For tilers
Quoting for tilers
Tiling is quoted by the square metre, with the price moving on tile size, pattern, floor or wall, and how much prep the substrate needs. A price list with a line for each of those makes the quote a count of square metres and a few extras, sent before you are back in the ute.
Quote from Harbourline Plumbing
Hot water unit replacement
| Remove old unit and dispose | $180.00 |
| 250L electric unit, supplied | $1,290.00 |
| Install, valves and compliance | $420.00 |
| Total | $1,890.00 |
Sent from the ute. Follow-up goes out Thursday if there is no answer.
What gets in the way for tilers
Small tiles, big labour
A mosaic splashback takes longer than a 600 by 600 floor and the customer does not know that. Separate rates on the list for each tile size show why the price is the price.
Who supplies the tiles
Supply and lay, or lay only. Wastage and delivery too. If the quote does not say it, the customer assumes the cheaper version.
Waterproofing and prep
A bathroom floor needs waterproofing and a fall to the waste before a tile goes down. Lines for each stop the price looking high against someone who left them off.
Bathrooms shopped around
Renovations get three quotes. A quote the customer can read and accept on their phone is easier to say yes to than a text with a number.
A worked example
Tiler work, with Quote Desk
Picture a fictional sole trader, Greyline Tiling. Price list: floor tiles 300 and over per square metre lay only $65, wall tiles per square metre lay only $75, mosaic and small format per square metre $140, waterproofing per square metre $48, screed and fall per square metre $55, grout and adhesive per square metre $14, removal of existing tiles per square metre $38.
A builder forwards a bathroom: 6 square metres of floor, 28 of wall, 2 of mosaic feature. Quote this: removal x6, screed and fall x6, waterproofing x6, floor tiles x6, wall tiles x28, mosaic x2, grout and adhesive x36. Note: price includes GST, tiles supplied by the builder, 10 per cent wastage to be allowed by the supplier, two visits (waterproofing then tiling), silicone to wet areas included. Sent from the site at ten in the morning. The builder accepts before lunch.
For a homeowner's laundry floor she quotes supply and lay with a typed-in line for the tiles she sources and a sentence in the note about the tile chosen and delivery.
Talk of the Trade
Tilers on Talk of the Trade
Talk of the Trade ranks tilers by how many Google reviews they have. Figures as of October 2026.
See the lists on Talk of the Trade. Being listed there has nothing to do with using Quote Desk: no listing is sold and no rank changes.
Questions from tilers
Can I quote lay-only and supply-and-lay on the same quote?
Yes. Lay-only items from your list, plus a typed-in line for the tiles you supply. The customer sees both.
How do I handle wastage?
Say it in the note, or add it as a line. Quote Desk puts your words in front of the customer; it does not calculate wastage for you.
How many tilers are on Talk of the Trade?
As of October 2026 the directory has 71 ranked lists of tilers, with 437 businesses listed in Victoria, 397 in New South Wales and 360 in Queensland. Quote Desk is separate from the directory.
Also for
Other trades and shops
Send the next one from the ute.
Free is five quotes a month with no card. If you send more than that, Starter is $39 a month. Either way the set-up is typing in your price list.