ᐅ Tiling Installation with Additional Costs for Large Format Tiles

siegthread schrieb:

The material costs alone are 2707 euros. You can get nice wood-look tiles in that size for 30-40 euros per sq meter.

It’s no use if the original poster chose a more expensive option and the construction specification only estimated 20 euros per sq meter.

siegthread schrieb:

But what is supposed to be the third item then?

You pay for the term, for a variation; you pay more for mainstream and what creates demand.
You pay for anything that deviates – whether justified or not.
If I pay 20 euros for an updo at the hairdresser, I pay 65 euros for the same service for my own wedding… just call it a surcharge, then you pay more.

The additional costs for tiles can have an even more straightforward reason. A tile that cost 25 EUR/m² (about 25 USD/sq ft) two years ago now easily costs 35-40 EUR/m² (about 35-40 USD/sq ft). So, if you don’t want to choose significantly cheaper tiles, there are already substantial extra costs. And most people tend to choose more elaborate patterns since the 25 EUR/m² (about 25 USD/sq ft) price from 2021 already seems too low to them...

And yes, large-format tiles cause considerable extra work because they
- need to be installed on a decoupling membrane. This has to be cut to size, fully glued, taped with fabric tape at the joints, and then fully skimmed again
- can hardly be handled properly by one person anymore, so two people are needed

Fuchsbau35 schrieb:

We are also building with a developer.

You don’t actually build with a developer; you can only buy from them. Based on the billing description

Th. Tiede schrieb:

I have been in the construction phase for two years now. Finally, the tiling is being done. The developer has charged me an additional cost of 7,977.00 € for large format tiles. This concerns floor tiling of 94 sqm (1,012 sq ft). The tile size is 120 x 20 cm (47 x 8 inches). The additional cost breakdown is listed as follows in the invoice:

it seems the original poster actually has a general contractor. This distinction in terms is important because some companies act both as developers and general contractors, but you can only have a contractual relationship with one or the other—and that makes a significant difference.

ypg schrieb:

More waste
More effort
Difficult handling, longer execution

Not to forget: first and foremost, the required flatness of the substrate is a completely different level.

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@ Th. Tiede
First of all, I don’t believe that ceramic tiles in the size of 120cm x 20cm (47 inches x 8 inches) have been or are intended to be installed.
The risk of breakage during transport and/or installation would be almost impossible to estimate.
So let’s assume a format of 1.2m x 1.2m (3 ft 11 in x 3 ft 11 in), a large format.
Compared to “standard installation,” there are four aspects to consider with large formats that significantly affect costs:
1.) The substrate must have a higher degree of flatness (according to DIN 18202 Table 3, row 4)
2.) The tile adhesive must be applied using the buttering-floating method (resulting in higher material consumption)
3.) Large format tiles, which combined with the applied adhesive (see above) have a considerable own weight, cannot be installed as easily as smaller formats. Sometimes appropriate lifting techniques are necessary because the installer only has one chance! Once the large tile is placed in a potentially unfavorable position, it is nearly impossible to correct it. For those unfamiliar: if you place one pane of glass on top of another, it is very difficult to separate them again. The adhesive bond between tile and adhesive (unlike the cohesive bond between glass panes) behaves similarly.
4.) Waste/cutting loss. This issue has already been mentioned by another forum member, and they are correct.
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There are therefore several special considerations when installing large format tiles and slabs, all of which come at an additional cost.
Whether the amount mentioned in the original post is justified is something that no one can objectively judge.
However, the fact that there will be additional costs for such an installation/installation method must be undisputed.
I hope these notes were helpful.
Greetings to all: KlaRa

Th. Tiede schrieb:

This concerns the floor tiling of 94 sqm (1011 sq ft).
1. Additional material costs for tiles: €2707.00
2. Additional installation costs: €1770.00
3. Additional costs for large format tiles: €3500.00

1. You should be able to request proof for this. Usually, you have a fixed price per square meter in your scope of work, and you have to cover any additional costs. In your case, it’s roughly €28 more per sqm (approximately $28 per sqft). So, you chose a tile that costs about €28 more per sqm than specified. That seems quite high to me; there are definitely more affordable options that look just as good.
2. An additional €19 per sqm (about $1.80 per sqft) for installation seems justified. Large-format tiles require a lot of care and may even need two people, which naturally increases labor costs. For example, in our case, tiles up to 60cm x 60cm (24in x 24in) were installed at no extra cost.
3. This point doesn’t seem entirely clear, since additional costs for materials and installation have already been calculated. You might want to ask what this charge covers—shipping costs? Additional plastering in Q3, Q4 due to higher flatness requirements?

So points 1 and 2 appear reasonable. Point 1 results from your tile selection, and point 2 reflects the tiler’s workload. I would recommend clarifying point 3.

And as mentioned before: Point 3 can also result from the scope of work description. Specifically, if tiles were not originally planned for the 94 sqm (1011 sq ft) area but a different type of flooring was specified instead. In that case, the potentially higher installation effort for tiles can be charged accordingly. This is how it works for us, although we pay significantly less proportionally because there is an offset applied.