Tilers’ Pay Rates – Variable
The Tilers’ Pay Rates – Variable command allows you to define tile installer pay schedules that vary by storey, line item, and pitch interval.
This helps ensure your labour costs accurately reflect the complexity of the roof being installed.
🧩 How Variable Pay Rates Work
Variable pay rates are applied to the Tiles+ database when it has been set up as described below and selected as the active database in System Preferences.
You can create as many separate pay rate schedules as you need — for example:
Union vs non-union rates
Subcontractor A vs Subcontractor B
Different regions or job types
💡 Keep in mind: The more separate pay rate files you create, the more you’ll need to update whenever rates change.
⚙️ Pay Rate Configuration Fields
Field | Description |
Name | The name used to identify and select this pay rate in future. |
Roof Unit | The measurement basis (e.g., per m² or per ft²) used to apply cost multipliers. |
Storey | The storey level this set of values applies to. Up to 10 storeys can be defined per pay rate file. |
Pitch Intervals | Defines the pitch ranges used for rate adjustments. These correspond to the intervals set using the Intervals button at the bottom of the dialog box. |
Roof / sqm (sqft) | The base installer rate for laying roof tiles. |
Additional Line Items | Include rates for hips, valleys, gables, barge finishes, and other details defined under Cover > Select Tile. |
🪜 Command Buttons
Button | Function |
Select | Opens an existing pay rate schedule for review or editing. |
Delete | Removes an existing pay rate schedule. |
Add | Creates a new pay rate schedule and saves it to the system. |
Update | Saves modifications to the currently loaded pay rate schedule. |
Auto-Fill Interval | Automatically fills the pricing table with pitch interval loadings, saving time when defining multiple slopes. 
|
Auto-Fill Storey | Automatically fills the pricing table with loadings for each storey.  |
💾 Saving and File Format
After you’ve entered all the rates for each job function (for all storeys and pitch intervals), save your work by selecting the Add button.
Standard pricing files are stored within the system’s internal structure.
User-defined pricing files are saved as text-based files with the extension:
<filename>.DPT
For example:
If you create a pay rate file called Interlocking Concrete Tiles, it will be saved as:
InterlockingConcreteTiles.DPT
🧠 Editing .DPT Files Externally
Each .DPT file is stored in plain text, meaning you can open and edit it externally in:
Notepad or WordPad, or
Spreadsheet programs like Microsoft Excel
Editing in a spreadsheet can be helpful for bulk pricing updates, such as when labour rates change across multiple line items.
However, if you prefer to make adjustments within AppliCad:
Open the file via Costing > Tile-Pay.
Edit each item as needed.
Click Update to save your changes.
💡 Tip: Always use “Update” after modifying an existing file — otherwise, your changes won’t be stored.