A customer sends a few bathroom photos and asks for a price. You cannot see the substrate, confirm the waterproofing scope or tell who is removing the shower screen. A tiler enquiry checklist turns that loose request into a clear decision.
The decision is simple: decline, request more information, give a preliminary estimate or book a site visit with written questions to answer.
Use the tiler enquiry checklist to decide whether to visit
Use the first contact to check whether the lead fits. Do not book every caller because they want a quote. First decide whether the job fits your business and whether a visit will resolve the missing facts.
Give every lead one status:
- Decline because the location, work type, timing or risk does not fit.
- Request more information because key details are missing.
- Provide a preliminary estimate based on stated assumptions.
- Book a bathroom site inspection with a defined inspection brief.
Write the status in the lead record. Add the next action and the person responsible for it. A request for photos must not quietly become a promise to quote.
A visit earns its place in the calendar when the bathroom contains questions that photos cannot answer. Concealed substrate, drainage interfaces, access limits and preparation work are good reasons. A customer asking for a number is not enough by itself.
Record the bathroom and the result the customer wants
Start the bathroom tiling enquiry with the room, its current condition and the finished result. Leave dates until you understand what has to happen before tile installation.
Ask:
- Is the work a renovation, new installation, repair or inspection of another tiler’s work?
- Is the bathroom occupied, vacant, stripped or partly demolished?
- Which floors, walls, shower areas, niches, thresholds and splash areas need tile?
- Which existing finishes and fixtures remain in place?
- Does the customer want tiling only, or preparation and waterproofing as well?
- Are there exposed edges, changes in floor level or transitions into another finish?
- Is the bathroom still in daily use?
List each surface separately. Bathroom floor is too loose when the request also includes the shower walls, a niche and a tiled bath face.
Do not call disputed work by another business a call-back. Ask what work has been completed, what records are available and why the original tradie stopped. Do not accept responsibility for existing work during the enquiry. Inspect first, identify the scope you are prepared to take on and put exclusions in writing.
An occupied bathroom changes protection, cleanup and sequencing. Ask whether it is the only bathroom in use. Record who will clear personal items and keep children and pets away from the work area.
Collect photos, rough measurements and exact tile details
Ask for wide photos from the doorway and opposite corners. Then ask for close-ups of the shower, floor and wall junctions, drains, penetrations, thresholds, cracks, damaged areas and transitions into adjoining rooms.
Request photos of the access route as well. The path from parking to the bathroom may include stairs, a lift, narrow halls or finished floors that need protection. That information belongs with the lead, not in a tradie’s memory.
Ask the customer for rough room dimensions, wall heights, openings and the proposed tiled areas. Mark every customer measurement as intake information. Use it to screen the lead, not to order materials or prepare the final take-off.
Existing tile can hide the conditions that matter. Finished-surface photos cannot confirm the substrate, framing or concealed waterproofing. If the old finish remains, record those items as unconfirmed.
Get the actual tile selection
Ask for the product name, exact dimensions, finish, quantity and delivery status. Record whether the customer has chosen a layout, pattern, grout joint appearance or tile direction.
Large tiles is not a specification. Exact dimensions affect handling, cuts, setting out, edge treatment and preparation decisions. Ask for the proposed trim at niches, thresholds, outside corners and exposed wall ends.
Record whether the tiles have been ordered or delivered. If the customer supplies them, ask who deals with shortages, damaged pieces and late delivery. Do not bury that responsibility under owner supplies materials.
Assign every preparation and supply task
Put a responsible party beside every part of the job. Use a person or business name where possible. Undecided is acceptable during screening, but it must stay visible as a missing answer.
Assign responsibility for:
- Demolition and waste removal.
- Fixture removal and reinstatement.
- Substrate repair and preparation.
- Waterproofing.
- Tile supply and delivery.
- Trims and edge profiles.
- Adhesives, grout, sealant and other installation materials.
- Final sealing where specified.
- Protection and cleaning.
The customer may ask for a floor retile without mentioning the shower walls, drain interface or waterproofing responsibility. Stop and separate those items before discussing a price.
Plumbing and electrical work stay outside the tiling scope unless your business is authorised to perform that work and has deliberately included it. Name the other trade and record when its work must be completed.
For detailed preparation and costing decisions after the inspection, use the bathroom tiling quote guide. Keep the enquiry record focused on who owns the work and what remains unresolved.
Check whether the lead fits your tiling business
Check the postcode against your actual service area. Check the requested work against the jobs your crew takes and the equipment they carry. Then check whether the customer’s timing depends on demolition, plumbing, electrical or cabinet work that has not been booked.
Use your own acceptance rules. If your business has a minimum job rule, apply it consistently. Do not make up a number during the call. If a lead does not fit, decline it early and record the reason.
Ask whether the scope includes a shower, structural changes, heated flooring, fixture relocation or work over an unknown base. These details may change who must be involved and what can be promised.
A customer budget helps you screen fit. It does not define the work and it does not set your quote. Ask whether the budget discussion includes or excludes GST, then label it as the customer’s budget rather than your price.
Check licence scope before booking
Waterproofing and associated building work can sit under different licence classes across Australia. Ask your state or territory licensing regulator which licence class covers the proposed scope. Record the jurisdiction, regulator checked, licence class or scope checked, result and date. For a job in New South Wales, that question belongs with NSW Fair Trading (opens in a new tab), not with the customer or another tradie.
For home building contract questions, check the relevant state or territory building, licensing and consumer regulator for the property location.
If a workplace safety question affects access or the proposed work method, ask your state or territory WHS regulator. Keep the question about workplace safety. Questions about cover for workers belong with your state’s workers’ compensation insurer or regulator.
Label GST correctly
For ABN, GST, BAS and tax-document questions, check with the Australian Taxation Office (opens in a new tab). During the enquiry, record whether any early figure includes or excludes GST. Do not let an informal budget discussion become an unlabelled price.
Confirm strata approval before reserving the visit
For a strata property, identify the strata manager, owners corporation or body corporate contact. Ask who can confirm:
- Who approves the work and how approval is recorded.
- Approved work hours.
- Lift and loading-area booking rules.
- Common-area protection requirements.
- Rules for cutting, storage and waste removal.
The person asking for the quote may not control those conditions. Record the building contact before reserving a visit.
Confirm the people and access before setting the appointment
Identify the property owner, the site contact and the person authorised to accept the quote. They may be different people.
Ask who will attend the site visit and who can approve tile layout, edge treatment and scope decisions. If the decision-maker will not attend, record how you will send questions and get an answer.
Confirm:
- Property address and postcode.
- Entry instructions and contact number.
- Parking, stairs and physical lift access.
- Appointment arrival time and site-contact availability.
- Room condition on arrival.
- Protection needed through occupied areas.
- Cutting and material-storage space.
- Available power and water.
- Other trades attending or working nearby.
If your business charges for site visits, state that before making the booking and record the customer’s acceptance. Do not reveal the charge after the appointment has been set.
Put the trades in working order. Demolition, rough-in work, substrate preparation, waterproofing and tiling must follow a workable sequence. A preferred completion date does not fix an incomplete trade program.
Choose the next document before discussing price
Use the completed tiler enquiry checklist to choose the next document. Keep the estimate, quote, approved variation and invoice separate.
A preliminary estimate can work when you know the approximate tiled surfaces, product, broad preparation scope and responsible parties. State the assumptions, exclusions and conditions that still need inspection. Label it as an estimate, not a quote. The quote versus estimate guide explains the boundary in plain English.
Book a site visit when concealed conditions, drainage, access, layout or preparation could change the scope. Decline the lead when it falls outside your service area, crew capability, authorised work or accepted job type.
Worked example: keep each document separate
The Oak Street electrical job is the house example for keeping documents separate. All figures below are sample currency units, not a rate card.
For R. Chen at 14 Oak Street, estimate E-1847 gave a range of 900–1,400. Quote Q-1847 then fixed the agreed scope at 1,105 for a bathroom exhaust fan and four LED downlights. The ceiling was lined, and the quote excluded chasing.
Extra cable and chasing were later approved on site as a 160 variation. Invoice INV-1847 was 1,265. The variation did not rewrite the original quote or turn the estimate into a promise.
Use the same control on a tiling job. If demolition exposes extra substrate work after the quote is accepted, stop. Describe the additional work, price the variation, get approval and then proceed. Do not hide it in the final invoice.
Turn the lead record into an inspection brief
A useful tiler enquiry checklist produces a written brief for the tradie attending the bathroom. Do not send a calendar entry that says inspect and quote.
List what the visit must establish:
- Actual dimensions of every tiled surface.
- Visible substrate type and condition.
- Areas that remain concealed.
- Visible moisture damage, movement or cracking.
- Wall and floor flatness and plumb, including the tool used, measurement, location and visible condition.
- Visible falls around drains, including the tool used, measurement, location and visible condition.
- Delivered tile cartons compared with the selected product, dimensions, finish and quantity.
- Available waterproofing documents and the work they identify.
- Fixture, trim and threshold clearances.
- Penetrations, niches, corners and exposed edges.
- Layout decisions requiring customer approval.
- Responsibilities that remain undecided.
Check compliance against the requirements for the property’s jurisdiction, the applicable standard and the manufacturer’s instructions. Do not invent a tolerance during the visit.
The site visit should record visible conditions without pretending to prove what remains concealed. If the inspection moves into substrate and waterproofing detail, use the tiler waterproofing inspection checklist.
Use this blank intake record for each lead:
Lead status: <decline / more information / preliminary estimate / site visit> Customer and property: <name, contact, address and postcode> Decision-maker and site contact: <names and roles> Business fit: <service area, crew capability and timing result> Licence check: <jurisdiction, regulator, scope checked, result and date> Requested tiling scope: <surfaces included> Named responsibilities: <demolition, preparation, waterproofing, supply and other trades> Tile details: <product, dimensions, quantity and delivery status> Evidence received: <photos, rough measurements and documents> Unresolved conditions: <concealed work, missing details and access blockers> Inspection brief: <questions and measurements the visit must resolve> Next action: <action, responsible person and date>
Save the photos, product details and messages with the same tiler enquiry checklist record. On a busy week, scattered text messages are where promises disappear.
Yes Foreman can keep the enquiry record, site notes and later quote against the same job through its tools for tilers.