Job takeoff
Tile a wall takeoff
Backer board, tile, adhesive and grout for a tiled wall, splashback or hearth surround.
A takeoff is the trade word for the shopping list a job produces — every material, and how much of each, worked out by its own cited calculator.
- 2Measurements in
- 3Trades out
Give the job once
Every figure on the right follows these, in the units you choose.
Been given a quote for this job?
Paste it into the wall tiling quote check: each line is read against these same calculators — what it leaves out, what it adds, and what to ask.
Check the quoteEvery trade, from those dimensions
then change a dimension, and each line shows what moved.
| Trade | Quantity | |
|---|---|---|
Tile Backer Board CalculatorTile backer over the same area, with cutting waste.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
The cutting waste: the calculator's working figure, a trade convention. | 5 boards | |
Tile & Grout CalculatorTiles and grout at the default tile size — change it on the calculator's own page.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
The waste factor: the calculator's working figure, a trade convention. | 44 tiles | |
Thinset & Tile Adhesive CalculatorAdhesive at the default notch; a larger or textured tile needs a deeper one and back-buttering.
Why this quantity?
Resting on
Change any other figure on the Thinset & Tile Adhesive Calculator | 1 bag | |
Tile Backer Board CalculatorTile backer over the same area, with cutting waste.
Why this quantity? | 5 boards | |
Tile & Grout CalculatorTiles and grout at the default tile size — change it on the calculator's own page.
Why this quantity? | 44 tiles | |
Thinset & Tile Adhesive CalculatorAdhesive at the default notch; a larger or textured tile needs a deeper one and back-buttering.
Why this quantity? | 1 bag |
Estimates, not a quote. Each row gives its base, the allowance on top, the adjusted figure and what to order; change an allowance on the row, or open its reasoning to see every figure it rests on. A trade's own page carries what it does not cover — open the one you are about to order against.
Labour and programme
Person-hours for the rows going in, from trade rules of thumb: a range for each piece of work, never a price.
- Tile Backer Board1.1 h (0.6–2.2)
- Tile & Grout4.1 h (2.6–8.2)
About 5.2 person-hours in all, between 3.2 and 10.
Trade by trade
- Tiler1 tilerhalf a day
About half a day, one trade after another at eight hours a day. Left out: drying and curing, deliveries, inspections, trades overlapping.
1 row carries no hours of its own
- Thinset & Tile Adhesive: counted with Tile & Grout
Labour and programme
Person-hours for the rows going in, from trade rules of thumb: a range for each piece of work, never a price.
- Tile Backer Board1.1 h (0.5–2.2)
- Tile & Grout4.0 h (2.5–7.9)
About 5.0 person-hours in all, between 3.1 and 10.
Trade by trade
- Tiler1 tilerhalf a day
About half a day, one trade after another at eight hours a day. Left out: drying and curing, deliveries, inspections, trades overlapping.
1 row carries no hours of its own
- Thinset & Tile Adhesive: counted with Tile & Grout
Setups you have saved
The build-up, the dimensions and any allowance you changed — kept on this device, and reusable on any job. Your prices are not copied in: they stay in your price book, so a setup never holds a stale one.
How far does a budget go?
At your own prices, with this build-up unchanged.
About this job
Wall tiling differs from floor tiling in the direction gravity works. On a floor the adhesive holds the tile down; on a wall it holds the tile on, which is why the notch, the coverage behind the tile and whether you back-butter stop being refinements and start being the job. A large-format tile on a wall with sixty per cent contact is a tile that will come off, and the area cannot tell you that — only the trowel can.
The board underneath is the other difference. A wall that will be tiled takes a rigid, dimensionally stable background: tile-backer over studs, never plasterboard alone behind anything heavy, and never anything that moves. This takeoff counts the board for the same area as the tile, which is right for a full wall and generous for a splashback that sits over existing plaster in a dry kitchen.
How each line reads
- Base
- What the calculator gives for these dimensions, before anything is added.
- Allowance
- Cutting waste, a lap or spare stock — named, with where it comes from, and changeable on the row.
- Adjusted
- The base with its allowance on top.
- Order
- What to buy: the adjusted figure in whole boards, bags, rolls or lengths.
The order this happens in
Quantities do not tell you the sequence, and on this job the sequence is where the money goes wrong.
- Check the wall is flat and plumb. Tile cannot be packed out the way a skirting can.
- Fix the backer board, staggering the joints and taping them if the system asks for it.
- Set out from a full tile at the most-seen edge, and work out where the cuts land before mixing.
- Fix a batten on the line of the lowest full course and tile up from it — never off an uneven floor or worktop.
- Comb in one direction, and back-butter anything large or textured.
- Grout once the adhesive has cured, then silicone the internal angles rather than grouting them.
What this takeoff does not cover
- Waterproofing. A shower or wet area needs a tanking system whose extent is set by the detail rather than by the tiled area — see the wet-room takeoffs.
- Trims, beads and the silicone at internal angles and against sanitaryware.
- Cutting for sockets, taps and pipe penetrations, each of which is a tile you may lose.
- The substrate behind the board: whether the studs are at centres a board can span, and whether the wall is dry.
Quote check
Been given a quote for this job?
Paste it into the wall tiling quote check. Every line of it is read against these same calculators and your measurements. Quantities only, never prices.
What it leaves out
Every line this takeoff has that nothing on the quote reads as.
What it adds
Labour, removal, hire, fees — each named for what it is.
What to ask
One list of questions, ready to copy. Never a verdict.
More takeoffs
Other job takeoffs
Room fit-out
7 tradesBoard, fill, paint and floor a rectangular room, walls and ceiling, from one set of dimensions.
Run this takeoffStud partition
3 tradesStuds, jointing compound and outlets for a single run of internal partition.
Run this takeoffTile a floor
4 tradesBacker board, the thinset it is bedded in, tile and adhesive for a rectangular floor from one measurement.
Run this takeoff
Frequently asked questions
- What does the wall tiling takeoff give for a typical job?
- Opened at Tiled width 3 m · Tiled height 1.2 m, it orders: Tile Backer Board, 5 boards; Tile & Grout, 44 tiles; Thinset & Tile Adhesive, 1 bag. Opened at Tiled width 10 ft · Tiled height 4 ft: Tile Backer Board, 5 boards; Tile & Grout, 44 tiles; Thinset & Tile Adhesive, 1 bag. Every figure follows the dimensions you give it.
- Which calculators does the wall tiling takeoff run?
- 3 calculators, one to a line: Tile Backer Board Calculator, Tile & Grout Calculator, Thinset & Tile Adhesive Calculator. Each has a page of its own with its formula and its sources; the takeoff runs them all on one set of dimensions.
- What does the wall tiling takeoff leave out?
- 4 things, each named on this page: Waterproofing; Trims, beads and the silicone at internal angles and against sanitaryware; Cutting for sockets, taps and pipe penetrations, each of which is a tile you may lose; The substrate behind the board.
- Can I check a quote for this job against the takeoff?
- Yes. The wall tiling quote check reads a quote's lines against these same calculators and your measurements, and reports what it leaves out, what it adds and what to ask. It reads quantities, never prices.