Janet, Sweetie, I feel for you. We can share in the disappointment. Hubby got the price for my 16' x 16' tile floor for the living area today (part of the room is already tile) and it was $3,500. We think they are crazy. We were using the company that he uses for his houses and thought that they would give us a fair price. We're going to check with some other companies and even Lowe's to see what others will charge.
It's so disappointing when you think you have a plan all worked out and people try to take advantage of you. Hubby figures our tile (material only) should cost just over $900, plus the cost of a 4" wide tile border we are using to transition between the old and new tiles plus the labor, but $3,500, give me a break!!! They wanted $1,000 for the border alone. And I thought the new floor would be in sometime in the next two weeks.
Janet, if we lived closer, I'd help you paint those rooms. We'd have lots of fun together, too, I'm sure. Hubby and I may just install our own tile. We've done it before, but we were younger and in better shape. Maybe we can all be sore together!!