Have a question and looking for feedback from industry peers? This month KBDN listens in on dialogue between industry professionals as excerpted from the KitchenBathPros.com online Design Discussion Forum.

Backsplash Costs

Question
I am very curious about how others charge for designing tile backsplashes. Can someone offer any suggestions?
There seems to be little room to mark up tile given the small discounts offered by most high-end manufacturers. Right now, if someone contracts for cabinets, I will do a backsplash design and mark up the tile to list price. Even then, there is so much room for error and little profit potential at the same time. Does anyone have any ideas in regard to this situation?
—susan27

Response 1
I’ll tell you what I do, but you may not like it very much. I will charge 25 percent above and beyond the retail price, and then I keep whatever discount I get. I will also mark up the labor to a degree.

I sell it on the basis of all the work being done, including the shopping, design, ordering, checking tile and supervision.
If you want it, I suggest that you take it!
—susanckd

Response 2
I think with ceramic tile, you have to mark it up to make any profit on the job at all. Designs can be quite time consuming, and you need to be paid for the work you are putting in!

I have worked for design/build companies that have charged [quite a bit] for the tile and labor. The final cost was somewhere between $750 and $1,000, but this was for very small kitchens.

In the end, the total cost for the project included the tile, and about another $1,000 to $1,500 for installation and labor.
—KarH

Response 3
Usually we ballpark backsplash costing to about $2,500 depending on the cost of the tile and pattern (including installation). They can often sell for $2,200-$6,000 depending on the complexity of the work. We [get around it] by funneling our customers to our tile distributors’ showrooms. The tile designers there are usually fabulous – not only at layout but also at upselling highly priced trim and other decorative stuff.

It’s really worked out for us because as long as we buy the tile from the distributor, there is no charge for that service.