Estimating Paint Jobs

pzelano

Been painting since I was a kid, (20 years) and have always done it for money on the side. Now I do it full time. My business is really starting to grow and I'm having trouble giving estimates on larger jobs. Just visited a customer in a large high end house. He wants the following rooms painted, ceilings trim and walls. No prep work, just a few cracks, and painting over the same color, linen white, which is real easy to work with, 2 coats no primer. Here's how I priced it:
10x12 dining room ($300), 10x 15 kitchen with wainscoating and 4 doors ($400), a 20x30 living room/dining room with wainscoating ($600), a foyuer leading into a 20 ft hallway ($300), 2 game rooms 12 x15 with 20 foot cathedral ceilings ($450 each), a 20x30 playroom with 5 doors, ($600) and 3 bathrooms ($600), and yet another 20 foot hallway ($300) total of $4000 plus the cost of paint. i have one guy working for me and he only makes $10/hr and I think we could finish in 2-3 weeks.
I thought I was very generous, am I on the right track?
Also, should prices per room drop when doing large projects like this?
Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Any Season

Holy ****! First of all, don't be put off if you get some negative responses. Second, your prices are kind of looow. Just from the sound of it your jobcosts here for labor and paint alone are $1500-$2000. I will assume you have liability insurance for about $800/yr. so that isn't a big factor here, but if a job like this could possibly take you 3 weeks you are making $500-$800 per week over a 3 week job. That is without considering any of your other financials. Send me an email and I will be happy to help you as much as I can.

perfect

WHAT THE F--- MAN TOO LOW WAY TOO LOW YOU MUST BE DOING IT FOR EXERCISE I PROFIT $4,500 PER WEEK MYSELF WILD YOU MIGHT JUST WANNA RAISE YOUR SQUARE FT PRICE

Thag

Brother, get out b 4 you start. It's you kind of people who are really putting a damper on the real "Pros". I guess you are asking for advice. Way 2 low man and i don't think you have the experience to bid the job properly. There is a lot more to bidding than just pulling numbers out of your arse.

plazaman

way too low. are you licensed & insured? WC? Did you figure out your overhead?

__________________
Westchester Remodeling Contractor
Hartsdale Remodeling Contractor
Ardsley Remodeling Contractor

Any Season

That doesn't help.

First...There is never 'NO' prep work, there must be at least some caulking and minor prep that needs to be done. That needs to be accounted for, even if you have a standard 5-10 hours you account for if there is no overly obvious prep to be done. It's your deal though so I don't want to tell you exactly what to do but plug your own numbers into this and see how that works.

Second...I am not sure about other guys on here but I do two coats across the board (except ceilings) bc people are always changing colors even if they say they aren't going to and this makes it a standard that is explained upfront rather than a mid-job problem which most new contractors will eat rather than confront.

Third...you will lose your shirt on this job. It would be best if you are busy, to pass, and re-evaluate these numbers to come up with a more accurate pricing system now that you have dimensions for all kinds of rooms, wainscoating, etc.

(I am not the authority but quick math is this)...Here is some perspective if you want to speak in 'going rate' terms-

Dining Room- $300 does not even cover the walls- before paint

Kitchen w/ wainscoating- $400 covers maybe two coats on the doors incl. paint and maybe some caulking.

LR/DR-$600 will get the ceiling done incl. paint and maybe a little prep work.

Foyer/Hall-$300...ugh, trim and a door? Maybe, hard to tell from the description.

2 game rooms- $450...the ceilings in each not sure what they look like though

Playroom-$600...The doors twice and some prep

3 bathrooms-$300, this is waay too vague

20 foot hallway-$300, maybe if you are cutting them a break on getting the whole house

Actually, after putting these numbers in real terms run!

pzelano

I didn't think it was that bad. That price was just for labor. I figured cost of paint at $700-$800. If it took 2 weeks, it would leave me with $3200, making $40 an hour.
Anyway, I bumped it up to $5600.

pzelano

Anyway thanks for the input. I'm just getting started with this, my field is accounting ironically enough, and have no idea on how to price jobs. But I think my work is good, ie the pictures above, but have trouble giving estimates. Another thing, as I'm building up a client base, getting references, pictures of my work for future customers etc., shouldn't I expect to bend over on some of these prices for a while? I'm gearing up for a big summer, get about 8-10 calls a week. I just want everything to be in order by then.

Chris G

Try this:http://www.mypaintbid.com

Obviously, you can't rely on it to do your estimating for you, but it helps. Most here have found it estimates on the low side, but it is handy to give you an idea.

Chris G

Okay, I just entered your specs for your kitchen. It gave me a price of $1,142, including paint. Ya, you might want to keep the suicide hotline number handy if you take this job on. Not trying to be harsh, we have all been there when we started out, (well I have anyhow). Where are located?

mgolibt

check yourself @ mypaintbid.com

mrpaintguy

4500/wk=225,000+ year-ya sure
Where are my boots , its gettin deep in here

4thGeneration

1)Prices too low. (You can fix that)
2)Job duration. (Are you for real?)


why in the world would it take that long? I only do re-paints and if you worked for me I would pull my hair out. It would be hard to do anything else, but turn money on that production rate. Are you experienced in repaints or are you mostly skilled in production new construction?

perfect

that"s what a real man makes little boy if u are happy making nothing thats your business I don't have to lie and am very good at my skill so keep using you home depot paint and be happy scrapping by

MRstark44

i simply paint in the summers as a summer job, have 3-5 employees and even for me, paying no insurance, think that bid is wayyy low. i bid by taking a look at the room, estimate how long it would take for ME to paint it, then add an hour for the kids who paint for me, and multiply by 30 bucks an hour. then pad the job by 15-20% and theres your quote. be picky with your jobs, id rather not do the job than hardly make any cash. peace.

boman47k

mypaintbid gave me the same estimate for a 12x12 as it did for a 26x15 (350) for either room. Same variables, different sizes. It di d not give me the option of adding for cutting under and over chair rail that was not getting painted nor the fact that one color went above the rail and another under the rail. BY the way the 26x15 came pretty close to what I just charged for one like it, except I had to two different colors and a chair rail to deal with that was not getting painted. Actually came out to about .40 a foot for one coat over the same color/colors, and it was just the walls figured at labor only. Customer was supposed to supply the paint, but I ended up supplying all the paint for the entire project, which I will be reimbursed for. Reimbursed! Yeah, right...plus!

paintr56

The problem with bending over at first is every recommndation you get from that job they will know the price and expect the same. When you move up to where you should be they will feel you are ripping them off. Your prices were too low. I get $375 for a 10'X10' bedroom two coats walls only. That price would be too low if it was the only thing getting painted on the job it wouldn't meet the minimum.

Jim

paintr56

With 8 to 10 calls a week you should be signing about 3 if your closing rate is higher then that raise your rates. This is the best advice I was ever given.

Jim

mrpaintguy

ok junior dont get your panties all bunched up, Ive been in this business 26 years and I know a bs'er when I meet one, save your stories for your pals at the bar-they are the only ones that will buy your load of crap-We all know you dont profit 225,000+ per year.

mrpaintguy

For 1 small room to bid the quote may be a little higher as mypainybid factors in costs for overhead/bidding/purchasing materials, that is spread out for larger/mutiple rooms- look into joining mypaintbid in April 08 for a more flexible "own rate" input for the contractor and other features. It will be a wise "small" investment for you that will payoff very well for you