That's way too high. I live in the Bay Area also and even for the Bay Area it's too high.

He's prob expecting you to negotiate or he doesn't want the job.

The GC is marking up the tile mans subcontacted price. Adding his cut for the upgrade.

Pretty common in the subcontract game... and it is just a game.

Cut out all the middlemen, and deal directly with the guy that is going to be actually cutting and setting the tiles. Be your own GC!! Research the materials you will need and price them out. Then interview and find that tile setter you click with. If you find that right guy, his price may not be an issue.

The price I quoted was directly from the tile guy. The general contractor has a fixed percentage charge on top of that. I know the price of the tile, in fact we found the tile at a tile shop ourselves and gave the contact info to the tile guy.

So...you're talking $480-$500 for the tile. You could add 2 or 3 hundred (max) for the Hardibacker. Figgure meybe $100 for the morter and grout and, for a standard install...lets say $500 to $700, max.

Sure, I know it's Kalifornia......but still. Anything over $2,000 is a rip-off. (IMHO)

Thanks lazarususa and all others who responded for the info. We're planning to talk to our general contractor about this, he is away now. Before starting the project, he quoted us $10/sq.ft. for tile installation. He either has to convince the sub to go with that price or find us somebody else. In parallel, we got some references and we will be calling them for bids.

we got some references and we will be calling them for bids.

Best idea yet. Tell the contractor you want a credit for the flooring allowance, and you'll get the tile taken care of independently of his contract if he can't do WAY better than that on price.

He told us he will credit our allowance, if we decide to go with someone else, so that part is fine. I was expecting a bit more, maybe talking to the sub to honor his initial quote for the job.

It's not a standard tile install since it's an 18" tile. It's more labor intensive to install bigger tile not to mention more setting material. I personally would charge $8-$10 a square foot just for the tile install.

hi im bill my wife and i we went to lumber luquidaters and we got our flooring for $1.69 a sqft and it was a beautiful job !! we love our flooring.. it s was wonderfull product !!! My wife and i we hired a man by the name of Kenny Ray Carr to install our flooring he is a remodeler we had rec...to us from a close friend at my work he installed a metal roof for her for only $0.80c a sqft and her roof was high quality roofing and the job look so good i hired him cause she was happy.. i love Lumber Liquidators the prices are very low and the quality of there flooring is better than that of big box stores..i would buy there agian !!i had got a istamate for flooring instalation and they said is was going to be $4.25 a foot.. my wife and i we had 2,300 sqft installed so my friend she told us abou t Kenny and he gave us a price of $0.90c a sqft i could not belive it .that is less than a dollar a sq ft !!.and he did such a wonderfull job my wife had him paint 2 rooms for use and install 5 windows install our back door..he only charged us $495.00 for the rest of the work he did .. and the best thing about his work is he did all the work himself.. no sub out work to other people he was there when the work was getting done and let me tell you... my wife was soooooooooo happy it got her off my back . he was so low on his prices i would not even try it my self .. and if mamas happy then every body is happy !!!!its not woth the money i would save/// i have to much to do as it is..and if kenny will install it for that price i will let him do it agian !!. and we love his work and his HONESTY! witch is the most important thing when hiring a contractor to do work at your home !My wife and i we would tell every body this !!! Kenny Ray Carr is some one you can trust and his work is beautiful and his price you cant beat for the work you get !!we will hire him agian !!!!this is his number 228 217 0337 tell him bill sent you !

Bill your really trying to get the word out, aren't you.

I can tell you right now, you got took!!

Lumber Liquidators is the bottom of the barrel when comparing apples to apples. That is why Liquidators is in the name.
`ol Kenny has to be using illegal labor if he is at an all time low of .90¢sq.ft. I have never installed for that in 30 years. There is no way I could pay my bills at that price, even if I was not running a legal business, with no insurance, no employee insurance, no car insurance, no license.

Only time will tell, that you got exactly what you paid for.

Sounds like an advertisement instead of a comment from an actual customer. $.90 a foot for hardwood install in any part of the country is just asking to be ripped off by someone that has no business being an installer. I wouldn't trust that guy to paint a single wall white.

We got 5 bids for the same job (about 60 sq.ft. of backsplash installation, mostly 3x6 subway pattern, 80 sq.ft. of floor installation, straight pattern), all from licensed contractors. They were referred to us by friends, our cabinet dealer and the tile shop. The bids are $1300, $1700, $2300, $2700 and $3000! A wide range! Very confusing. Our contractor's sub also adjusted his bid to about $3800, still the most expensive, by a wide margin.

Who did you "click" with?
Are they the one that is actually going to be setting the tiles, or is he just the measure guy/sales guy, and in come the illegal aliens, on the cheap?

We liked the $1300 guy, believe it or not. He came highly recommended by a friend, he is the tilesetter himself, he has been setting tiles for 15, but has had his own business only for 2 years. His schedule doesn't work for us, as he is going to be away for 2 weeks.

The next bid up: The owner is very nice, but he is not a tilesetter. He has 4 people, but I don't think they are illegal or anything like that. We got a bad vibe yesterday from him though, when I mentioned the potential issue with the height of the dishwasher: rather than trying to work with us on that, he just added to his contract that he is not responsible for dishwasher fitting in the opening.

We also liked the 2700 and 3000 guys, both are the tilesetters themselves.

We obviously don't like our GC's tile guy. But with it comes the convenience of our GC supervising him and making sure everything and everyone work togethers.

As a single woman in new york city, contractors are always trying to rip me off. Sounds like you might be getting all your materials yourself and be paying for labor only. Make sure the contractor has his own tools.
I wish you the best of luck.

I've been a Tile Contractor in the bay area for over 35 years. A typical , reputable Tile Contractor would typically charge $14.00 per square foot for Labor and Installation Materials (Moisture Barrier, Unerlayment, Mortars , Grouts and Sealers ) plus 10% Overhead and 10% Profit. So $1,120.00 + $112.00 + $123.00 = $1,355.00 is a fair price NOT including the Tile ... There are surcumstances that ca effect the bid Like Access (Stairs etc.) Dust Protection , Staging Area Location, Heated Floor etc. I Hope This Is Helpful...Quite a bit more per square foot for Showers and Back Splashes ...Cheap Work Isn't Good and Good Work Isn't Cheap ! Some may charge more for overhead and profit as well...

The subcontractor most likely gave you a discount for the contractor cause contractor is supplying him with steady work.

$700 your just paying his hourly wage but he is not an Employee , he is a subcontractor small business owner thinking this is too high and believing that $3-4 dollars a sq ft if normal is in correct.

Information on Google is way off for what to expect in a real world situation.

If a union tile journeyman get paid $35-45 per hour and that shower takes $40 hours his wage alone as an employee if twice the $700 for the week. This is a direct cost for an tile company or small business .

You may find someone at a low price but most likely unlicensed , doesn't pay taxes or any overhead no insurance. And not to be found if anything goes wrong.

Get the job done right the first time also if tile guy is a one or two man company don't think he doesn't have overhead or expenses . Expenses add up quick go to home depot to buy a part leave spending a $100 or more .

I wouldn't charge less than $40 a square foot for tile installation. Cost off living is high really high in California why would I charge less than that. Makes no sense.

Just y two sense

Porcelian is actually more cost.

You guys realize you pulled up an 11 year old post with 11 year old pricing info and are now speaking 2021 Post Covid pricing?

🤓🤔I'm sure it will still be useful because more customers will come searching for advice on cost .