Tile install question..

[Wjembser]

I want to lay tile in my garage. It's 625 sq. ft. I was planning on doing it myself with a friend. My friend kinda knows what he's doing, he's done bathrooms etc. I have no equipment, I would have to buy or rent everything.

Or I work with a guy who does tile on the side, he's been doing it for years and used to do it full time. He said he.d charge me $1200 to do it.

Which option would you guys recommend?

 

[Jack Olsen]

Do it yourself.

Lots of guidance online. You can buy a cheap cutter and saw at HF. Make sure you double butter the tiles, since this isn't a bathroom install.

 

[dealingdave]

Is the $1200 just the labor? If so, I would just do it yourself. You can get the majority of the work done with a $30 to $40 cutter from Home Depot. Then if you need a wet saw, wait to the last day and rent one from Home Depot. Or just keep your design simple and you will not need the wet saw. A diamond blade and a small circular saw will do the same thing.

The real question is, do you have the extra $1200 to throw at your coworker. $2 per square sounds like a retail price versus a "buddy discount."

 

[anthony1k]

$2 per square sounds like a retail price versus a "buddy discount."

Hmm, I was quoted $5 PSF in Upstate NY for a slightly bigger garage. $2 doesn't sound too unreasonable to me.

 

[JimVonBaden]

I did my porch, about 200sq ft, myself, and it wasn't bad at all.

Jim

 

[slickgt1]

Do it yourself. Use the money to buy tools.

 

[Shea]

There is great info here on laying tile as well as the John Bridge forum. Craig's list is great place to find tile cutters and different equipment as well.

 

[IHI]

Is the $1200 just the labor? If so, I would just do it yourself. You can get the majority of the work done with a $30 to $40 cutter from Home Depot. Then if you need a wet saw, wait to the last day and rent one from Home Depot. Or just keep your design simple and you will not need the wet saw. A diamond blade and a small circular saw will do the same thing.

The real question is, do you have the extra $1200 to throw at your coworker. $2 per square sounds like a retail price versus a "buddy discount."

A $30-40 cutter isn't going to work in his situation, the tile he has to use is double fired, aka XTRA hard, try using that cheap **** snap and score cutter your talking about, he's going to end up with shattered pieces everywhere...diamond blade only in a saw is his only choice.

If you got the $1200 to burn, burn it...if not, post back after the first day how your knees, and back feel, and then the second day and the third day. I hated selling tile jobs but also loved doing them...kind of a double negative, but after it's done it looks awesome and justified how ****** your body feels.

 

[JimVonBaden]

A $30-40 cutter isn't going to work in his situation, the tile he has to use is double fired, aka XTRA hard, try using that cheap **** snap and score cutter your talking about, he's going to end up with shattered pieces everywhere...diamond blade only in a saw is his only choice.

If you got the $1200 to burn, burn it...if not, post back after the first day how your knees, and back feel, and then the second day and the third day. I hated selling tile jobs but also loved doing them...kind of a double negative, but after it's done it looks awesome and justified how ****** your body feels.

I used PEI5 tile on my porch, and had nothing but a $30 score and snap cutter. It worked pretty well for the most part, but a cutter would have been nice for the small cuts.

Jim