← Walk-in shower bid calculator
Owners call with boxes in the hallway: “I already bought the tile. Can you just set it for $45 a square foot?” That sounds like free margin because the tile invoice left the bid. It did not leave the set hours, the leftover boxes they want back, or the chance that 95 square feet of takeoff arrived as 80 square feet of one dye lot.
Open the free walk-in shower bid calculatorA contractor-supplied alcove still carries the tile invoice. An owner-supplied order that actually covers the takeoff zeros that line and keeps the same set hours, plus unpack and leftover-box handling. On a typical 5x3 alcove tub-to-shower — $38 wage, 32% burden, 16% overhead, 28% target margin — the contractor-supplied bid is about $7,419. Zeroing $8 / SF tile drops it, but the owner-supplied walk-away stays above the $45 / SF labor-only number ($4,275 on 95 SF). Taking the “just set what they bought” special still loses money.
| You supply | They supply, it covers | They supply, short / wrong lot | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tile invoice in the bid | Yes | No | No |
| Set hours | Same | Same, plus unpack | Same, plus a callback |
| At $45 / SF labor-only | Loses | Still loses | Loses more |
Store shelves and leftover boxes from a kitchen backsplash do not equal a wet-area takeoff plus waste. A dye-lot mismatch on the last wall is a drive back, a retail fill-in, or a wait. Price that callback on the same shower before you agree. The calculator adds a starting second trip and a retail fill-in on top of the rates you already typed.
Open the walk-in shower bid calculator, enter the bathroom you are standing in, and put their labor-only number in “price you’re considering” if they named one. The who-supplies table scores $45 / SF of tile — or their number — against you-supply, owner-supplies-it-covers, and owner-supplies-short. Nothing is uploaded.
This is the same arithmetic as how much to charge to install a walk-in shower. Matching a brochure alcove number on a curbless walk-in? See should I match an alcove price on a curbless walk-in. They want Saturday? See should I tile a walk-in shower after hours. It is not a plumbing specification, a waterproofing warranty, or a reason to refuse a customer — it is the walk-away number on each supply path. A walk-in tub is a tub with a door. A toilet is a commode swap. This prices a wet-area system.
Only after you price the set without the tile invoice. Unpacking their boxes is still a set, leftover boxes they want back are still hours, and a short order or dye-lot mismatch is a second trip. A $45 / SF labor-only special often sits under that walk-away number even when the tile is free to you.
Usually not. Zeroing an $8 / SF tile invoice drops the bid, but loaded labor, waterproofing, glass, travel, and overhead stay. On a typical 5x3 alcove tub-to-shower the owner-supplied walk-away is still above $45 / SF of tile. A short order or a dye-lot mismatch adds a second trip and a retail fill-in.
That is a second dispatch plus a retail fill-in they expect you to eat, or a wait while they reorder. Price that callback on the same shower before you agree to set whatever they stacked in the hallway. The calculator adds a starting callback trip and a retail fill-in on top of your current rates.