How much $ for tile installation?

I have 12 x 12 slate tiles, slightly uneven in thickness. I need about 15 square feet of tile on the floor to put a wood stove on, and another 35 square feet on the wall behind it. The tiles have to be cut around the stovepipe in the wall. There is some fake brick stuff on the wall to remove first, put down tile backer, then tiles and grout and trim edges with 1/4 round. This sounds like a smallish job to me, only 50 sq ft, but tile guy says 4 days, $30/hr = $960 total. Is that too much? How long should it take? I saw some estimates that said $5 sq/ft. Okay, add a couple of hours for demo, but still sound high. What do you think?