22 September 2026 · 4 min read · Oscar Markham
Should a tiler quote a rate in their advertising?
This comes up with every tiler, plasterer and flooring contractor we work with, and the answer is not universal. Publishing a rate changes who contacts you, which is the whole point and also the risk.
The case for putting it up
Price is what people are trying to establish, and they will establish it one way or another — by ringing you, or by ringing somebody who published it.
A stated rate removes the enquiries that were never going to proceed, and it means the calls you do take start from an agreed basis rather than a negotiation.
The case against
A rate invites comparison against work that is not comparable. Somebody quoting considerably less may be quoting for worse preparation, cheaper adhesive and no guarantee, and the homeowner cannot tell.
It also caps you. If a job is awkward, or the substrate is poor, a published rate is the number you will be held to.
What usually resolves it
A from-price rather than a flat rate, paired with one sentence about what is included. It anchors the conversation without committing you to a figure on a job you have not seen.
The firms that suffer are the ones publishing a bare number with no context, because they are then competing purely on it.
The exception
If you deliberately work at the higher end — large-format, wetrooms, complicated substrates — a published rate can cost you the enquiries you actually want, because it makes the conversation about price before it is about capability.
In that case, show the work instead and let the photographs do the qualifying.
Written by Oscar Markham, founder of Dublin Growth Digital. We run lead generation for Irish estate agents and trades, reported every Friday in enquiries and booked work.