Help Pricing Prime Coat

IBEX Drywall

I have finished the drywall for a client, and I am going to prime the ceiling and spray texture. I have been asked to prime the entire house, I am not in the painting business and I am not sure how to price this. The house is approx 2200 floor feet, I have installed 8400 sq feet of drywall. The primer coat on the ceiling is included with my texture price. This leaves 6200 remaining sq feet of primable surface. The client wants a sq foot price based on the remaining wall surface, Not floor sq feet.
Thanks.

SLSTech

??? Out of the priming/texture cost - how much is attributable to the priming only? There you go

As an example - say SF for P&T is 1.00 & 30% of that is for the Materials & Labor for priming only - your answer would be .30 SF + your markup for OH & P

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thom

You can probably estimate your time and materials and work backwards. If you're spraying the primer, The time is in the prep and we don't know how much that is.

Here, where we texture everything, it is common not to prime before texture. I assume you're going to prime the ceilings twice, once before texture then again after?

DRC

I'm with the work it backwards idea. Figure out how much you want for the job. $1k, $2k what ever your number is. Then divide by the square footage.

vandyandsons

I'm assuming that it is completely empty. No trim, fixtures, doors, cabinets, flooring etc... just drywall.

Based on that, heres what I would do.

I could spray and back-roll it in one (1) man day based on my assumptions. However I would bid it for at least (2) for a buffer.

It will take between 15-20 gallons of primer.

Figure 16 hrs labor + 20 gal material

plug in your rates/pricing and there ya go.

-once again, this is bidding it blind, just assumptions.

mask off your windows, 517 or 519 tip, rock and roll.

thom

vandy, you seem to have left out much of the prep:

in addition to masking the windows, mask the exterior doors, the electrical boxes, the plumbing stubs, any concrete slab that won't be carpeted, fireplace(s) ...

I find I spend as much time doing prep, sometimes more, as I do prime and paint.

vandyandsons

right, which is why I said it will probably take 1 day, but bid 2 for a buffer.

2400 sq ft isn't exactly a palace. mask off, blow and go a clean prime coat.

Dorman Painting

I wouldn't recommend masking off all of the windows unless absolutely necessary. To me it's much easier and faster to just have someone in front of you cutting in the windows and giving you a nice cut to spray into. Even if the windows get a little overspray on them, it's not hard at all to spend thirty minutes cleaning them up.

As for money on the remaining 6200 foot of wallboard, I'd charge at least $1500. That's you buying the paint and supplying the labor and assuming it's all one color.

vandyandsons

right on Dorman,

that is how I would do it, but I get the idea that the one asking the question may not have enough trigger time to keep things clean. better safe than sorry ya know.

WisePainter

That is a dangerous gamble.
I have found that drywall dust (even an invisible layer) and overspray are the Achilles heel of any job.
I cannot take that risk.

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My advice: Hire a real painter to do it.

Bender

Doesn't that take all the "pro" out of professional painting?

Dorman Painting

If we're spraying walls here, and we've got someone out in front giving us a nice cut, then theoretically speaking, we shouldn't get much on the windows. If you do get overspray on the windows it's because you're not skilled in spraying. I can spray and get damn little on the windows, guarantee it. When done spraying, come back and rub your hand on the glass, it's easy to feel overspray. Take some dirtex and papertowels or clean rags and shine them up, much simpler than spending time and money masking, taping and tearing down....

vandyandsons

oops,

I recant my previous statements as I have re read the initial post. I thought that the ceilings were already done...they are not...they are already priced out.

When you are spray priming ceilings, then texturing those ceilings, then spray priming the walls........

You better take the time and mask....everything.

At least if you want to get in a good production mode and make some money.

WisePainter

All the overspray that lingers in the air after you blow through will attach to the glass, a nice cut in is not going to prevent that.

No.
If you get sags and runs all of the time, if you spray more paint into the air than onto the substrate, or if you catch the pump on fire that is a sign that you are not a skilled spray man.

If you get overspray on windows on a spray job it simply means you work for Dorman Painting and they don't understand what proper masking means...

You sound a lot like many painters when they are first hired.
We all know how that turns out in the end.

If I have to clean glass, I actually feel ashamed.
I would like to know your basis for comparing the costs of properly masking off windows versus cleaning them later on.
There is "streamlining" a process to make it more efficient, then there is just plain old cutting corners.

If you would rather have your guys getting paid to wash windows that is your business, but I cannot imagine how you justify it to a homeowner or a home builder.

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zerowned

I agree with pretty much all of that and I am glad other people think the way I think. IM NOT ALONE! lol. I am doing about 13 houses in mid feb. and I plan to have 2 people run ahead and prep all areas while I have 2 other crews spray prime the houses, may take alittle time for them to prep them but in the end I wont have to explain myself to the GC why my guys are cleaning windows various other things that should have been masked. also I put that into the contract that areas will be masked off and I include that in my quote.

rotarex

i would charge like this, 6200 sqft devided into 1475 sqft<<(thats how much area coverage you will get with spray when using 5 gallon pale) now times that # by 2 coats = 8.5 pales ($30 EACH) =$255 X 2-3= $510-$765

depends how much clean up, taping, ect ect

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Dorman Painting

I'll concede that masking windows off is the PC way to do things, it looks better if the builder is around. However, unless you're a total clutz and get kill shots on the windows, my method is faster. Now if the builder makes a big deal because he sees some guys wiping down a few windows that he's problem IMO.

It's probably why I do repaints and not much new houses because I won't kiss their butts. And BTW, in repaints you have to be extremely careful so no, we're not cutting corners. I just reserve that for a$$hole builders lol.

Bender

Its not about PC and its not about faster. They hire you because they assume you know what your doing.

WisePainter

I guess they will find out.

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My advice: Hire a real painter to do it.

Traditions2

I spend the extra time masking the windows off. I've had many generals tell me they are really impressed with the extent I go to to keep the job clean. With a 3m masking gun it takes no time at all. Looks professional. I agree it is easy to clean the overspray off of the windows. However, how about the window sills, fireplace, etc. Just extra stuff to clean for me. I'd rather do the prep in the beginning than be trying to clean at the end of a job when I'm ready to be done with the blasted thing. By the end of every new construction house I feel like pulling my hair out. (i;m bald!)