How to Estimate the Cost of Tiling a 3 Bedrooms Flat

Using tiles to cover the surfaces of floors, walls, countertops, etc can be a very attractive option for finishes in a building. Tiles can provide hard, durable, and aesthetically pleasing surfaces in a building provided that the tiling job is properly done. There are some basic principles that must be followed in order to achieve quality, beautiful and durable tiling.

For a homeowner and/or contractor, cost is a major factor that influences the decision and quality of tiling to be done. The basic factor that can influence the final cost of tiling a house are;

• Cost of the tiles
• Cost of screeding
• Cost of adhesives
• Cost of grouting cement
• Cost of tiling accessories such as edge trimmers
• Cost of labour
• Size of area to be tiled

In this article, we are going to show how to estimate the cost of tiling a house in Nigeria using a three bedrooms apartment as an example. The floor plan of the three bedrooms apartment is shown in Figure 1. It is desirous to tile all the floors of the building according to the following specifications;

(1) All bedrooms, kitchen, and rear balcony/sit-out: 40cm × 40cm made in Nigeria ceramic tiles

(2) The sitting room, dining, and front balcony/sit-out: (30cm × 60cm) imported Virony glazed tiles;

(3) All the toilets and bathrooms: (30cm × 30cm) made in Nigeria ceramic tiles.

We are required to estimate the total cost of tiling the entire floor of the building, considering materials and labour.

Material Prices (informative)

It is very important for you to make an adequate market survey, in order to know the exact prices of materials in your area. This is the only chance you have of making a reasonably accurate estimate. The prices stated below are a bit representative, but merely informative. Note that tiles with designs may be more expensive than plain tiles or tiles with a single colour.

(40cm × 40cm) Ceramics Tiles = ₦3,360 per carton (12 pieces per carton – 1.92 square metre)

(30cm × 60cm) Porcelain Glazed Tiles = ₦5,760 per carton (8 pieces per carton – 1.44 square metre)

(30cm × 30cm) Ceramic Tiles = ₦2,700 per carton (17 pieces per carton – 1.53 square metre)

1 tonne of sand = ₦4,000

1 bag of cement = ₦4,000
5 kg of white cement = ₦2,500
Water seal = ₦700 per kg
Tile gum (20kg) = ₦1,450

BILL NO 1: TILES AND TILING ACCESSORIES
(a) Tiling of the bedrooms, kitchen, backyard sit-out, and store with (40cm × 40cm) Time Ceramics Tiles

We have to calculate the floor areas where we are going to apply the (40cm × 40cm) tiles;

Bedroom 1 = (3.6m × 3.45m) = 12.42 m²
Bedroom 2 = (3.6m × 3.6m) = 12.96 m²
Bedroom 3 = (3.15m × 3.17m) = 9.9855 m²
Kitchen = [(3.35m × 2.35m) + (1.37m × 1.075m)] = 9.34525 m²
Store = (2.025m × 1.775m) = 3.59 m²
Kitchen Sit-out = (1.37m × 2.075m) = 2.84275 m²
Total Area  = 51.148 m²

Area of a piece of tile = (0.4m × 0.4m) = 0.16 m²

The number of pieces of tiles required to complete the floor areas = 51.148/0.16 = 319.675 pcs

Therefore, the number of cartons required = 319.675/12 = 26.639 cartons.

We will therefore provide 30 cartons of (40cm × 40cm) ceramic tiles. Extra tiles will account for damages, and for skirting of the foot of the walls.

Therefore the cost of the (40cm x 40cm) tiles   = 30 × ₦3,360 = ₦100,800

(b) Tiling of the sitting room, dining, and entrance porch with (60cm x 30cm) tiles
The floor areas where we are going to apply the (60cm × 30cm) tiles;

Sitting room = (5.65m × 4.625m) = 26.13125 m²
Dining = (2.35m × 3.35m) = 7.8725 m²
Entrance Porch = (3.78m × 1.475m) = 5.5755 m²
Total Area  = 39.579 m²

Area of a piece of tile = (0.6m × 0.3m) = 0.18 m²

The number of pieces of tiles required to complete the floor areas = 39.579/0.18 = 219.883 pcs;

Therefore, the number of cartons required = 219.883/8 = 27.485 cartons

We will therefore also provide 30 cartons of (60cm × 30cm) ceramic tiles.

Therefore the cost of the (60cm x 30cm) tiles = 30 × ₦5,760 = ₦172,800

(c) Tiling of the bathroom and toilet floors with (30cm x 30cm) tiles
On calculating the floor areas where we going to apply the (30cm × 30cm) tiles;

Bathroom and Toilet 1 and 2 = 2(2.0m × 1.1m) = 4.4 m²
Bathroom and toilet 3 = (2.0m × 0.985m) = 1.97 m²
Visitor’s toilet = (2.0m × 0.875m) = 1.75 m²
Total Area  = 8.12 m²

Area of a piece of tile = (0.3m × 0.3m) = 0.09 m²

The number of pieces of tiles required to complete the floor areas = 8.12/0.09 = 90.222 pcs

Therefore, the number of cartons required = 90.222/17 = 5.307 cartons

We will therefore provide 7 cartons of (30cm × 30cm) ceramic tiles

Therefore the cost of the (30cm x 30cm) tiles = 7 × ₦2,700 = ₦18,900


(d) Loading, transportation, and offloading at the site (say)  = ₦20,000

Therefore, sub-total 1 = ₦100,800 + ₦172,800 + ₦18,900 + ₦20,000 = ₦312,500


BILL NO 2: CEMENT AND SAND
We are going to make 25mm thick screeding to receive the tiles.

From above, you can verify that the total floor area of the building = 51.148 m²  +  39.579 m²  +   8.12 m²  =  98.847 m²

Volume of mortar required = 98.847 × 0.025 = 2.471 m³
Using a mix ratio of 1:5

Cement required = 6 bags/m³
Sand required = 1800 kg/m³

Cement required = 14.826 bags (provide 15 bags)
Sand required = 4.447 tonnes (provide 5 tonnes)


Alternative calculation by site experience
From experience, 2 bags of cement is sufficient to complete the entire tiling process of (3.6m × 3.6m) room

Therefore;
2 bags of cement = 12.96 m²
x bags of cement = 98.847 m²

On solving;
x = 15.254 bags of cement; say 16 bags of cement

From experience, about 20 – 22 head pans of sharp sand is sufficient to complete the entire screeding process of (3.6m × 3.6m) room;

22 head pans = 22 × 0.0175 m³ = 0.385 m³

Therefore;
0.385 m³ of sand = 12.96 m²
x m³ of sand = 98.847 m²

On solving; 
x = 2.936 m³ sand = 4.844 tonnes of sand

Therefore, provide;

5 tonnes of sharp sand = ₦20,000
The cost of cement = 16 × ₦4,000 = ₦64,600
Water seal = 16 packs = 16 × ₦700 = ₦11,200
Tile gum = 17 bags × ₦1450 = ₦24,650
Other tiling accessories (allow) = ₦20,000
Transportation (say) = ₦5,000

Sub total 2 = ₦145,450

BILL NO 3: LABOUR
Cost of tiling  1m² of floor = ₦500

Therefore;
1 m² = ₦350
98.847 m² = x

On solving; 
x = ₦49,423 (rounding up to the nearest 100)

Therefore, cost of labour = ₦50,000


GRAND TOTAL =  ₦ 312,500  +  ₦145,450  +  ₦50,000  = ₦507,950

Therefore the cost of tiling the floor of the building = ₦507,950 + VAT + Engineer’s/Architect’s Profits

Thank you for reading

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