I‘m getting some of my house tiled and would like to know if I am getting ripped off or not. It is going to be approximalte 600 sq ft with 2 upstairs bathrooms. The installer gave me a quote of $2400 to lay the tile (straight or diagonal, whichever I want). I will have to buy the tile and other materials on my own. The tile is going to be 18x18. The price includes ripping out the carpet and ripping out the tile that is already in the kitchen that will be replaced as well as the tile in the upstairs baths. Also included will be haul away of all the trash. Is this a good price or not?
A porcelain tile is decorative and glazed only on the outside. If you were to see a cross section, you would find only a small decorative veneer sorta surface on the exposed side. The rest of the tile has a dirt colour. In a ceramic tile, the colour is uniform throughout the tile. Practically, say if a prcelain tile gets chipped, you will see the dirt colour where it's chipped. In a ceramic one, it would not be such a stark difference. By the way, many mugs and cups we use for beverages, are made of ceramic. The not so personal stuff like vases could be made of porcelain. Got it ?
I am a contractor and for the work you describe i would usually charge 10 dollars a square foot. But I would include all the material including the tile but not exceeding a certain price per foot. And diagonal is extra so I think you got a damn good deal. Be careful check the guy research now no tears later.
Normal price to just install tile and porcelain is no different to install, will range from 4/6 $ a s/f.. So he/ she is doing all the rip out / disposal and prep work for basically free.. If they do check out w/ their references and have all insurances.Liability and workmans comp, then you may well go for it.. Times are slow now and they may very well be cutting you a deal to get a good job. Any questions you have on how he/ she is doing it ( as far as what materials and such so you know their not cutting corners) you can e mail me through my avatar and check my qualifications there.. GL
