ᐅ Are additional costs for larger bathroom/guest toilet tiles and angled trim justified?

Hello everyone,

The tiler (appointed by the developer) has given me quotes for the bathroom and guest toilet. The developer specifies a standard tile price of €25/sqm (approx. $28/sqft) for tiles up to 30x60 cm (12x24 inches), with shower walls tiled up to the ceiling.
The tiler and I agreed on a 90x90 cm (36x36 inches) tile for €60 (approx. $67), installed up to 1.20 m (4 ft). The bathroom is 7 sqm (75 sqft) with 28 sqm (301 sqft) of tiles needed, the guest toilet is 2 sqm (22 sqft) with 12 sqm (129 sqft) of tiles needed.

Additional cost just for the 7 sqm bathroom – €4,200 (approx. $4,700):

€1,680 (approx. $1,880) – floor tiles including cutting waste/reserve supplied and installed
€1,400 (approx. $1,570) – surcharge for installing floor tiles on walls including extra effort due to large format and different tile adhesive
€1,120 (approx. $1,250) – aluminum profile angles for the “baseboards” that are 1.20 m (4 ft) high on 2 walls, including miter cuts

The €1,680 (approx. $1,880) corresponds exactly to the €60 tile price for 28 sqm.
-> In my opinion, the standard €25/sqm, which should be included, has not been deducted here. The additional installation cost is already listed under the next item.
-> What do you think?

The €1,400 (approx. $1,570) surcharge for large format tiles would mean an extra €50/sqm (approx. $5/sqft) – is that reasonable or still within your expectations?

The €1,120 (approx. $1,250) for aluminum profiles for just a few meters seems absolutely excessive to me. Normally, PVC profiles are installed as standard, and these aluminum profiles don’t look like they require a 45-degree bevel on two adjoining tiles. On the internet, such aluminum profiles cost about €15/m (approx. $16/yard). Aluminum profiles without miter cuts are quoted at €580 (approx. $650), which I still find quite high. Considering how quickly several tiles can be miter cut, how unrealistically high would the hourly labor rate be?

What do you think would be a fair price for 60x60 cm (24x24 inches) tiles instead of 90x90 cm (36x36 inches)? That might still be a cost-saving option. Would the extra installation cost then drop to about €25/sqm (approx. $2.50/sqft)?

For the small guest toilet, the extra cost is even €70/sqm (approx. $7/sqft) instead of €50, which also seems odd to me.

The quote even includes extra effort charges for the standard tiles, which is definitely a mistake. So I wonder if there might be general calculation errors in the other items as well.

What are your thoughts?
Thanks!

Since no more modifications are possible: The stated €4,200 applies only to the 7m² (75 sq ft) bathroom. For the smaller 2m² (22 sq ft) guest toilet, an additional €2,000 will be added for switching to the 90x90cm (35x35 inch) tiles, making a total surcharge of €6,200.

mm56789 schrieb:

What do you think?

Unfortunately, the situation has already gone too far – this should have been settled beforehand. Now it’s a case of "sink or swim."

That said, the prices are actually within the normal range... (at least for this kind of developer work).

A tile size of 90cm by 90cm (36 inches by 36 inches) instead of 60cm by 30cm (24 inches by 12 inches) means each tile has four and a half times the surface area (weight, handling), and nearly double the diagonal length. Both factors require a significantly higher quality of the subfloor surface, which can already become tricky just because of the thickness of the respective screed layer. This likely explains the note about different construction chemicals (in other words: instead of the adhesive "Hulk Hogan medium," you’ll need the mortar "Chuck Norris extra strong"). It’s "fair" that the subcontractor offers you this option during the normal construction process, and not only after acceptance of all scope of work trades. I usually don’t see the subcontractor responsible for billing this standard upgrade; you would probably have to arrange that separately.

Overall, in my opinion, you are making a slippery upgrade here. I would never upgrade a developer property from a Dacia to a Bentley level. As a Protestant, I advise you to light a candle and pray that ULF helps you ;-)

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Prices are quite high but not unusual.
I don’t fully understand the aluminum strips and the miter cut situation; I always thought it was “either one or the other.”
Or does it mean miter cuts everywhere except at the baseboard, where there is an aluminum strip?
Gerddieter

I find the prices steep but justified. When I think about how to properly work in a 2sqm (21.5 sq ft) bathroom, it’s double the difficulty surcharge with 90/90 tiles. Normally, 90/90 tiles already require two workers... a single tiler can handle 30/60 tiles alone.
For a 2sqm (21.5 sq ft) bathroom, I would only have tiles installed where absolutely necessary. What are 90/90 tiles doing in such a small space?