo cj,

 

[david campbell]

£390minimum plus materials and i'm one of the lowest pricing areas in the mainland uk
at a day rate of £130 per shift
but i would charge that job at - 1 day @dayrate=£130
10m2@£28m2 =£280 ,
=£410 and thats minimum mate

 

[kilty55]

plenty customers like that just now mate,,dont give it another thought

 

[Daz]

Are these polished porcelain? If not, why the need for sealer? If so, why are you recommending a matt sealer?

Secondly, for the work that you have described I would say you are far too cheap. My labour charge would be more than you are quoting all in.

I guess it is a good job that I didn't quote her - LOL.

 

[david campbell]

its too cheap imo cj,

yeah! but you charge a kings randsom per m2 in teuchcter land...........:smilewinkgrin:

 

[kilty55]

edinburgh aint teuchter land lol,i dont charge much more than you young man


it might be matt porcelain captain which is why maybe he needs mattsealers

 

[CCTiling]

I would prob charge £30p/m2 for tiling porcelain floor + materials + 1 day labour prep so imo your price is on the low side. If they can get a cheaer quote than yours then good luck to them!!! Don't drop on that price unless you have no other work

 

[Daz]

it might be matt porcelain captain which is why maybe he needs mattsealers

But surely, it's the polishing of the porcelain surface that opens the pores and, hence, the need to seal?

I'm not sure I've ever come across a matt porcelain that requires sealing.

 

[david campbell]

i've never came across a matt porkie that needs sealing either but have heard of them!

 

[kilty55]

i did a post on it yesterday guys,ive got a matt porc job coming up and i remember reading here that some matt porcs need sealed

 

[kilty55]

http://www.tilersforums.com/tilers-forums-arms/41636-sealing-matt-porcelain.html

here it is

 

[CJ CERAMICS]

Are these polished porcelain? If not, why the need for sealer? If so, why are you recommending a matt sealer?

Secondly, for the work that you have described I would say you are far too cheap. My labour charge would be more than you are quoting all in.

I guess it is a good job that I didn't quote her - LOL.

hi captain they are not polished porcs but i took a cut from the tile home and did a porosity test and the water soaked into the tile and left a watermark
so i thought that sealing would be necessary.....i am visiting the supplier tomorrow morning to collect some supplies from him so i will check with him.

 

[The D]

why do you need a day to grout and seal ? and i think a day to move three appliances and remove the vinyl tiles is a bit strong.
imo this is a two day job and the price is still to cheep.

 

[CJ CERAMICS]

i must admit that i did quote this job deliberately lower than normal for 2 reasons
1. it will basically fill the week for me before the next job so it will basically be spending money
2. its the neighbour of the guy who gives me work and recommends me over other tilers.

so i was taken aback when they said they thought it was expensive.

 

[CJ CERAMICS]

why do you need a day to grout and seal ? and i think a day to move three appliances and remove the vinyl tiles is a bit strong.
imo this is a two day job and the price is still to cheep.

i dont actually need a day to grout and seal but the day itself will be finished as far as anything else goes.......oh and as too the day to remove 3 appliances and the old vinyl tiles this also includes laying the slc which cant be tiled on for 12 hours so after its down that day is finished as far as the job goes
chris

 

[Time's Ran Out]

Break the quote down.
1) to remove vinyl tiles/adhesive, move appliances and seal tiles (£100)
2) to level floor and fix 10sq mts of 600x300mm porcelain tiles inc adhesive and grout (£260)
Still very competitive but still gives you one & half days work without the hassle.

 

[SandyFloor]

Personally I don't give a fixed price for lifting vinyl tiles. The reason is sometimes they peel up easily and sometimes you can be at it for hours with a scraper and heat gun. I would also separate it from the rest of the job as it can make the rest look expensive.

 

[Colour Republic]

I never like to give prices without seeing the job first hand, but I can tell you it sounds like a bloody good price

 

[Dan]

I'm not accusing you of anything here, but do you think there could have been a better way of giving the quote in this case? Do you think if you'd have gone back around to the customer with the price and walked them through the job showing them the costs involved. Perhaps even get the shop owner (assuming that's where the customer has come from) could vouch for your tiling?

If the customer doesn't use you, do you think the shop will hand out a cheaper card (let alone another?).

Have you asked why they think it's cheap? (I'd assume they had a cheaper quote if they had a price in mind, but more often than not, they don't, and they're assuming, so when you ask "may I ask why you think that my price is more than it should be?" - perhaps they come back with something you can reply to.

If it's a "oh, I just thought that sound expensive" one, tell them rip up the whatsit and level the floor and the price would be cheaper, but say this isn't just an easy floor to tile, it's a prep job too!

Sort of thing?!

 

[CJ CERAMICS]

thanks dan the only reason that i phoned the customer with the quote rather than my usual typed quote broken down was because they are at their sons from this afternoon and wont be back until monday.....i did say that i could call back with the quote on monday at a time to suit but they asked if i could just phone them on the mobile with the full price.....they did not seem bothered as to the step by step breakdown. I have spoken to Mark the owner of the tile showroom and he also says that he thought that i would have charged more.

 

[Daz]

Dan raises a very valid point - Have you asked why they think you are expensive?

I had some major grief with a (now) customer who accused me of being double his cheapest quote and he wasn't happy with me. Further discussion led him to realise that the "cheap" quote was from someone who had no idea of the scale of work involved and he eventually came round to my way of thinking.

 

[hillhead]

Stick to your guns,your doing it cheap so don't lower.
Good luck with it.

 

[doug boardley]

too cheap imo Chris, if they'r gonna be brick bond I'd be levelling the full area and not just the dips.

 

[Andy Allen]

i think your way to cheap for what your planing on doing, as others have said you need to run through exactly what your pricing for, as i garentee some muppet will price £150/£200 and just slap them down on top of the vinyl .

 

[The D]

hi captain they are not polished porcs but i took a cut from the tile home and did a porosity test and the water soaked into the tile and left a watermark
so i thought that sealing would be necessary.....i am visiting the supplier tomorrow morning to collect some supplies from him so i will check with him.

how did you test for porosity

 

[kilty55]

if its the neighbour of the guy who passes you work then it sounds like hes trying it on,and expecting a cheap price

 

[redlee]

I'm quite local and thats a way cheap price, as others have said it's best to find out why they think its expensive, sometimes its unrealistic customers who'd gladly hand over £300 to a plumber for half a days work and be put out having to give a tiler £150 for two or someone else has given a stupid price before they got yours.

 

[Sean Kelly]

Way too cheap (but I think you already know that!). I quoted £600 to lay 30sqm of 600x400 porcs (inc addy & grout). The customer came back and said I was too expensive. I told them to get other quotes (in fact I always put that advice on my quotes). I'm waiting for them to get back to me. The viny tiles could be a nightmare too!

 

[Daz]

Way too cheap (but I think you already know that!). I quoted £600 to lay 30sqm of 600x400 porcs (inc addy & grout). The customer came back and said I was too expensive. I told them to get other quotes (in fact I always put that advice on my quotes). I'm waiting for them to get back to me. The viny tiles could be a nightmare too!

How cheap??? :yikes::yikes::yikes:
£20 per sqm??? for porcelain.

 

[Sean Kelly]

How cheap??? :yikes::yikes::yikes:
£20 per sqm??? for porcelain.

I've just checked my quote...........it's actually £590!! it's a mad world out there. I've also quoted for wall tiiling for the same customer......£506 for 9sqm of kitchen splashback. That consists of 3 windows & 11 sockets.