What are you getting for custom homes? - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

robertpaint · 02-02-2008, 11:46 PM

Roughly, what are you getting for custom homes? What area do you live in and what does the price include?

I'm doing quite a few custom homes here in Texas. All these homes are

Interior: Just Walls (1 color), Ceilings (1 color), and Trim (1 color)
Exterior: Just fascia and soffit

I charge anywhere from 1.75 to 2.50 a square foot. Includes all materials and labor. They are anywhere from 2000 sq feet to 10,000 sq feet.

The reason I don't charge a lot is because the home builder has me deal directly with the home owners and they always want the extra stuff, such as accent walls, faux, staining, cabinets, duration paint, etc...

That's where I charge the big bucks, since I already got the job. They always go for it.

I'm starting to do about 5 of these a month.

MakDeco · 02-03-2008, 09:43 AM

Is your sq ft price based on floor sq ft?? If so that is way low for my area, especially for custom homes.

American Paint · 02-03-2008, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by robertpaint

Roughly, what are you getting for custom homes? What area do you live in and what does the price include?

I'm doing quite a few custom homes here in Texas. All these homes are

Interior: Just Walls (1 color), Ceilings (1 color), and Trim (1 color)
Exterior: Just fascia and soffit

I charge anywhere from 1.75 to 2.50 a square foot. Includes all materials and labor. They are anywhere from 2000 sq feet to 10,000 sq feet.

The reason I don't charge a lot is because the home builder has me deal directly with the home owners and they always want the extra stuff, such as accent walls, faux, staining, cabinets, duration paint, etc...

That's where I charge the big bucks, since I already got the job. They always go for it.

I'm starting to do about 5 of these a month.

I was in Austin last Winter,(wish I was this year as well) and I found that the average mid range house not custom at all one colour walls and ceilings was going for $2.85 sqft (floor) you are selling yourself way too cheap.imo.

premierpainter · 02-03-2008, 11:18 AM

In NJ a "Custom Home" is a house that has lots of color, trim and items that are selected by a H/O, not a builder.
1 color walls, 1 color ceilings and 1 color trim is a Track Home and we can still charge around $3 a floor sq ft. (even though we don't figure floor sq ft prices) a Custom house we can charge up to $10 a floor sq ft. Example is we are painting a 14k sq. ft. house right now. New "custom" house. Our bid is $153,650.

sttryffe · 02-04-2008, 05:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by American Paint

I was in Austin last Winter,(wish I was this year as well) and I found that the average mid range house not custom at all one colour walls and ceilings was going for $2.85 sqft (floor) you are selling yourself way too cheap.imo.

Greetings! Do all these prices include paint and materials?

American Paint · 02-04-2008, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sttryffe

Greetings! Do all these prices include paint and materials?

YES!

Workaholic · 02-04-2008, 05:23 PM

I wouldn't say these are custom homes just larger homes. 2 story with lots crown and trim, i am 3-3.50
Thats includes paint and material

NEPS.US · 02-05-2008, 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by premierpainter

In NJ a "Custom Home" is a house that has lots of color, trim and items that are selected by a H/O, not a builder.
1 color walls, 1 color ceilings and 1 color trim is a Track Home and we can still charge around $3 a floor sq ft. (even though we don't figure floor sq ft prices) a Custom house we can charge up to $10 a floor sq ft. Example is we are painting a 14k sq. ft. house right now. New "custom" house. Our bid is $153,650.

I call bulls@#t....That 's almost $11 per sq/ft ...Who's house...Shaq's or Tiger's?

premierpainter · 02-06-2008, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NEPS.US

I call bulls@#t....That 's almost $11 per sq/ft ...Who's house...Shaq's or Tiger's?

No- it is the owner of about half of the Real Estate in Hoboken NJ. He has rental income of $800k to a mil. a month. This is a guy who had $12k columns installed (12 total), didn't like them and threw them in the dumpster. We have also worked in Alpine NJ (one of the richest areas in US)and charged $12 a floor sq. ft. @ 18k sq ft. Sorry if you think that is bs. Maybe it is the reason I can have 21 guys on the payroll year round. We live in a very wealthy area and people don't mind paying for quality. We are in these houses for 3-4 months. Do you think charging less would be a good idea?
Sorry that you don't get these prices, but that is not my problem. Anyone else here from NJ charging lots for new construction? My friend charges the same as us.

NEPS.US · 02-06-2008, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by premierpainter

No- it is the owner of about half of the Real Estate in Hoboken NJ. He has rental income of $800k to a mil. a month. This is a guy who had $12k columns installed (12 total), didn't like them and threw them in the dumpster. We have also worked in Alpine NJ (one of the richest areas in US)and charged $12 a floor sq. ft. @ 18k sq ft. Sorry if you think that is bs. Maybe it is the reason I can have 21 guys on the payroll year round. We live in a very wealthy area and people don't mind paying for quality. We are in these houses for 3-4 months. Do you think charging less would be a good idea?
Sorry that you don't get these prices, but that is not my problem. Anyone else here from NJ charging lots for new construction? My friend charges the same as us.

I guess thats why your here posting at 9:33 am...real busy? .hahaha 21 guys my ass never heard of a company that does custom work with 21 guys...commercial and union..yes...your a donkey

Workaholic · 02-06-2008, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NEPS.US

I guess thats why your here posting at 9:33 am...real busy? .hahaha 21 guys my ass never heard of a company that does custom work with 21 guys...commercial and union..yes...your a donkey

You got some great forum etiquette there.

Steve Richards · 02-07-2008, 07:36 AM

Yeah,Neps.. Ya know, Jealousy on the internet is a terrible thing to witness.

Just because PremierrPainter found himself a sugardaddy with the (somewhat odd) combination of being filthy rich AND completely stupid...(most people might have just had those columns shipped back to the vendor) don't give you no reason to accuse him of bein' a liar.

Besides..It must all be true...cuz you read it on the internet!

DeanV · 02-07-2008, 08:14 AM

I do not doubt premier's numbers. A true custom home in with crown, lots of built ins, multiple kinds of finishes, done with high quality work often falls in the 7-8/sq ft range, some times more.

If your mindset is "how fast can I crank this out", then these kinds of homes and prices are not for you. If you are the "crank em out" kind of painter, you may make as much or more at $3/sq. as the high quality custom painter at $7-8/sq ft. But the there is a definite difference between the two and there are people who know the difference and will pay for the difference.

Dave Mac · 02-07-2008, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by premierpainter

Maybe it is the reason I can have 21 guys . We are in these houses for 3-4 months. .

21 guys for 4 months would probaly be around $230,000 in pay roll

. Seems like your loosing your shirt lol

Steve Richards · 02-07-2008, 09:10 AM

Yes, but he makes up for it in VOLUME.

pay attention, dammit!

George Z · 02-07-2008, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Mac

21 guys for 4 months would probaly be around $230,000 in pay roll

. Seems like your loosing your shirt lol

Why would he have 21 guys in one crew, doing one house?

In fact he said:

Quote:

Maybe it is the reason I can have 21 guys on the payroll year round

I have no reason to doubt what Premier has been saying,
he has been arround the boards for a while and that sounds consistent
with the type of business he is running.
In fact he seems to know his stuff better than most of us here.

NEPS.US · 02-07-2008, 03:05 PM

If you can get those prices ...knock yourself out...hard to believe. I would think with all your bragging posting on here that some one would be up in your area giving you some solid competition.

The only reason why I chimed in on this is because I see this guy adding his two cents on every post of people asking for pricing advice. He likes to put them down by throwing out his ridiculous numbers which sound made up. In a post not long ago he stated that he subbed work from ihatepaint...and does 45 houses a year with them and gets 100 grand a year in business with them...hmmm...sounds like 2k a house .. small profit margin to begin with. When you are doing such extravagant custom homes with great margins why would take on work like this?

If someone is posting for pricing help there is no reason to try to one-up-them....especially if your full of it.

NEPS.US · 02-07-2008, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Richards

Yes, but he makes up for it in VOLUME.

pay attention, dammit!

Do you even understand how much volume would be needed to support 21 full time employees..with benefits....comp...liability...overhead...profit?? ??

The few that I've met wouldn't be here bragging about their next job.

**ProWallGuy** · 02-07-2008, 03:32 PM

So, I guess you guys think any paint company with 20 or more employees is just a fantasy?

Look around, they are out there. Here's one right off the top of my head:
http://www.nolanpainting.com/
These guys have 100 employees, and only do residential repaints. Not union, nor commercial. Its called running a successful and profitable business.
I really don't know if premierpaint sold a job for that price or not, but if he did, you might want to shut up and listen, think, and learn. I do know one thing though, premierpaint isn't on here asking how to price a (custom???

) job. Maybe if you learned something, you could hire someone to work for you, and you'd be able to spend some time in an office

Quote:

Originally Posted by NEPS.US

posting at 9:33 am

instead of slinging a brush by yourself trying to eke out a living. Don't be haters over the fact that someone else made it happen, and you can't.

Think about what George said:

Quote:

Originally Posted by George Z

I have no reason to doubt what Premier has been saying,
he has been arround the boards for a while and that sounds consistent
with the type of business he is running.
In fact he seems to know his stuff better than most of us here.

Carry on!

winn · 02-08-2008, 10:15 PM

There is nothing to be gained or learned from negative replies. Take everything in life with a grain of salt. In my younger years I painted for a company that did a lot of commercial/industrial and custom houses, with different crews for each area. At one time we had well over 100 panters in 25 trucks. Quality work earns top dollar, and keeps everybody working. Listen and learn, or ignore what you don't like. Mama said if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.