DreamCoater

Hello, I need some help putting together an estimate for a painting job. I used to paint in college and for a few years after, but went away from it and haven't done much in the last 10 years or so (other than my own personal residence and helping a friend here and there). But, due to the state of the economy, it looks like I'm falling back on this skill and getting back into painting again. I've had about three jobs fall in my lap within the last 24 hours, and I'm trying to figure out how to bid them.

I am a very high-quality painter (straight tight lines, or nothing else!) that pays close attention to detail... but because of that, haven't developed the speed with accuracy skill yet. I guess you could say I'm slow. Not too slow, but definitely not as fast as a seasoned pro. I'm not very good at figuring how long something will take me, because I assume I can get something done in an afternoon and then it turns into three days. (That's a bit of an exaggeration, but if you ask my wife she might disagree) I don't want to pass this off onto the customer, so I would rather put bids together by the square foot so I can stay reasonably close to what the going rate is... even if it takes me a little longer than the next guy, the end result will definitely be above average.

Here's my predicament... I've just been asked to put together a bid for the admin offices of a private elementary school in North Seattle (fairly nice upper middle class historic area, and the school is a beautiful big brownstone building... looks like an old psych ward of a hospital or something!) The school is a non-profit, and I know they are not looking to spend too much money. They have an offer from a couple of parents in the school to do the work for free (as long as the school buys the materials), but she is leary about the quality of work they would end up with. She would rather pay someone to do it right... but doesn't want to pay too much.

Sooooo, to make a boring story longer, my question is two-fold: is there a typical "per square foot" rate that can be charged? And if so, does it differ from residential?

Here are the details, so any help structuring a bid would be a great help.

Total wall square footage = 3528.
* Two coats paint, no priming needed
* Ceilings are 14 feet tall, so cutting in the ceiling would be a minor feat, nothing major, but definitely more work than a standard 8 foot ceiling. Not to mention painting trim around windows that are almost floor to ceiling.
* Walls are flat and smooth, no texture. Except for one wall (24 x 14) is covered by 2'x2' panels with trim molding around each one.
* No color change, would be painting over existing tan/khaki color with same/similar color. Current paint is flat, but thinking about suggesting/encouraging going to a semi-gloss (or at least eggshell) for durability in this high-traffic area.
* Approx 250 feet of baseboard trim to be re-painted white, as well as two doors, and four doorways and 5 large (5'x12' and 12inces deep) windows to be re-painted white as well.
* Two minor cracks to be patched (about three feet long each, but not very wide... light mudding should do)
* Rooms will be completely empty of furniture (desks, cubicles, etc) and carpet will be torn out and removed (to be replaced after painting is completed)
* Not sure if they want to give the ceilings a fresh coat of paint (white) or not, so I told them I would put that on separate for them to consider... but ceilings are 1189 sq ft.
* Labor will be completed by me and my business partner and profits split equally

Please let me know if I've missed anything. I don't know if I should just figure out a per sq ft figure that would encompass everything (trim, windows, materials, etc) or what to do.

I was thinking about somewhere in the $0.75 - $1.00/ft range for labor ($2646) plus materials, but I have nothing to base that on... pretty much just pulling it out of my butt (and figuring what I want to make for about 3-4 days of work). I want to say when I painted before, I charged around $2.00/ft including materials (I honestly don't remember for sure)... but that same formula would make this a $7k job... that seems awfully high to me, but then again I've been out of the game for a long time.

Any help, advice or input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Erik

Steve Richards

Yup, Eric...a predicament for sure.

If the windows are like you say "almost floor to ceiling"...then it seems to me the square footage of walls to be painted is almost 0.

Having no idea what to charge may also be a bit of a problem.

Thag

May want to try doing a search for Paint estimates or head or to Painttalk.com sure these will help on your quest to find what you need to do.

DreamCoater

Appreciate the smart-ass remark... just what I was looking for. The windows are along one side of the offices (that would be the exterior wall, in case you were wondering)... with about 10 feet of wall space in between... so, not exactly 0 wall space. Plus, I was told at one point to figure in the windows in the wall space to cover the time of cutting in and/or painting of the window trim.

I guess I do have an idea of what to charge, but I am just wondering if it is too much.

Thanks for the response, it these types of responses that make me want to ask more questions (please note the sarcasm)...

DreamCoater

Thank you! I will check that out for sure.

REMODMAN

You Have A Fun One ...i Bid All My Jobs With Windows In The S/f And I Would Use S/w Low Sheen Paint It Is A Easier To Get The Same Sheen

texpaint

Sounds like you almost need this job to help you establish your own price point, but since you are your labor force you'll have the luxury of time to donate as a variable.

Start with a SW promar 200/400 (less than $20/gal) level paint in a satin finish as you suggested. Trying to help without knowing anything about your overhead structure is difficult, but you can probably blend this project together as low as $1/sf with materials and labor while putting a decent margin in your pocket and more importantly getting a feel for your price point that only you can really detemine.

Minimum $5k w/ ceilings and baseboards (but could add itemized windows $100, doors $75 etc. if you want to make it more comfortable).

This suggestion is based on limited knowledge of your situations, but Good luck!

mrpaintguy

dont be a hack painter and show up with some promar garbage, invest in a top line like Graham ceramic- also you can go to mypaintbid.com for an accurate quote or send them and save your time, if they are serious they will call you back
mike smith

perfect

NOTHING WRONG WITH S.W. PROMAR ARE YOU SURE YOU ARE A REAL PAINTER AND NOT A HACK ? DIFFERENT PRODUCTS FOR DIFFERENT APPLICATIONS STICK AROUND FOR ANOTHER 26 YEARS AND LISTEN YOU MAY ACTUALLY LEARN SOMETHING