Pricing for painting 1" conduit - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

saucedo80 · 10-03-2006, 12:48 AM

hello fellow painters. I just recently got invited to submit a bid for some work to be done at five different high schools up in northern california (bay area). The work involves painting a lot of linear feet of conduit. the conduit will be running alongside the walls of the schools
the height at which the conduit will be installed varies from 8ft. to 25ft. high.Never bid a job like this before. yea conduit seems harmless enough to paint, but what about when you have conduit in five different schools, then the tables turn.

So what do you guys charge for painting conduit? by the square foot or linear foot?

jmic · 10-03-2006, 04:59 AM

Hey Sauce,
I'm not a painter but just a few questions that will help others out.
1) Are there several groups of conduits run together, or just a single run?
2) Are the spaces that they are in confined, or can you use a rolling scaffold where needed and do long runs?
3) Are these new conduits, or do they have to be cleaned up first?

Well seems to me a good part of labor would be setting up to get to the higher runs of conduits. I'm sure once the painters roll out of bed they'll be all over this and give you lots of good advice, so good - luck on the bid.

AFI · 10-03-2006, 06:42 AM

Forget L/F this job look like
Man Hours + Materials + Profit + Scaffolds Rent + Over Head = Your Bid Price

mdshunk · 10-03-2006, 11:21 AM

Just a head's up from a guy that installs lots of conduit.... new conduit can be very oily. My hands end up black as coal in a few hours when working with conduit.

BMAN · 10-03-2006, 01:40 PM

I would price the rental of a scissor lift for this one. You will get done a lot faster and be able to work at various heights without getting down. Go down in your basement and paint some of your own conduit and see how long it takes you to do ten feet. Multply it by how many feet you have to do!

Richard · 10-03-2006, 06:51 PM

Scissor lift is a good suggestion from above. If it were me, I would be charging by the hour. I would charge $5/hr. more for the hassle pipes present.

If an overall bid is expected, talk them out of it~unless you do something a lot, you'll never bid it correctly and you'll lose tons of money.

saucedo80 · 10-03-2006, 07:44 PM

Thanks for all of the advice, the project needs to be an overall bid since I am going through a general contractor and he is submitting his bid to the school district. The other problem is that all that i have to base my bid on is the project plans, conduit has not been installed yet. I will ask though if time and material is a possibility.

Here are more specifics:

The conduit that is being installed is for new surveilance cameras that are being put in through out these 5 schools.

It is new 1" conduit.
I still have to figure out the total footage.

the lengths vary between 20' and 200'

the height the conduit is being installed at is between 9 ft. and 25ft. high the average height though is 15'

according to the plans, everything seems to have easy acess nothing confined.

So you guys don't recomend me work off a price from the National Painting Cost estimator book? what do you think.

Richard · 10-03-2006, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saucedo80

Thanks for all of the advice, the project needs to be an overall bid since I am going through a general contractor and he is submitting his bid to the school district. The other problem is that all that i have to base my bid on is the project plans, conduit has not been installed yet. I will ask though if time and material is a possibility....

It is new 1" conduit.
I still have to figure out the total footage.....

So you guys don't recomend me work off a price from the National Painting Cost estimator book? what do you think.

Yes, just go from the book (I own it)pick your application method as brush (to make the most money)...Go with medium pace rates..... I suggest going with the book, because like you, I dont paint tons of conduit.
Good luck landing the job~

Ps-dont forget all the coats, since it's new...sounds like 2-3 coats to me (primer and 1 or 2)

Joewho · 10-04-2006, 08:52 AM

Zipping along on the round conduit will be hard enough to bid, but don't for get the hangers. If the conduit is different color than the wall, you'll have to deal with hundreds of hangers.

BMAN · 10-05-2006, 09:59 PM

what about pre-spraying all the components before instalation? Then you will only have to do touch ups

paintr56 · 10-06-2006, 12:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saucedo80

Thanks for all of the advice, the project needs to be an overall bid since I am going through a general contractor and he is submitting his bid to the school district. The other problem is that all that i have to base my bid on is the project plans, conduit has not been installed yet. I will ask though if time and material is a possibility.

Here are more specifics:

The conduit that is being installed is for new surveilance cameras that are being put in through out these 5 schools.

It is new 1" conduit.
I still have to figure out the total footage.

the lengths vary between 20' and 200'

the height the conduit is being installed at is between 9 ft. and 25ft. high the average height though is 15'

according to the plans, everything seems to have easy acess nothing confined.

So you guys don't recomend me work off a price from the National Painting Cost estimator book? what do you think.

Try to get the conduit first to clean, prime and first coat then have it installed. That way all you need to do is second coat it and what you can't get to because it is against the building will still be coated and won't show. as far as time goes I can't help you but I would go buy a section and clean, prime and first coat it to see how long that would take. The most time on the finish coat will be getting to it and only you are in a position to guess how long that will take. Good luck to you.

Jim Bunton