Yes. It’s standard for those poor guys who charge by the square foot instead of by the job. He has to handle all of the material, and pull from all of the boxes to have a good look. You owe him the full labor charge. And then some for the tax on top.

The better installer would not have let you purchase tile on your own. And would not have broken down everything to a priced line item for you to cheap apart. And he would have actually waterproofed the whole shower instead of just the pan.

With no mention of proper waterproofing for the walls, you’re getting the bargain that you want. At a much greater cost later.

Aw, I feel sorry for this tiler! You want to shave off every inch of profit for him, right?

You got a professional answer. You just didn’t like it because no one agreed with you.

The important figure is the bottom line, not how it was arrived at.

It is standard to charge for all materials handling, including waste percentages. He’s cutting and trimming that to go into those awkward spots.

When the current shower rots out in a few years time, and you want something done correctly, instead of cheaply, go here. No one will put up with the dime snatching act, and it won’t be $1.98. But it will be done correctly.

https://www.ceramictilefoundation.org/homeowners-guide-to-hiring-qualified-tile-installer

You did not understand my question. Perhaps you may want to seek to understand before throwing judgment.

If a tile person has to handle and cut 120 ft to tile 100 feet, he will charge for 120 feet.

Then he will factor in any pattern upcharges, like for herringbone, or for large format tile. Those all get upcharged on top of the 120 sf. The edges of rooms where all of those cut pieces go is the most work of the installation. It's a lot more work than the middle with no cuts. Large tiles require specialized expensive setting materials. Patterns like diagonal or herringbone require a lot more cutting, and more time to do correctly. Those all have to be factored into the quote total.

But Sophie is correct. Very few qualified tiler professionals charge simply by the square foot. There are too many other variables to installing tile to use just that metric.