What factors determine the cost of tile installation?
Are you shopping for tile work? Perhaps you are renovating your bathroom or kitchen, or perhaps you are calculating the cost to build your dream home, either way with this blog post I hope to help you get an idea of what your tile project could cost you.
I recommend you read this information over before you start calling tile contractors as this blogpost also contains 5 very important questions you would be smart to ask the contractors.
Pricing tile work and comparing contractors can be a difficult task. There are many reasons why this task is not an easy one, in this post I will talk about the 5 most common factors that impact pricing of a new tile installation.
First we will discuss how materials affect the installation price, walk into any store where they sell ceramic, stone, glass and other tile and you will probably be overwhelmed with your countless choices! Yes the tile you chose can and will impact the installation price.
Another factor is complexity of design. There are definitely times when the design will raise the price, so you can see why it’s important to discuss this aspect from the beginning.
Complexity of the job site also plays a major role in the final price of a project. I will list a few of the considerations that add to the complexity of your job site.
Square footage of your project obviously plays a direct role in the price of tile work, large jobs are going to end up costing more overall but small jobs will typically end up costing more per square foot and we will go over why this is important to understand.
Hidden issues in remodeling work can often lead to the increase in the overall cost of your project, and because they are hidden you will want to be prepared for them, I will give you a great question to ask the contractors that you end up discussing your project with.
Materials
Not that long ago there wasn’t that much variation in the choices of tile. You had predominantly 12” square tiles for floors with the occasional 18” square tile starting to gain popularity. You had subway tile or the 12” square tiles going on the shower walls. Today, walk into any tile showroom and you will be blown away by the endless amount of choices!
You have all sorts of unique designs and sizes to choose from. Your choices do not end with the size and shape of the tile though! You have to choose whether or not ceramic tile, porcelain, stone, glass, cement, or even metal tile is the tile for you! Yes you have a difficult job as someone shopping for new tile. I am here to help! I love tile and I am familiar with many advantages and disadvantages with virtually every option. A quick conversation can narrow down choices of material that is best for you and your needs.
For now we will stay focused how your choices can impact the cost of your project.
A couple of things that I have commonly heard from potential clients about tile sizes are, “Well, since the tiles are bigger, it should be an easier install!” or “It’s just basic subway tile, nothing too hard…”
Let me address the larger tile selections. In the tile industry, we have what is referred to as “large format tile” or “LFT”. Many people aren’t aware of it, but one of the most popular tile sizes, 12″x24″ is considered LFT. Tile sizes that fall under this category may cover larger areas with fewer tiles, but with the larger tile comes other considerations. These tiles require more thin-set in order to achieve the proper bond to prevent failure. Often, many of these tiles are also bowed, which requires even more thin-set to fill any potential void behind the tile. Also because these larger tiles are often bowed, a lippage tuning system may be required to achieve a flat install. Other considerations are that the larger the tile, the harder to handle and the quicker the installer gets worn out from installing them. These are just a few things that I consider when the tile selection is on the larger side.
When it comes to smaller format tile, such as a traditional 3″x6″, these are indeed easy to handle. One of the basic things to keep in mind, is that while these are easy to handle, there are usually hundreds of them in one shower. Simply having to handle and adjust so many tiles adds extra time on such installs.
If you have your eye on a nice mosaic, glass, or similar artistic tile, keep in mind that these specialty selections also come with different considerations for the installer. Often, sheet mosaics tend to need many small adjustments to make sure things line up properly. On a floor, the proper tile underlayment must be used to give the mosaics proper support (many popular underlayments are not rate to support small mosaic tile). Glass tile is a very tedious selection to install, requiring specialty blades to cut cleanly. These blades require slower cutting, which increases time on the wet saw making cuts. Glass tile requires a good amount of smoothing edges and often polishing cuts to achieve a high quality finish. Also becoming very popular is hand made artisan ceramic tile. While this style of tile is uneven and the “artisan” look is desirable to many people, care has to be taken during the install as these tiles are often different shades and colors. If care is not taken, the install may end up with big areas of the same shade and color in one spot, making the install look unbalanced.
Quick Tip; Ask your contractor if they have past projects with similar selections to yours. Often, it helps if you can see pictures of similar installs to help guide your decisions.
Complexity of Design
Another major factor is the design of your desired tile work. Adding things like mosaic feature strips sounds simple when you are shopping in a tile showroom with a designer. However even one mosaic or glass tile feature strip in your shower will add time to the installation and time equals money. Patterns like a modular herringbone pattern (these are individual tiles, set one at a time) can easily double and triple the cost of your install.
One feature that tends to add significant cost to shower projects is a niche. This usually adds extra consideration in framing and in the tile layout. Making this feature look right requires a good amount of attention to detail and extra time to accomplish.
Even a backsplash project can be complex, as specialty tile selections are very popular for stunning backsplashes. Many backsplash selections tend to come in many different shapes and sizes, each with their own considerations for how long the install may take.
Quick Tip; Ask your potential tile installer about how your tile selection may impact the cost and time of your install.
Complexity of Job site
Just about every experienced contractor you will meet will not be able to commit to a price until they have walked your job site. This is because the location and complexity of your job site plays just as important a role in the process as anything else. Is the job upstairs, in a basement, in a condominium complex, new construction or a remodel with finishes to protect in every room except for the construction site? These are some of the questions that a tile contractor must get answered before committing to a price. All these things affect the amount of time it will take to finish your project.
Quick tip; Ask your potential contractor if there is anything you can do in advance to make their job easier and potentially reduce amount of time the project takes.
Square footage
Due to the wide variety of tile sizes and choices, most contractors today cannot or will not give you a square footage estimate. There are simply too many variables and one would be foolish to assume the type and size of the tile you will end up purchasing.
In general terms, the more square footage your project is, the longer the project will likely take. However, keep in mind that on a smaller project, the processes are the same as the larger projects. Often times it can be more difficult to manage space to work on a small project.
Quick tip; No matter what the size of your project, you can help your contractor out by making sure you have cleared a path to the work area. If possible clear a large area for your contractor to set up his equipment, the closer to the work area, the better!
Hidden Issues
Last but not least to discuss are hidden issues. If there is demolition involved, there will likely be some hidden problems uncovered! This is especially true for older homes that have been remodeled multiple times. Often I find things inside walls that I cannot in good conscience ignore. Of course I always bring this to my client’s attention as soon as I find them and I try to present the best options for addressing these issues.
But if you are remodeling your home, the fact that hidden issues can and do come up is something that you need to be aware of.
Quick tip; Ask your contractor what some common hidden costs are for your particular project, ask them to give you worst case scenarios, preferably real life instances.
Yes tile work is expensive, but actually in the long run a proper tile install is a great investment and will out last many other types of finish materials.
Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or would like to discuss an upcoming tile project in your home or business.
