Exterior house painting bid problem - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

osudave69 · 03-31-2006, 01:53 PM

I have just started the business and need some advice on how to bid on a 2 story sided house. I am not sure how to bid. I appreciate all of the help I can get. Thanks, Dave

firemike · 03-31-2006, 02:04 PM

How about some project info:
To start...

Your experiance-
Size of house-
Type of siding and trim-
Number of colors-
Amount of trim-
Windows-
Doors-
Accesability-
Amount of prep work-
Material Costs-
Labor costs-
Do you have all the equipment needed-

All these, plus more, will contribute to the final price.

osudave69 · 03-31-2006, 02:12 PM

I had a co-owner who was the one who did the bidding on the labor, etc... but he left town and now I am not quite sure what the labor cost would be. It is allum. sided, all one color, and already pressure washed.

**ProWallGuy** · 03-31-2006, 08:05 PM

Still need more info. Reread post#2, and provide specifics.

osudave69 · 04-02-2006, 02:45 PM

experience-8 years sub-contractor just starting out as a contractor
house size-898 square feet
wood siding & trim
1 color
74 ft. of trim
10 windows
2 doors
easy accesability
no prep work needed, house already scaped
supplies already bought by the home owner
have all equipment
not sure what to charge for labor, first time trying to figure out. any suggestions would be great on how much to charge per square foot.

Thanks, Dave

**ProWallGuy** · 04-02-2006, 03:09 PM

Do you have a pretty good ballpark of the time that it would take you to complete the job? IE, how many man hours?
Like, 1 man, 40 hours, or 2 men, 20 hours.
If its 1 man 40 hours, how much do you NEED to make per hour to pay your bills, overhead, your wage, etc. If you need $35 per hour, then the labor will be around 40 X $35 = $1400.
Also add in some for your equipment, if you are using equipment that needs maintenance, like a sprayer.
This is all hypothetical. If you try to figure a price by sq ft, especially another company's sq ft price, you will get in trouble fast. Every company's overhead is different. If I run 40 painters, my overhead is different than a company who runs 3 painters. I may need $85 per man per hour, where the other guy needs $30 per man per hour. See what I mean?

JMGP · 04-02-2006, 03:35 PM

Dave,

If you have 8 years experience... you should be able to take that experience and know how long it would take you to paint something...

How much to charge?

Since you are a one man show...

Start by figuring what hourly rate you want to NET after taxes and and other expences??

If you want to NET $20 hour... mark-up from there... Add in your taxes, over head, profit etc...

Now figure how long it will take you to paint the area (break each area/section down to make it simple for you)

They are providing the materials so....

Rate x Hours = cost

Some day (soon) I will post an example of a few different (residential)projects and break down an esimate into easy to understand parts...

Hopfully it will help those that do not understand the true way to estimate "Painting" and to figure out your Production Rates and "True" costs...(hourly rate)

This question comes up a lot... and most of us try to answer it in short form so as to not confuse the person asking the question... Time and Materials is the easiest way to estimate...but doing it that way your estimates will be like a roller coaster...you want your estimates to be as consistant as possible... maximize your profits!!

I think its about time the "How to Bid" question gets answered in the proper details... so we can hopfully put that question to rest...

stay tuned....

Joe

osudave69 · 04-02-2006, 08:20 PM

I would like to thank everyone that has given me thier help. I am very appreciative. Thanks to your help I got the job and will start next week. I owe you all. Thanks, Dave

firemike · 04-03-2006, 10:27 AM

Congradulations!!!!!!!!

Just stick a beer and piece of pizza in a few envelopes and mail them to us. :-)

osudave69 · 04-03-2006, 11:44 PM

Just tell me where to send them.

1Painter · 04-04-2006, 01:17 AM

Dave, breath deep. Don't under estimate your abilty.How fast can go up a ladder, do you use less than a 4" brush. Time is money. I'am from the old school. Sucks Doesn't It.