What to charge??

[Eggman]

I went to price up a small job at the wife's office last night but I'm unsure what to charge. In the kitchen there is splashback of 2 rows of 11 tiles, 150mm x 150mm, fixed to plywood. Half of the tiles have fallen off so what they want is the rest taking off and re-tiling with new. Obviosly not a big job and won't take very long, I was thinking of charging day rate but at the same time I don't want to offend anyone with it being my wifes workplace n that. Thoughts guys??

[DEtileD]

well working on a £30 a square metre rate, thats about £15. That said, depends on the prep level. Hard to say but it should only take a couple of hours max...all depends on how confident you feel that no-one will call you on day rate.

[monty]

If it was me I'd try and fit in with a day i've already got booked in and charge 1/2 day.

[DEtileD]

Plus depends on circumstances... have you been asked to look at the job on a "my husband's a tiler, he'll do it cheap" as they are gonna be expecting a £50 bill if so i'd imagine.

[PAUL B OLDHAM]

Although this is only a small job, protect your reputation as other members of staff may in the future want some work doing or maybe reccomend your services to others. If they think your prices are too high this is all they will remember you by.
Like other members have said, try and slot it in on a spare afternoon and charge half a day rate, it might benefit you in the long run.

[marc1106]

looking at PAULBs post i completly agree. id see if i could do it on a "materials only charge and labour free" this always gets peoples attention and could pay dividends in the long run

[TilingLogistics]

The first thing to ask yourself is why the current tiles have fallen off? Tiles don't fall off for no reason there is usually water involved. That is you first thing to sort out the cause. Once you have established that explain it to whoever is paying you. Then think about your money because if you fix new tiles the last thing you want is them falling off because you and your wife will never live it down.

Then once all this is established charge accordingly as a professional

Kev

[Eggman]

Thanks guys, I've told them I'll do it at half day rate and they've accepted. I'm gonna do it tomorrow morning, probably get it done in an hour then straight to the pub, everybody's happy

The first thing to ask yourself is why the current tiles have fallen off? Tiles don't fall off for no reason there is usually water involved.

I was wondering this myself, all the adhesive seems to be on the tiles that have fallen of and none on the ply, maybe it wasn't primed??

[bigandy]

That sounds like a plan prime, tile, pub sorted

[monty]

dont you like grouting andy?

[DEtileD]

grout is overated

[alib103]

I was just about to stick on a post similar to this one . I've got a job tomorrow putting up glass tiles, approx 300x120mm for a kitchen splash back, i reckon there will be a max of 50 or so tiles so figure half a days work. Really straight forward job, just one row above work bench and 2 above sink, not even any sockets to cut round. I quoted a full days rate but can't see it taking more than half, felt guitly charging for a full day......just wonder what you guys would have done with a job like that?
I think i would have charged half a day for 11 tiles though, couldn't have handled the guilt!

[DEtileD]

Full day, this is glass after all. Trickier, especially with cuts. I know a lot of other tilers in my area will price out of glass jobs so one day is acceptable.

[alib103]

Cheers, don't feel too guilty now!

[TilingLogistics]

I was just about to stick on a post similar to this one . I've got a job tomorrow putting up glass tiles, approx 300x120mm for a kitchen splash back, i reckon there will be a max of 50 or so tiles so figure half a days work. Really straight forward job, just one row above work bench and 2 above sink, not even any sockets to cut round. I quoted a full days rate but can't see it taking more than half, felt guitly charging for a full day......just wonder what you guys would have done with a job like that?
I think i would have charged half a day for 11 tiles though, couldn't have handled the guilt!

The customers never have any

Kev

[Dave Ramsden]

Do it for a freebie and hope the missus gets a good xmas bonus

[faithhealer]

I was just about to stick on a post similar to this one . I've got a job tomorrow putting up glass tiles, approx 300x120mm for a kitchen splash back, i reckon there will be a max of 50 or so tiles so figure half a days work. Really straight forward job, just one row above work bench and 2 above sink, not even any sockets to cut round. I quoted a full days rate but can't see it taking more than half, felt guitly charging for a full day......just wonder what you guys would have done with a job like that?
I think i would have charged half a day for 11 tiles though, couldn't have handled the guilt!

Still have to make another visit to grout though don't you ?

[GazTech]

I did a similar splashback yrs ago where the wife worked, did it for nowt but pinned business card up for the staff.....had easily 6 gr8 bathroom and kitchen jobs from it.....Gaz

[tiler tom]

This is a reply to albi103. Even if a job is going to only take half a day you have to consider that the other half is wasted unless you are fortunate to do half one day in one house and then pop next door and do half a day there. As this is unlikely you should charge a full day irrelevant of how long the job takes. Look at it another way how do people view the cost of a job. Heres an example. Say it takes 3 days to do a bathroom that you charge 360 plus materials for. When you give the customer the price they agree to, when finished do they think " thats a good job for 360" or do they think "he's earned 120 a day for that". I think the former. Back to the splashback the customer makes the decision as to if they want to pay 100 or 120 for the job depending on your rate based on the finished job and not on how long it has taken you. Its the same in everything we choose to pay for, a car service for example we don't question how long it has taken we base the cost on the job we wanted doing.

[SlateR]

you should charge a full day irrelevant of how long the job takes.

i bet you don't even use the right cutting disc on the glass tiles yet you believe charging a full days rate for a couple of hours work is acceptable ?

Theres this thing that "good" tilers do and what it involves is getting up on saturday morning and going to do the job then so it doesn't affect any of the more important jobs during the week. like the guy said, he will do the tiling and an hour later be down the pub !

Sorry for the aggressive outburst .

[tiler tom]

So you should use a Saturday for that little job and charge only a couple of hours should you. Saturdays to me are an important time that you can be with friends and family and not there to do somebody a favour because you may be embarrased to charge them a standard rate. What do you do if you get 2 little jobs miles apart give up Sunday as well?

[FreeD]

Most jobs like this i charge full day rate unless absolute exceptions (close family), what if the job takes longer? u've lost money! U can't be soft...you start charging half days people will take advantage.

[SlateR]

So you should use a Saturday for that little job and charge only a couple of hours should you

erm... yes ?!! I'd assume that most tilers are busy during the week on bigger projects and a job like this one thats going to take no time isn't worth trying to whack your full day rate on when its only going to take an hour or so is it ? yes it has to be worth your while but if you charged for example, £75 (average half day rate) if they supply the material, all you are going to lose is your fuel costs. lets face it, unless its miles and miles away this is hardly going to dent your profits is it ? what tilers don't realise is, when customers come into a tile shop to buy their tiles, they generally always ask how much the average tiler would charge to do the job at their home. We always state that it varies but in most circumstances its near enough accurate. With people tightening the belt due to the economy problems, people are going to be more likely to try and put the tiles up themselves if tilers are going to overprice a simple job.

If your Tv stopped working and you called an engineer to come and take a look at it and when he arrives he informs you that your tv is basically knackered and too expensive to repair after only 10 minutes of inspection, wouldn't you then feel a little ripped off when he puts his hand out and asked for £60 to tell you that information ?

Be reasonable mate, everyone knows that if you go in to a job and price it reasonably, you are much more likely to get more referrals from that customer and potentially a bigger project in the future.

I'm not the oracle of job pricing but i can blatently see when people are going overboard with the quotes and if i can see it the customer will also.

[TilingLogistics]

i bet you don't even use the right cutting disc on the glass tiles yet you believe charging a full days rate for a couple of hours work is acceptable ?

Theres this thing that "good" tilers do and what it involves is getting up on saturday morning and going to do the job then so it doesn't affect any of the more important jobs during the week. like the guy said, he will do the tiling and an hour later be down the pub !

Sorry for the aggressive outburst .

I think you are missing something here Slate R. Vans have to insured, taxed and MOT'd and they need fuel to run them. Liability insurance has to be bought and tools purchased and replaced. Whats all this about good tilers getting up on a Saturday morning. You are either running a Business or a Charity and to run a Business it costs money as you well know. You also seem to forget peoples day rates vary tremendously and what you feel is rip off may well be acceptable to others. Lets not forget that the fixer has to make some money as well

Kev

[DEtileD]

Feel we're kinda leaving the point a bit. I can see both sides. Time isn't really relevant. It's the job.

If i decided that at 3.30 in the morning i was going to go out and tile a job because It would fit MY schedule better, it wouldnt be acceptable to charge extra for the early start. Likewise if I decided to use a saturday to do my job, not because the customer has asked, but because it would fit MY schedule then i have no right to ask for saturday rates.

Anyway, to the point.
I know that the money received isn't all profit but petrol, insurance, etc if divided per day/job is going to be minimal.

That said, like i commented earlier glass etc is more complicated, more specialist so therefore (aslong as the right tools are used) full day.

For the 22 ceramic 6x6 tiles i feel half day would be at the top limit.

[alib103]

Cheers for the replies guys, i seemed to have started a bit of an arguement!
I did the job on Sat, there just after 8.30am and away just after 1 (i'm not the quickest) and charged a days rate, customer was happy with the result. I agree with tiler tom, Saturdays are the time i like to spend with family and friends so the time is valuable to me, along with tax, petrol, materials etc i don't feel bad for charging what i did. i think you're way off the mark Slate R saying we should charge less, i didn't force the customer to pay up, i did a good job on a convenient day for them as they couldn't get week days off......... by the way i did use a correct glass tile cutting disc......i'm not a cowboy!

[SlateR]

I like the exaggerations you make there Kev

If you actually read the thread, we are referring to Eggman quoting a job at his wifes workplace. It is highly likely that Eggman does not have the correct cutting blade for the glass and also he said that it would take him no time at all. At what point does this justify a full days rate on such a simple job ?

Sorry for not cracking open the violin on your expenses Kev, lets face it, if you charge everyone £150 per day for 5 days a week, this comes to £750 per week before tax and £3000 per month before tax !!! very likely you drive a diesel van and also you claim all your VAT back on your tools and other expenses ! its a little hard to sympathise when their are plumbers and electricians out there who endure soo many courses to gain qualifications whereas "some" tilers just do a short course (not always), buy some tools and a van and go out there quoting extortionate rates to customers.

This is coming across like i have a hatred for tilers which is not this case at all.

We serve the customers on a daily basis, you dont !! We can only give rough prices for tiling as every job is different dependant on substrates, tiles and other problems that will need to be soved. I'm sorry but if you believe £150 should be charged for an hours work regardless of what day of the week it is then your not a tiler that i'd recommend to our customers.

[SlateR]

by the way i did use a correct glass tile cutting disc......i'm not a cowboy!

Your the first tiler i have encountered that has a glass cutting disc before coming across a tiling job that is using glass !

By all means, charge what you like, makes no difference to me whatsoever ! We'll see who's right when you phone stops ringing

[TilingLogistics]

I don't exagerate anything!!! The facts are in MY case are

Van Insurance £350
RFL £175
MOT £50
Depreciation £2000
Servicing Etc £400
Total £2975

Thats a running expense of £57 a week. Then you have fuel on top which averages £250 a month in my case so another £57 a week so a £114 a week or nearly £23 a day based on a 5 day week. So based on your £150 a day extortianate rate that would leave me with £127 from which I have to purchase and replace tools, liability insurance, pay tax, NI contributrions run a phone, broadband etc etc etc. So what would you class as a fair day rate then?

The original post was how much should Eggman charge? Well if it were me it would be a 1/2 day rate IMO and no less.

Kev

[SlateR]

The original post was how much should Eggman charge? Well if it were me it would be a 1/2 day rate IMO and no less.

Kev

So after all that Kev, you actually agree with me that a full days rate was wrong ?

I thought a half days rate was spot on for that job.

I apologise for the confrontation Kev, tho it may have looked like it, my aim wasn't to give tilers like yourself a hard time