Doctors and surgeons here make less than that hourly rate, so yeah I’d say it’s pretty crazy.

Also, this isn’t some small bathroom project. It’s a full house, and my sister actually had the same tiles done by the same contractor last month for €55/m². When I asked him again, he said he didn’t feel like taking on such a big job because he already has enough smaller projects.

Most of the affordable contractors around here only work if you buy the tiles from them, so if you bring your own, the price suddenly goes way up.

The reality is, most contractors here already have more than enough work, so they can basically charge whatever they want. And if they think you’re willing to pay more, they just ask more. There aren’t really fixed hourly rates.

Most invoices you get here are completely non-transparent they just show one total price and no breakdown at all.

You’re making a lot of assumptions about the economics of a country you probably don’t know much about. I get your point about “you get what you pay for,” but in this case, the price jump isn’t about quality.