Top Tiling Tips for 2016?

[Ttt1601]

If you lot are all losing your weeks of, does that mean I have a chance of finding one?

 

[Fraser Tiling]

This year I've found myself pricing and working to day rate prices more than ever especially on bathrooms, nearly impossible to give a metreage rate to encompass "typical bathrooms" for regular builders so they can "make an allowance for tiling". UTH, tanking, niches, mosaic features, large format and small rooms with low metreage take just as long as larger rooms.
With large floors with large format tiles unless extremely flat, most if not all including decoupling, and 90 percent having smaller areas included, tiling to fixed metreage rates has become so much harder. Giving builders a price months in advance before knowing the quality of screed or type/size of tile is a minefield.
Most good builders understand this and can make allowances, but I find that Im finding less big jobs that I used to be able to quote on and make big money on, without pricing myself out.
Perhaps it's just me, might be going wrong somewhere along the line, but cant see it.

 

[Andy Allen]

More andysdays.....🙂

 

[Flintstone]

Fraser, always best to work on a day rate for builders I find.
Agree a day rate and your hours, turn up and do what ever is required, the pricing side of things is there job not yours! You know exactly what your getting before you get in the van and you don't have to worry about doing fiddly work and it taking ages

 

[Ttt1601]

Hole cutters / drill bits for the grinder, invaluable! Cost vs time saving is well worth it

 

[LauraCTW]

From a retailers point of view... make sure you/your customer has purchased enough tiles in the first place! Nothing more frustrating for a tiler than running out... and for a salesperson being moaned at because they take a day to get in! Happy Tiling 🙂

 

[Njdceramics]

Do the sigma wet cutters come with a cable just asking as apparently rubi wet saws don't need a cable ... Stops people from stealing it .... And me from using it ....hang on

 

[bl tiling]

Done a bit of research this year with my customers and have worked out my prices are very reasonable!! So 2017
will see me increasing my metre prices and day rate by 20% I only have 18 months to go to retire, so If all works out I may even go down to a 4 day week!!😛

 

[MTiler]

Ive stuck to what Im good at, the small stuff, and its paying off.

 

[Sean Kelly]

• If you get the opportunity and you can afford it, buy a mixed pallet of Ardex SPF & Rapid. I attended a trade day at Tile Depot (aka CTD) and got buy 2 get 1 free. So I got a pallet load. They store it and I pick up when I need it.

• Attend trade days. You will walk away with some fantastic deals plus hats, T's, mugs, tape measures etc. Meet the sales people they are a good bunch of lads and lasses. If you are really lucky you might meet the world famous Lithofin Bob!

• I use microfiber cloths (the ones from Costco). I use them for wiping down and cleaning up after grouting i.e. I do not use a washboy or sponge. I find that cleanup time is vastly improved.

• Buy some leveling clips and wedges. Topps say they sell loads and loads of them.........yea.....I buy loads of them from Topps. I use them on 600x600's.

• Do not let your customer buy their own materials. Stick to the adhesives and grouts you know. You know their setting times and you know how to mix them to the right consistency.