Square Foot Pricing For New Construction Commercial Painting?

BiggSlick

hello everyone. i am new to the site and ticked off i didn't find it earlier. i have been painting for 13 years and for the first ten years did only residential projects. in the last few years i have been focusing almost completely on commercial. most of my work lately has been commercial repaints. however, i just got a lead to start pricing out some new construction commercial work.

this is what i got going-- i am looking at a hospital in the midwest. i am being asked to paint all the drywall. this means walls only. the ceilings will be tiled. the trim will be factory finished wood. the baseboards will be rubber or carpet and do not require painting. i am required to put a primer coat down followed by two coats of paint. this place has 50,000 sq. ft. of wall. this seems great because it is a big job. however, i am trying to be competitive because the hospital will be taking multiple bids.

what i need help with is determining an accurate price. what would fellow painters charge per sq. ft. on a project like this? it is all spray and backroll work. any input would be greatly appreciated. thanks!

rbsremodeling

since its 1am my time.

In my time zone its three fifty

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BiggSlick

u would charge $3.50 x 50,000 square ft. of wall, which is $175,000? it seems maybe i have underestimated what i can get for the job lol.

BattleRidge

ur right twofitty might be more like it

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BiggSlick

also, when charging a job at a square foot price do u include materials in the price or charge them separately? i usually do my bidding by figuring labor, materials, and profit, but the hospital is asking me to give them a square foot price.

Mr. Mike

THey don't mention prices in the painters area, but for craps and giggles I will ask you what you charge per sq. ft. to paint walls in your house repaints? Probably in your area a buck a foot.

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BattleRidge

Do you know how to divide?

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BiggSlick

I don't do square foot prices on my repaints. I figure out my price by labor, material, and profit margin. It is different for a wide scope of work. I price my stuff out by project usually, not by square foot. This hospital is a new type of bidding process for me because I am not accustomed to pricing things out by a set square foot price.

macatawacab

I am in MI too. When I bid painting a large commercial building I figure by the cubic foot. A room/building is a cube. Now once you have the cubic foot price figured you need to adjust the price since you are not doing the floor or ceiling. A cube has six sides and you are not doing 2 of the 6 sides. Divide the cubic price by a third and deduct that. Then add in materials, overhead, and profit.

SLSTech

Man you avoided the bombers for the most part

Ignore your own last line for the moment & come up with your overall number (Make sure you double check the cost of the paint the hospital requires)

You got your overall number now right?

Bingo - take your overall number & divide by 50000 - there is your SF price for this project (if odd round up to the nearest cent or 5 cent mark)

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BiggSlick

Yes I can divide. You are missing my point or just you just don't care to answer it. I know how to figure square foot pricing on a project! I am asking what is a ballpark for what I should be charging per square foot on a project this size and with this scope. Obviously it is not a house and I do not have to worry about baseboard. I am looking for someone to tell me a rough industry standard.

BiggSlick

Thanks for the info. I did a lot of projects last year in Texas too. I saw in your profile that you live there part time. Blockbuster is headquartered in Dallas. I painted about 60 stores in the area including a few in Plano. I am considering moving to Dallas because I like the area and the economy is booming there.

BiggSlick

I haven't added my overrall number yet just because I haven't taken the time. I will probably do that tonight. I know how to calculate the square foot price that way. I am just asking is there an industry standard for this type of work? $1/sq. ft? $2/sq. ft?

macatawacab

Biggslick - SLS has tried to help you. Do the search function on this site and see what you can glean.

Here is some REAL SERIOUS stuff to consider and was mentioned by someone earlier. You are bidding on a hospital. Read the specs for your work category AND the general conditions that apply to all subs on the job.

What material MUST you use. There will be several in the spec listed. Is there a bid bond required? do you have to be on a bidder's list to have your bid accepted?

Do you have to give a submittal, schedule of values, sworn statements, etc? Have you ever done this?

Are you subject to third party inspections and if so who pays for them?

There are serious general conditions to working on a hospital site. Is there a prevailing wage clause in effect.

I am not trying to scare you. It just sounds from your questions that you are not aware of conditions on this job that could break you if you do not have all the knowledge you need.

BiggSlick

thanks man. this type of project is new to me, so i appreciate you looking out. i am on the bidders list. i have no idea what a schedule of values and a sworn statement even is. i didn't even think about paying a third party inspector. the 900 page manual i read (only 25 pages for painting thankfully) didn't say anything about that stuff. i know the materials...it is just promar 200 from sw. i tried searching this stuff before i posted and no clear cut industry standard pricing really came of it. that is what i am looking for so i can gage where i will stand.

macatawacab

Read the General Conditions, check the Notes on any page that has something to do with you, ask about Addendums issued before the bid.

Try to find the PM for the GC. They will talk to bidders about job concerns and requirements or they may have a pre bid meeting. They will not give you pricing suggestions or bid help, but you may find out about any job changes, schedule, etc

Sworn Statement lists the suppliers and subs you have working under your contract. You list their contract amounts and material supply amounts, amount of work in place this billing period, amount from previous billing period, and then balance to complete.

Schedule of Values is what you are going to invoice against. If your contract was 100,000 to paint 20 rooms you would show total contract of 100K.
Show a dollar value for bidding and mobilaztion,dollar value for priming, dollar value for completed rooms, etc. So let's say you get the job and during your first billable period you prime all rooms, you would then invoice mobilization, materials, and the value of priming.

There are standard AIA forms G702/703 that show this.

Maybe some of the painters on CT could show you their forms or try "search" on AIA docs.

BiggSlick

Thanks for your input btw.

Mr. Mike

I do tons of different jobs, but I have a set price per sq. ft. of every wall or ceiling I come p against. With out that there can be no consistency in your charging.

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BiggSlick

I see what you are getting at. I break it down another way, but it is basically the same thing. On repaints I figure I can do 200-300 sq. man hour depending on ceiling height, amount of trim to work around, etc. I then break that down into a hourly figure add my profit and bill it into my quote.

What I am trying to figure by making this post is not how to calculate square foot pricing. I am trying to figure "an industry average" if you will on what I should be bidding new construction at. I want to be competitive, but I also don't want to get my ass kicked by being low. All I have to do for the walls is spray it out and back roll it three times. Obviously I can get more than 200-300 sq. ft. per man hour by spraying. What is your opinion?

I've done a few jobs in Louisville btw. All have been storage facilities. The area by the University is sweet and I always venture down to Bardstown when I can. You make it over there much?

SLSTech

Not a problem

There truly is no industry average that applies - there may be a going rate in your area, but you will generally only be able to figure it out by asking a few GC's in your area, or placing enough bids. FYI - the going rate is also commonly known as the going out of business rate. Accurate pricing gets down to how fast you & your company can do it properly & how much it costs for you to do it while still making money. If you can't make money - its not worth doing

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