To price a tile job by voice, say the surface dimensions, tile and pattern, demolition, substrate work, waterproofing, transitions, finish details, material responsibility, and your labor or lump-sum price. Voice Estimate extracts the literal measurements and prices you spoke; server code computes planning quantities such as net area and waste, while the language model never does the arithmetic and the app never invents a rate.
Measure the surface, then describe the difficulty
Square footage is only the start. Record each floor or wall separately, then describe the substrate condition, demolition, flattening or backer board, waterproofing, tile size, layout pattern, grout-joint width, transitions, trim, niches, stairs, access, and cleanup. A 12-by-15 open floor in straight-set porcelain is not the same labor as 180 square feet split across a shower, niche, curb, and bathroom floor.
Say who supplies the finish tile and who supplies setting materials. If the customer supplies tile, put the required quantity, delivery timing, and shortage responsibility in the scope. If you supply it, name the product or allowance and use your own price—the calculator can suggest quantities, never prices.
A voice script you can use
“Estimate a 12 by 15 foot kitchen floor. Remove existing vinyl, patch and flatten the substrate, install 12 by 24 porcelain in a straight pattern with ten percent waste, then grout and seal the two doorway transitions. Labor is 2,250 dollars. Customer supplies finish tile. Thinset, grout, patch, and transition material are priced separately at 340 dollars.”
The app extracts 12 feet by 15 feet, 10% waste, the $2,250 labor price, and the $340 setting-material price as literal spoken values. Server code computes the area and waste quantity; review the draft and the product coverage before ordering or sending.
Worked example: a 12 × 15 floor
180
sq ft net area
198
sq ft with 10% waste
Twelve feet multiplied by 15 feet is 180 square feet. A 10% waste allowance adds 18 square feet, producing a planning quantity of 198 square feet of tile before package rounding. That quantity is not a price and it is not a purchase order: verify the room shape, layout, cuts, breakage, dye lot, attic stock, and the square feet printed on the actual carton.
Thinset, grout, waterproofing, and patch quantities depend on the products and installation details you choose. Tile size, trowel notch, substrate flatness, mortar-bed thickness, grout-joint width, and package coverage can all change the order.
Common mistakes on tile estimates
- Leaving units off the recording. “Twelve by fifteen” might be understood from context, but “12 by 15 feet of floor” leaves nothing to infer. Say square feet, linear feet, inches, and counts whenever a number could mean two things.
- Pricing tile and forgetting what is underneath it. Demo, disposal, flattening, crack isolation, backer board, waterproofing, and concealed damage can outweigh the setting labor. Name the visible prep and write hidden repairs as a change-order condition.
- Treating every layout like straight set. Herringbone, diagonal work, borders, mosaics, niches, and large-format cuts change both waste and labor. State the tile size and pattern instead of letting the square footage carry the whole price.
- Writing “customer supplies tile” and stopping there. The estimate still needs the planning quantity, delivery timing, overage, and shortage responsibility. Otherwise a missing carton becomes your schedule problem.
- Ordering from generic package coverage. Mortar, grout, membrane, and patch coverage varies with the product, trowel, joint, and substrate. Calculator output is a checkable starting point; the manufacturer’s coverage for the selected product decides the order.
What to review before sending
- Net area, waste percentage, layout, and carton rounding
- Demo, disposal, substrate flattening, crack isolation, and waterproofing
- Tile size, pattern, cuts, niches, movement joints, transitions, and trim
- Owner-supplied versus contractor-supplied materials and shortage responsibility
- Your labor and material prices, plus the written change-order rule for concealed work
FAQ
How much extra tile should I order for waste?
Ten percent is a practical starting allowance for a simple straight layout in a rectangular room. Diagonal patterns, herringbone, small rooms with many cuts, niches, breakage, shade matching, and discontinued tile can require more. For a 180-square-foot floor, 10% waste produces a planning quantity of 198 square feet; round that against the actual package coverage and verify the layout before ordering.
Who supplies the tile — the contractor or the customer?
Either arrangement works, but the estimate must say which one applies. If the customer supplies tile, state the required quantity, delivery deadline, overage, and who owns delays or shortages. If you supply it, identify the product or allowance and use your own price. Voice Estimate never invents a material price or adds an unpriced calculator suggestion to the total.
Should thinset and grout be separate estimate lines?
Separate them when the material specification, quantity, or responsibility matters to the customer; otherwise they can sit in one clearly described setting-material line. Calculate each from the selected product’s coverage, tile size, trowel, substrate, and joint width. Package coverage is not universal, so the app’s planning quantities must be checked against the products you will actually use.