The quote, already started
⚠️ These are starting numbers, not market rates. Put your own in.
What the job actually is
- Check the substrate: level, sound, dry, and what it is made of.
- Screed or level the floor where it needs it, and let it go off.
- Waterproof the wet area if the job has one, to the standard your state requires.
- Set out from the centre line so the cuts fall where nobody looks.
- Prime if the substrate calls for it.
- Lay the tiles in the pattern quoted, back-buttering large formats.
- Let the adhesive cure before you grout — not the same day on most products.
- Grout, then clean the haze off before it sets hard.
- Silicone the internal corners and the perimeter, because grout cracks there.
- Clean down and hand over.
Materials
- Tiles plus wastage — the tile calculator works out tiles, boxes, grout and adhesive with the pattern waste built in.
- Screed or levelling compound if the floor is out — the plaster and render calculator covers bags for a floor at your thickness.
- Waterproofing membrane and bond breaker, where the job is a wet area.
- Adhesive at the coverage rate for your notch size — a bigger notch or back-buttering uses noticeably more.
- Grout in the colour agreed, plus silicone to match.
- Trims and edge profiles, which are lineal-metre labour hiding inside a square-metre rate.
- Primer, spacers, wedges and consumables.
Wastage is not padding. Diagonal, herringbone and large formats generate far more cutting than a straight lay, and a customer supplying their own tiles will buy the exact square metres unless the quote tells them not to. Say the allowance you need in writing.
What the price assumes
- The substrate is level, sound and dry, and does not need stripping.
- The tile is the size, format and layout named in the quote.
- Waterproofing is either in the price or excluded — never assumed.
- Demolition and removal of the existing floor is by others unless listed.
- Power, water and a place to cut are available on site.
- The room is clear and you have continuous access.
- Where the customer supplies tiles, they arrive before the start date and include the wastage allowance stated.
Extras that come up
- Screeding a floor that turns out to be well out of level.
- Removing the existing tiles and bedding, which is heavy, dusty, and its own day.
- A change of format after acceptance — the reason the format is on the quote.
- Niches, hobs and shelves, which are slow work.
- Sealing natural stone, before and after.
- Waterproofing certification, where your state requires a licensed applicator.
- Sourcing extra tiles from a closed batch when the customer under-ordered.
Things nobody charges for, and should
- Set-out time. Getting the first row right is what makes the room look right, and it is not laying time.
- Waiting for the screed and the adhesive to cure. Days you cannot bill and often cannot use.
- Cutting waste and tip fees on a demolition job.
- Protecting the rest of the house from dust and traffic.
- The haze clean and the second clean a week later.
- Consumables — blades, spacers, buckets, silicone.
A worked example
A 30 m² open-plan floor, existing surface removed by others, substrate needing a light screed, 600×600 porcelain in a straight lay, tiler supplying adhesive and grout and the customer supplying tiles. Registered for GST.
| Line | Qty | Rate | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screed and level floor — light correction | 30 m² | $42.00 | $1,260.00 |
| Prime substrate | 30 m² | $9.00 | $270.00 |
| Set out and lay 600×600 porcelain, straight lay (labour) | 30 m² | $78.00 | $2,340.00 |
| Adhesive, grout, silicone and consumables | 1 job | $640.00 | $640.00 |
| Trims and edge profiles | 14 lm | $32.00 | $448.00 |
| Grout, haze clean and silicone to perimeter | 30 m² | $18.00 | $540.00 |
| Waste removal and site clean | 1 job | $220.00 | $220.00 |
| Subtotal | $5,718.00 | ||
| GST (10%) | $571.80 | ||
| Total inc GST | $6,289.80 | ||
| Deposit (20%) | $1,257.96 | ||
| Balance on completion | $5,031.84 |
These are starting numbers, not market rates. Put your own in. Every figure above comes from the line items in the builder at the top of this page.
Start this quote in Yamate — the lines, not the prices →The app fills in the same line descriptions and leaves every amount blank for you. Your prices, not ours.
Yamate keeps your rates and your standard lines, so the next one of these is a few taps rather than a blank page — then turns the accepted quote into the invoice without retyping it.
FAQ
How many tiles do I need for a room?
Area divided by what one tile covers, plus a wastage allowance that depends on the layout. The tile calculator works out tiles, boxes, grout and adhesive with the pattern waste built in — straight lay, brick, diagonal and herringbone all generate different amounts of cutting.
How much wastage should a tiling quote allow?
Commonly around ten per cent for a straight lay, and more for diagonal, herringbone or large format. The number matters most when the customer is supplying the tiles, because they will otherwise buy exactly the square metres and the shortfall becomes your problem.
Is waterproofing included in a tiling quote?
Only if the quote says so. It is regulated work, it often requires a licensed applicator and a certificate, and the requirements differ by state. Say explicitly whether it is in your price and who provides the certificate.
Why does tile size change the rate per square metre?
Large formats need a flatter substrate and are heavier and slower to place; small formats and mosaics mean many more cuts and grout lines per square metre. A rate built on one does not hold for the other, which is why the format belongs on the quote.
Work out the materials first
More like this
General information for Australian tradies, not legal, building or financial advice. The rates on this page are starting points rather than market prices, and every figure is an estimate based on what you type in. Waterproofing, licensing and deposit rules are set by each state and territory — check yours before relying on this page.