Painting Prices

ssi

I have a new painting project but really not sure how to price it,the job is new construction,i live in new jersey how much should i charge per square ft ,job consist of one coat primer 2coat paint, fill in nail in moldings,prime molding and paint,paint doors and windows as well. can some tell me what should i charge for thease jobs.

phinsher

There's really no standard formula we can give you.

You need to figure out how long its going to take to complete and go from there. If you have no idea, just guess, keep track of your production rates, and material usage and you'll have a better idea of how to price the next one.

Other than that, my only advice is to charge as much as you can

Frankawitz

here's a easy way take add up all your materials, then add a zero and there you have it. now if your slow you could always say I do T&M. I charge by items, room ceiling and walls $400. doors $85. windows depending on how many lites in a sash $25. to $85 I hope this helps you. or like I said add up materials say you have $125.00 then the job would be $1,250.00 that's the easy way, good luck.

ssi

Thanks for the reply what about the molding and nail filler.how about the closets are they $400 as well? i started the project and i am way under bid
thats why i really need to no.and i charged the wrong amount for square footage $1.60

back@it

Unfortunately, TOO many of us got in over our heads at some point in the biz and (should have) learned from it! It's not too fun to start breaking out in that cold sweat when you realize that by the time you get finished with the project, you have actually PAID THE CUSTOMER FOR THE PRIVILEGE TO DO THE DANG JOB FOR THEM!!! What really ticks me off is that if it's a commercial job, the knuckle-head company KNOWS that it has been underbid and they STILL go ahead and hire the poor sub. If they're a 'good' company they might pay a little extra for some parts of the job - but don't count on it!

My advise to the guy/gal who's never done a job of the size they are bidding on is REALLY LOOK CLOSE AT AND FIGURE YOUR COSTS! Costs are costs - no matter who is doing the job. Yeah, I know, some of the bigger contractors buy at a lower rate but I'm not talking about them. JUST BE CAUTIOUS WHEN FIGURING PRICES.

Mandrake

I'd suggest doing a little exersize that will help you in the future.

Take you square footage for all your walls, and ceilings, and closets if they are included in the contract. Double for 2 coats, Triple for 3, etc.

Then do a door count, window count, Stair riser count, get linear feet of baseboard, crown molding, chair rails, etc

Once you get all your items laid out figure out an average production rate for your crew (per man) for each item. Remember the 2nd coats typically run faster.

If you are a legitimate painter you will come up with a pretty close number. Just make sure to figure breaktime and clean up into your averages.

You might end up with something like 150 sf/hr for walls, 1 hour per door (includes prep, prime, topcoat), 30 lf/hr for crown mold, etc......

From that you will arrive at your actual manhours and what your labor cost will be. Add your material cost and then you will know what it will cost YOU to do the job. How much you add on depends on your burden, overhead, and desired profit.

Hope it helps

Mndrk

slickshift

Well, no body can tell you what you should charge
You know (or should know) what you overhead is, your production rates, what you need to "make" per hour to pay yourself and keep a little profit
We can guess, and suggest, but that's not a good way for you to do business

If you don't know these things, you'll have to estimate
You'll make mistakes, you'll adjust, you'll figure it out

On top of that, there's not even close to enough info there to even tell you what I would charge (which you really shouldn't be using my numbers anyway)
But I couldn't even tell you what I would charge with the lack of info

Molding:
What kind, how wide, floor, crown, chair...
Doors:
Flat, 6-panel, 12-pane glass....
Windows:
Casement, plain, fancy, muntins....
???

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Originally Posted by ModernStyle I have never used this crap before and I pray to the paint gods that I never have to use it again, I would rather use Behr

slickshift

Oops...it happens
Nothing learns you quicker than working for $2.76 an hour

It'll be a learning experience
Keep track of your production rates, materials, and sundries, for each part
Doors, molding, windows, walls, etc.
Use these next time

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Originally Posted by ModernStyle I have never used this crap before and I pray to the paint gods that I never have to use it again, I would rather use Behr

Steve Richards

Man did THAT being up some sour memories...

About 25 years ago, I let a guy talk me down on a price by telling me about this lower bid he'd gotten. (I found out later he had gotten the other bid from a handyman/painter). But I was young and needed the work. I came out with about 2 bucks an hour... and a new rule about changing my original price quotes.
Thanks for reminding me, Slick!

Workaholic

3 dollars a ft

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welovepainting

3 is a good number right around 4-8 for high quality custom work depending on what they want.

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mikenewman@fron

In Utah that would go for 3.50 per square foot of floor space. Interior only. Good Luck. Mike

Traditions

is that 1.60 for floor square footage?