Hi, Had a quote to tile 48m2 (excluding tiles) Remove existing floor areas (mostly carpet, some tiles in kitchen, laminate in dining room) and Levelling floors £1100 Laying tiles £1360 Adhesive and Grout £480 Levelling compound £460 Total £3400. On top of that prowarm electric underfloor heating : Thermo boards throughout Levelling compound to cover mats £1930 Seems pretty expensive to me, what do you think?
have you had any other quotes? What are you comparing to? (..you could save a chunk by removing old flooring yourself if so inclined, not really a huge task to remove carpet & laminate)
No other quotes yet.... finding it really hard to find anyone else! Just wondered if that was in the ballpark of being reasonable or not!
the material costs seem a little high.. Eg Mapei 20kg adhesive, coverage approx 5m2, £14/bag. so your area 48m2 = approx 10 bags, = £140 Grout will be even less Mapei Self levelling 25kg bag approx 6m2 £19/bag, 8 bags = £152 these are just average of course...could always buy the material yourself providing you know what/how much is needed. *just a thought.. not sure if your prices were material only, or including labour!!!
It’s difficult to know how your quote was supplied. But looking at your original post, it does look like labour is included in the figures you’ve stated along with materials: ‘Remove existing floor areas (mostly carpet, some tiles in kitchen, laminate in dining room) and Levelling floors £1100’ This job price includes their labour by the look of it. Best to talk directly with them though. At a guess, the tile price has not been included because you’ve not chosen the tiles yet but that is just a guess. Also, just because the area is 48m2 doesn’t take into account how tricky the job is or isn’t. Always worth getting a few quotes. Better to pick person on how confident and comfortable you feel around them too. Look for reliability, courtesy, friendliness. Ask to see their previous work. These sort of things. If the guy is top of his game he’s likely to charge more than someone who isn’t BUT it doesn’t always work like that.
There's labour and materials included here. First line includes the labour for leveling the floors, and last line is the materials cost £460 - that's 23 x 20Kg bags at £20 a pop, about right for 48m2 with 5mm depth.
If you went all in on that price as a whole job you are looking at £71 a sqm to remove everything, level, lay and finish. I have two tilers that book 60/ms and 80/ms and that’s not removing anything or preping. Also as you said you canny get anyone to even price let alone commit and complete. Happening more and more, great for the trade annoying for the customers. Does depend on your area however I’m in Essex.
It's certainly not a rip off, I don't think that's excessive, that's a big floor area to level and tile. Floors cost more than walls, generally.
Yes, as someone who actually does this kind of work and knows what's involved I'd say it is definitely a reasonable quote. But, it all comes down to money. If this is over budget for you then you either need to take your chances with someone willing to do it for less, or find the extra cash to pay this guy what he wants. If he's recommended and you trust him to do a good job then go for it.
Thanks everyone for your advice, I'm feeling a bit more comfortable now that i'm not being taken for a ride. Didn't realise fitting price could be so high, everywhere i've looked for advice it's in region of £30-50 a m2 but i suppose that assumes a perfectly flat floor. On top of that then i'm looking at tiles at about £20 a m2, so it's not a cheap task it would seem!
Like anything you get what you pay for, preparatory work can be on a level with or cost more than the tiling, £20 a metre for tiles is on the cheap side of things.
OK Next question, how much markup on materials is acceptable in this industry? I asked for the components of the underfloor heating and where they are coming from, when i priced them up they came to £1100 retail rather than £1930
Its a bit of an irrelevant question, you've been given a price. If you try and knock them down on materials price, they'll simply add it onto the labour. The price is more than cost of materials, the fitters should be warranting the materials so if they go wrong, they'll put it right and that can be costly.
Doesn’t the £1930 include the labour too? That’s how I read it. How many men to lay the under floor heating? Is it just him or is he having an assistant too? If so, that guy needs paying as well. This is normal. If you don’t trust him, perhaps cut your losses or it’s likely to go wrong for both of you. What you’re looking for is to find a tradesman you can have a good relationship with so that he becomes your regular and vice versa.
Yes I'd say it does, also includes the levelling compound to cover the mats (materials and labour for that).
There is no maximum or minimum, only what the customer is willing and happy to pay. Some firms trade with next to no overheads whilst others may have a large office, several administrative staff, 20 Van's on the road, 30+ fitters/installers and an advertising budget amounting to several thousand pounds a month. All of that needs paying for.... by the customer.