How much to charge for tile installation
Tile is priced per square foot, with different rates for floor, wall and shower — and the substrate underneath decides whether the number holds.
Below: the published wage for this work, why your billing rate has to be well above it, how this job is actually priced, and what moves the number. Put your own rate into the generator and you get a real itemized estimate built on it.
Generate this estimate now
Describe the job in plain words. No email needed to see your first estimate — about fifteen seconds for a small job, a little longer for a big one.
What you get — see the format first
A complete estimate you can send to the customer, built from the rate you enter:
| Description | Qty | Unit | Unit price | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labor — itemized by task | hrs | hour | your rate | — |
| Materials — with your markup applied | qty | ea / sq ft | cost + markup | — |
| Permits, disposal, access | — | — | — | — |
Plus a plain-English scope summary, assumptions (what had to be guessed), exclusions (what you are not doing — the section that prevents most change-order arguments), and a validity period. Printable, or send the link.
Every figure comes from the rate and markup you supply. We never fill in a market price for you.
How tile installation is priced
Setting labour is quoted per square foot, but a single rate across a whole job is wrong: walls are slower than floors, showers are slower than walls, and large-format or patterned layouts are slower than straight-set. Substrate preparation is its own line — self-levelling, backer board, waterproofing membrane — and is the item most often discovered after demo. Demolition of existing finishes, and trim work such as edge profiles, thresholds and niches, are priced separately.
What moves the number
- Tile format: large-format needs flatter substrate and more time per piece, mosaics need more cuts
- Layout pattern — herringbone, diagonal and stacked bond all add cutting and waste
- Floor flatness and whether self-levelling compound is required before setting
- Waterproofing for wet areas, which is a system with its own labour and cure time
- Demolition of existing tile, thinset and sometimes the substrate under it
- Edge details: profiles, bullnose, thresholds, niches, benches and curbs
- Grout type and joint size, plus sealing where the spec calls for it
How tile installation gets underpriced
- One square-foot rate for floor, wall and shower work
- Quoting before seeing the substrate, then absorbing levelling or backer board
- Ignoring the extra cutting and waste a diagonal or herringbone layout forces
- Pricing a shower without separately costing the waterproofing system
- Forgetting that demo of old tile and thinset is slow, dusty and generates heavy debris
Related guides
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Estimate templates by trade
flooring · tile installation · bathroom remodel · kitchen remodel · HVAC · plumbing · electrical · painting
How to estimate
How to write a contractor estimate · Estimate vs quote vs bid — and which one you should send · What to include in a contractor estimate · How to price a job as a contractor · Should you charge for estimates? · How to follow up on an estimate · How to handle change orders · Estimate vs invoice: what's the difference? · How to raise your prices as a contractor