Hello,
We are building a house with a reputable construction company. We personally know 10 clients who have been very satisfied with them.
However, there is one issue that is really bothering me right now.
The house price includes a budget of €17,000 (about $18,000) for tiles (145sqm (1560 sq ft)). The material cost is €20 (about $22), with the entire bathroom fully tiled.
The tile we like costs €45 (about $48) online. At a local supplier, it’s €75 (about $80), but they would sell it to me for €52 (about $55).
The tile supplier used by the builder, also for the sample selection, charges €95 (about $102) for the tile. No discount is possible since our builder is a partner of theirs.
This gives me the impression that there is a double markup here. I pay €95, while the company probably buys it for around €50 (about $54). In the end, this results in additional costs of several thousand euros.
Am I really required to buy the tiles from the supplier specified by the builder?
Best regards,
Coletrickle_7808
We are building a house with a reputable construction company. We personally know 10 clients who have been very satisfied with them.
However, there is one issue that is really bothering me right now.
The house price includes a budget of €17,000 (about $18,000) for tiles (145sqm (1560 sq ft)). The material cost is €20 (about $22), with the entire bathroom fully tiled.
The tile we like costs €45 (about $48) online. At a local supplier, it’s €75 (about $80), but they would sell it to me for €52 (about $55).
The tile supplier used by the builder, also for the sample selection, charges €95 (about $102) for the tile. No discount is possible since our builder is a partner of theirs.
This gives me the impression that there is a double markup here. I pay €95, while the company probably buys it for around €50 (about $54). In the end, this results in additional costs of several thousand euros.
Am I really required to buy the tiles from the supplier specified by the builder?
Best regards,
Coletrickle_7808
C
Coletrickle_78084 Aug 2021 00:19They are the same tiles. I contacted a local dealer and asked about a discount, referencing the online price. This was the best price he could offer. Delivery would be included, with unloading by crane.
For the floor, we want Marazzi Treverklife Honey and for the bathroom walls Marazzi Powder Graphite.
For the floor, we want Marazzi Treverklife Honey and for the bathroom walls Marazzi Powder Graphite.
H
HilfeHilfe4 Aug 2021 07:07A repeatedly difficult topic... you shouldn’t rely on prices found on the internet
Officially not allowed, but sometimes it’s surprising: Among other things, we chose tiles from Marazzi, which were originally priced around 95 EUR (about 95 euros) as the recommended retail price. (The tiles we initially preferred from another manufacturer couldn’t be sold to us because they were only available through a wholesaler that the tile installer did not work with. “You never know what quality you’ll get or what happens if there are problems.” 🙄 This was a nationwide well-established building materials supplier...) Anyway, we were quite anxious about getting a quote for these. In the end, the tiles were even cheaper than our original choice because the tile installer offered “an amazing price.” That put him well below all the available online retailers.
So things can go either way, but if fairness is lacking on the other side, it’s often better to just walk away—especially more than ever in today’s times.
PS: Be prepared for additional costs of between 30 and 50 EUR (about 30 to 50 dollars) just for installing large-format tiles. The plank formats, on the other hand, are not much more expensive to install.
So things can go either way, but if fairness is lacking on the other side, it’s often better to just walk away—especially more than ever in today’s times.
PS: Be prepared for additional costs of between 30 and 50 EUR (about 30 to 50 dollars) just for installing large-format tiles. The plank formats, on the other hand, are not much more expensive to install.
M
motorradsilke4 Aug 2021 07:31Difficult topic.
We also had the problem that we couldn’t find anything we really liked at the tile supplier chosen by the general contractor. We also don’t like the currently popular concrete-look tiles. And when it comes to tiles, I don’t want to compromise since you don’t just change them quickly.
So we removed this trade from the contract after another tiler had agreed to do the work. Unfortunately, he recently canceled.
Now we are looking for a tiler. At the moment, it’s not easy, but I’m optimistic. Although the issue of purchasing the tiles ourselves doesn’t seem to be the real problem.
We also had the problem that we couldn’t find anything we really liked at the tile supplier chosen by the general contractor. We also don’t like the currently popular concrete-look tiles. And when it comes to tiles, I don’t want to compromise since you don’t just change them quickly.
So we removed this trade from the contract after another tiler had agreed to do the work. Unfortunately, he recently canceled.
Now we are looking for a tiler. At the moment, it’s not easy, but I’m optimistic. Although the issue of purchasing the tiles ourselves doesn’t seem to be the real problem.
C
Coletrickle_78084 Aug 2021 07:54HilfeHilfe schrieb:
Always a difficult topic... you shouldn’t just look at internet prices Why not?
People do that everywhere else. It’s not about saving the last dollar. But if I pay €43 (about $46) online and €95 (about $102) in a store, meaning over 100% markup, that’s where it stops being reasonable. If the retailer says they can’t match €43 but can offer €60 (about $64) for one reason or another, that’s okay with me.
The retailer charging €95 made it very clear there would be no discount because my construction company is a cooperation partner.
F
fach1werk4 Aug 2021 08:13We removed the tiles from the contract with the construction company. We didn’t like the tiles included in the price, and the cost for upgrades seemed disproportionate to me.
I bought the tiles directly from the main importer, made sure to get full pallets, and hired the tiler separately. The tiles cost roughly one-third of what a good specialty retailer charged, who also sold them under a different brand name. The quality level is determined when ordering, and we received exactly what we ordered in very good quality—why wouldn’t we? Nowadays, there are hardly any master tilers left, so you have to be sure that the tiler knows what they’re doing. If it’s a sole trader, managing the supply of materials from the client’s side can work just fine. We made a good deal and had quality materials professionally installed in the house. We were building in the Stuttgart commuter belt, where craftspeople have an excellent workload and demand. However, I had to reschedule the tiler several times because the construction company’s timing didn’t work out. I also had to coordinate him with other trades and adjust certain sequences (tiles first, then the door carpenter). Changing the sequence works well if done early enough—I believe I even included that in the contract.
The only downside was that we ended up with a small surplus of one tile type because we had to buy a full pallet, but it was still worth it.
Personally, I would avoid discontinued product lines—you never know what you might get. But of course, you can always ask about this.
Best regards,
Gabriele
I bought the tiles directly from the main importer, made sure to get full pallets, and hired the tiler separately. The tiles cost roughly one-third of what a good specialty retailer charged, who also sold them under a different brand name. The quality level is determined when ordering, and we received exactly what we ordered in very good quality—why wouldn’t we? Nowadays, there are hardly any master tilers left, so you have to be sure that the tiler knows what they’re doing. If it’s a sole trader, managing the supply of materials from the client’s side can work just fine. We made a good deal and had quality materials professionally installed in the house. We were building in the Stuttgart commuter belt, where craftspeople have an excellent workload and demand. However, I had to reschedule the tiler several times because the construction company’s timing didn’t work out. I also had to coordinate him with other trades and adjust certain sequences (tiles first, then the door carpenter). Changing the sequence works well if done early enough—I believe I even included that in the contract.
The only downside was that we ended up with a small surplus of one tile type because we had to buy a full pallet, but it was still worth it.
Personally, I would avoid discontinued product lines—you never know what you might get. But of course, you can always ask about this.
Best regards,
Gabriele
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