Planning, not a quote
| Decision | What to record |
|---|---|
| Material versus setting | Ask whether the figure includes the tile, the mortar, the grout, and the trim pieces. A box price is not an installed price. An installed price that skips the shower membrane is not a bathroom price. |
| Layout changes the order, not just the labor | Straight lay on a 12×12 module and a diagonal large-format layout do not consume the same extra tile. This site’s planning bands run about 5–10% for ordinary ceramic or porcelain and about 10–15% for large-format work, with diagonal large format often higher. Use the band that matches the drawing and say which one you used. |
| Substrate is its own contract line | Backer board, uncoupling membrane, waterproofing, and flattening a slab are included only when the quote says so. “Install tile” on an unready floor is a different job from “tile on a prepared substrate.” |
Tile prices travel badly. One number per square foot might be the tile only, the tile set on a ready floor, or a wet-area assembly with a membrane. Until those words are attached to the number, the cheaper figure is not comparable.
Small rooms waste more tile than the percentage suggests, because a single cut tile can be most of a piece. Illustrative.
Related reading: tile takeoff service, stone setting, allowance bands.
A single installed range mixes tile that costs very different amounts with labor that depends on the module and the substrate. Use a supplier quote for the specified tile and a labor quote that lists what it includes. Other pages on this site show planning ranges and label them as examples.
No. TCNA publishes installation references the specifier may cite. Quoting a method from the project spec is not a claim that anyone on the job holds a credential.