On tiling jobs, most money is lost through wrongly measured areas and forgotten items. Here is how to work out a price per m² that covers materials, preparation, labour and the small things, and how to turn it into a quote the client understands.
In short
- Floors are length × width, walls are perimeter × height minus openings.
- Add 10 % extra tiles for straight laying and up to 15 % for diagonal or large format.
- List preparation, waterproofing and finishing work as separate items.
- Derive your labour price per m² from your hourly rate and real output.
Step 1: Measure the real area
Measure each room separately. The floor is length times width. For walls, measure the room perimeter, multiply by the tiling height and subtract doors and windows.
Example: bathroom 2.4 × 2.0 m, tiles up to 2.2 m, door 0.8 × 2.0 m.
- Floor: 2.4 × 2.0 = 4.8 m²
- Walls: (2.4 + 2.0) × 2 × 2.2 = 19.36 m², minus the door 1.6 m² = 17.76 m²
Measure reveals, niches and boxing-in separately or price them per piece, because they need more cutting.
Step 2: Add a waste allowance
Tiles get cut, break, and sometimes one box differs in shade. Always add an allowance:
- Straight laying: about 10 %
- Diagonal, herringbone or large format (60×120 and up): 12–15 %
In our example: floor 4.8 m² + 10 % = 5.3 m², walls 17.76 m² + 10 % = 19.5 m². Price adhesive and grout by the manufacturer’s consumption per m², usually 4–6 kg of adhesive per m² for standard formats.
Step 3: Separate preparation from laying
Clients often think they pay only for "laying tiles". In reality, preparation can take as long as the laying itself. List it as separate items:
- removing old tiles (lump sum or per m²)
- levelling the substrate per m²
- waterproofing the shower and bathroom floor per m², with corner tape
When preparation is visible in the quote, the client understands why your price is not the same as someone who "skips" it.
Step 4: Work out your labour price per m²
Labour per m² is not a number you copy from competitors. Derive it from your hourly rate and real output:
labour per m² = hourly rate ÷ m² you actually lay per hour
If your hour costs €30 and you lay about 1.5 m² per hour on walls in a standard format (including cutting and grouting), labour is about €20 per m². For large format, mosaic or diagonal laying the output is lower, so the price per m² is higher. We explain how to calculate your hourly rate in a separate article.
Step 5: Do not forget the finishing work
- silicone joints around the bath, shower and corners
- edge trims and profiles per metre
- drilling holes for services per piece
- rubble removal
These are the items most often forgotten, and in the end they make the difference between a job that paid off and one that did not.
What it looks like in a quote
A good tiling quote has separate lines for each room and each type of work: material per m², laying per m², preparation and finishing. The client sees exactly what they pay for, and you change the area in a second if measurements change on site.
In AdBooks you save your items with prices once and reuse them in every quote, and with the Growth plan you also get the Estimator with a ready catalogue of tiling items.
Frequently asked questions
How much extra tile should I allow?
About 10 % for straight laying, and 12 to 15 % for diagonal, herringbone or large format.
Should waterproofing be a separate item?
Yes. Waterproofing the shower and bathroom floor is separate work with separate materials and should be its own item per m².
How do I calculate labour per m²?
Divide your hourly rate by the number of square metres you actually lay in an hour, including cutting and grouting.