Floor and wall areas measured room by room, converted to box counts at the specified tile size, with waste set by the lay pattern rather than a flat ten per cent.
Ten per cent waste is the default and it is right about half the time. A straight lay in a square room needs less; a diagonal lay, a herringbone, or a large-format tile in a room with awkward dimensions needs considerably more.
We set the waste allowance off the lay pattern and the room geometry, then convert area to box counts at the tile size specified — so you order boxes, not square metres, and you order the right number of them.
Floors are measured room by room, with the tile size, lay pattern and any border or feature area kept separate. Walls are measured by wet area with the tile height taken off the sections or the interior elevations, because full-height and part-height tiling are very different quantities.
Areas convert to box counts at the specified tile size, with waste set by pattern and room geometry. Substrate preparation is measured separately — screed, self-levelling compound and sheet underlay each by area — since the preparation often costs more than the tiling on a renovation.
Then the consumables and trims: adhesive by area and bed thickness, grout by area and joint width, silicone by the metre, tile trims and edge profiles by the metre by type, and movement joints where the area or the substrate demands them.
Nothing here is an allowance. Each line is measured off your drawings in its own unit, so you can check it against the plan yourself.
| Item | How it is measured | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Floor area | Room by room, by tile size and lay pattern | Different tiles in different rooms means different rates and different waste |
| Wall area | By wet area, with tile height off the sections | Full-height and part-height tiling in the same bathroom are separate quantities |
| Waste allowance | Set by lay pattern and room geometry, shown as its own line | A diagonal or herringbone lay can need twice the waste of a straight lay |
| Box count | Area plus waste converted to boxes at the tile size | Tiles come in boxes and dye lots — ordering short mid-job is a real problem |
| Substrate preparation | Screed, levelling compound or underlay by area | On a renovation this regularly exceeds the cost of the tiling |
| Adhesive | By area and bed thickness, by adhesive class | Large-format tiles need a thicker bed and more adhesive per square metre |
| Grout and silicone | Grout by area and joint width, silicone by the metre | Joint width changes grout volume more than tile size does |
| Trims and profiles | Linear metres by type — edge, step, transition, movement | Trims are detailed work and easy to leave out of a fast price |
| Cutting and penetrations | Counted individually: outlets, wastes, tap holes, mitres | Every penetration is a cut, and mitred external corners are slow |
| Lay pattern | Typical waste allowance | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Straight / stack bond | Around 5–10% | Cuts are mostly on two edges |
| Brick / offset bond | Around 10% | Half tiles at row ends, mostly reusable |
| Diagonal | Around 15% | Every perimeter tile is a raking cut |
| Herringbone | Around 15–20% | Heavy cutting at every boundary |
| Large format | Around 10–15% | Offcuts are too big to reuse and breakage is costlier |
| Mosaic sheets | Around 5–10% | Cuts land on joints, so waste stays low |
On a new build the substrate arrives ready. On a renovation you may be dealing with an out-of-level floor, an old adhesive bed, or a sheet floor that needs replacing before a tile goes down — and that work can cost more than the tiling.
We measure preparation as its own set of lines by area, and where we are working from drawings rather than a site visit we state what we have assumed about the existing substrate, so you know exactly what to check.
The same five steps on every job, whether it is a single slab or a full tender package.
Email the architectural and structural drawings, the specification and the scope of works in whatever format you have — PDF, DWG, or photos of a marked-up set. If something is missing we will tell you before we start, not after.
Floors are measured room by room, with the tile size, lay pattern and any border or feature area kept separate. Walls are measured by wet area with the tile height taken off the sections or the interior elevations, because full-height and part-height tiling are very different quantities.
Every measured item gets its own colour and legend entry on the drawing. When the takeoff comes back you can see exactly what was counted and what was not, so you are never asked to trust a number you cannot trace. This is the part clients tell us they did not know they needed until they had it.
The takeoff is delivered as a working spreadsheet, not a locked PDF. Your rates sit in their own column, so you can change a supply price or a labour rate and watch the total move. Plug in your own numbers and the sheet is yours to reuse on the next job.
Quantities are re-measured independently and cross-checked against the drawing before anything leaves here. You get the marked-up plans, the priced spreadsheet and a plain-English note on anything we flagged as unclear or excluded.
The takeoff arrives as a live Excel spreadsheet with the colour-coded marked-up plans beside it. Your rates go in your own column, so you can plug in your own supply and labour numbers and reuse the sheet on the next job. Nothing is locked.
First estimate free. After that the fee is confirmed in writing as a fixed amount before any work starts. No retainer, no subscription, no lock-in contract. Full pricing detail here →
In wet areas the tiling sits on a waterproof membrane that has its own standard, its own inspection and its own cure time. Whether you are doing that work or someone else is, it has to be on the program, and if it is in your scope it has to be in your price.
We keep waterproofing on its own lines with the membrane area, bond breakers and angle fillets measured separately, so the two scopes never get blurred into one square metre rate. Our waterproofing estimating page covers it in detail.
Quantities are measured against the standards and the specification for your job. Where a drawing and a standard disagree, we flag it rather than quietly picking one.
| Standard | Covers | Relevance |
|---|---|---|
| AS 3958 | Ceramic tiles — guide to installation | Substrate, adhesive and installation requirements |
| AS 3740 | Waterproofing of domestic wet areas | Membrane requirements under and behind tiles |
| AS 4586 | Slip resistance classification | Slip rating for floor tiles in wet and public areas |
None of these are unusual. They are the things that get missed when a quote is put together at 9pm after a full day on the tools.
If your question is not here, email it through and you will get a straight answer, not a sales call.
It depends on the lay pattern and the room shape, and it appears as its own visible line. A straight lay in a square room sits around five to ten per cent; a diagonal or herringbone lay sits closer to fifteen or twenty.
If you have a figure that has proven right on your own jobs, tell us and we will use yours instead.
Yes, converted at the specified tile size after waste is added. Tiles come in boxes and in dye lots, so ordering to the right box count matters more than knowing the square metres.
All of them. Adhesive by area and bed thickness against the adhesive class, grout by area and joint width, and silicone by the metre. Joint width affects grout volume more than most people expect, so it is calculated rather than allowed for.
Yes, as separate lines — membrane area, bond breakers and angle fillets by the metre, and primer. It is a different standard and a different scope to tiling, so it never gets blended into a tiling rate.
Yes, measured as its own set of lines: screed, levelling compound, sheet underlay and any strip-out. Where we are working from drawings we state the substrate condition we assumed so you know what to verify on site.
The floor plan, the interior elevations or sections for tile heights, and the finishes schedule with the tile sizes and lay patterns. If the tile is not selected yet, tell us the likely size and we will note it as an assumption.
Most residential tiling packages come back within 24 hours of the plans arriving. Larger commercial packages take longer — we confirm the timing before starting.
Most jobs cross more than one trade. We can price the whole package in one spreadsheet.
Your first estimate is free. Email the drawings and the scope, and you will have a marked-up takeoff and a priced spreadsheet back within 24 hours on most residential jobs. Prefer to talk first? Reply with "KEEN" and your number.