gauged porcelain panel installers, so high demand/low supply means you charge more. Actually, you have to charge more for labor because the pro- ductivity is much less. You need at least two laborers to install a panel and you probably should have up to four laborers in a crew to manage the process and ensure a successful installation. More labor means more profit. You need the right tools too, which will cost you about $1,000 to get started.You need a good rack for moving the slabs around and to lift them into place. You need the extended forklift forks for properly lifting the crates. You need a good flat table to work on. You need the scoring and cutting tools to make good cuts. You need to buy the Euro slanted trowels to help ensure you achieve full thin-set coverage. You need to buy the plastic leveler clips to avoid tile lippage. So you have to figure this into your cost too. (For more information on this, see Tech Talk, TileLetter October 2017 issue) This tile also sells for a lot more. It goes for $7.00 or more per square foot. You have to figure in waste and breakage, which adds up. A 5’ x 10’ foot tile panel will cost you $400 or more. So put- ting your profit margin on your tile purchase brings you even more profit. On a square-footage-basis, you are making some good profit, and deservingly so. TECH TALK –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 44 TileLetter | November 2017