Tile Flooring Cost

Wide swings are found in cost estimates of tile floors. There are various reasons for this but one main reason behind it is that the process of laying the tiles is flat out labor intensive: from planning and preparation to the revisits to allow for dry time. Besides the fact that the choices of square, rectangular and odd shape tiles are almost endless.

Possible choices include ceramic tiles, pavers (basically, unglazed and that have to be sealed for interior applications) and ceramic mosaic (2" or under) - and which are either fabric mesh mounted on a sheet or individually seperate. With the former giving economies and the later providing high degrees of customization.

Installed Tile Breakdown

A 8 x 10 room costs between $505 on the economical side to $790 to accomplish. Although don't be fooled by sheer square footage. A smaller room, like a bath room can easily reach or exceed this amount, going well above $1400. But there are important reasons for this conundrum.

Much of the time, the tiles themselves are generally inexpensive, providing an alternative to natural stone. And attractive tiles are available for around $2 per foot. Yet when considering the planning, any floor leveling, the appearance of centering on a quality install (which could add up to a total perimeter cut) this all really begins to add up differently. Not to mention the base cap; that could be a two or three part cap.

To add to this, the reality is that some installers place spacers and concentrate on maintaining a level, while others simply back butter, lightly drop and tap -- this makes a day and night difference. Yet to add insult to injury, some installers will make no minor floor adjustments while others apply a floor level mixture while simply including it in the bill.

Additional Factors Bumping the Bill

Removal of Prior Floor - and if this is tile as well, it will likely have to be cold chiselled. Existing laminate may or may not have to be removed, and if it is, the old adhesive is likely to be stripped away by hand scraping and chemical means.

Tile Sizes - dimensions become a main cost component.

Subfloor Modification - whether bolstering or outright replacing is required to prevent future cracking for a sound install. Or wonderboard or its equivalent might have to be screwed in place. Wavy floors should be addressed, though this shouldn't break the bank in most cases, given the self-leveling floor compounds. Patching rotting floors, however, is another story. And if not getting fixed sums for quotes, rates of $35 or $40 per hour could come into play, depending on the type of work arrangement.

Cuts Required - the total amount of saw cuts, and manually nipping away curvy lengths, like for toilet drain flanges, especially those not prospects for the hole saw, are compensated for usually as a built-in fee. Though rest assured it is there. And this is another place for cutting costs, separating tiles in half basically for routing the floor plumbing lines. When a single hole cut would be a cleaner result -- simply to avoid the disconnect and save on time.

Removal of Items - pulling the toilet, other fixtures, and appliances is part of the total amount. Note that many installers pull the toilet but will not replace it, partly since it deals with the wax ring. So $75 for a plumbing call to reset the toilet. Cabinets might have to be removed such as in kitchens to run the tile continuously, for cleaner lines. Which some tilers do and some don't. Removing the base shoe/cove mould is a necessity.

Layouts, Accents & Inlays - executing entire diagonal patterns can add 8% to 12% to the tab. Diagonal insets, up to 15% and more. Less formidable are accent charges, unless things get elaborate.

Sealing - this is usually left to the homeowner and frequently an overlooked cost item. Unless you want to DIY, the 'clean and seal' project can run $1.75 ft give or take.

Grout Joints - the wider joints, say 3/16" or 1/4" might take tooling so as to result in the desired, concave depression. A feature that is beyond the normal floating of grout.