ᐅ Tile prices have increased significantly. Any suggestions?

Hello community, we are about to start construction with a general contractor. Yesterday, my wife and I were looking for tiles. The friendly gentleman showed us several options, mostly wood-look tiles for the living area and matte tiles for the bathroom. The ones we liked were around €75/m2 (approximately $80/m2). He explained that many prices have recently increased significantly. Mainly due to clay shortages from Ukraine, and secondly because of the rise in gas prices (about €5 to €10/m2 or $5 to $11/m2), which are needed for firing the tiles.

His suggestion was to wait for a while (which we can afford timewise) and then check the prices again. Our general contractor in the Lower Saxony region quoted a total price of €103/m2 (approximately $110/m2) for floor tiles, including €30 gross (around $32) material costs for 30cm x 60cm (12 x 24 inches) tiles (additional work). Do you think this price is reasonable? What are your experiences with tile prices and installation costs?

You could visit a local DIY store to check the prices, or they also list prices online.

Whether you are allowed to purchase the materials yourself depends on your contract. It might be a good idea to keep the option open.

Or you can choose the same wood look in a 30x60 cm (12x24 inches) standard format for 23 EUR per square meter (0.09 square feet) instead of the special size 😉

Our local tile market has not increased prices so far, and neither has the one in the next larger city.

gutentag schrieb:

You could visit your local hardware store to check the prices. Or they also have prices listed online.

Whether you are allowed to buy the materials yourself depends on your contract. It’s good to keep that option open.

The general contractor has designated a specific tile supplier. I am considering whether to exclude the tile completely to avoid this extra cost.

MaxiFrett schrieb:

Or you could choose the same wood-look tiles in a 30 x 60 cm (12 x 24 inch) standard size for 23 EUR per sq m (about $23 per sq yd), instead of the special size 😉

In my opinion, the 30 x 60 cm (12 x 24 inch) wood-look tiles don’t look as good. Maybe he would prefer a different style of tiles.

Araknis schrieb:

Our local tile supplier hasn’t raised prices at all so far, and neither has the one in the next bigger city.

That’s interesting...

We recently faced the same issue. Our construction and scope of work document lists the tile price (porcelain tiles 30x60 cm (12x24 inches)) at only €25. The cost estimate dates back to 2020. Unfortunately, the start of construction was significantly delayed, and meanwhile, according to tile wholesalers, prices for some products have risen considerably. In the end, we chose both options: tiles within the original price range from the construction and scope of work document (hallway, kitchen, guest toilet) and somewhat more expensive tiles for the two bathrooms. This way, the additional costs remain manageable.