Author Topic: Bidding Interior Paint Jobs  (Read 181228 times)

Offline CLWebb

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Re: Bidding Interior Paint Jobs
« Reply #45 on: March 27, 2014, 11:14:50 PM »
Hi everyone.

I'd like to thank everyone who has posted so far. A lot of varying opinions and methods, its all very helpful.

Most of my experience so far is exterior work. When I bid interior jobs (only 4 under my belt) I seem to always work longer than I expect. Until now I have been pretty much bidding the same for wall space as I would on an easy to roll exterior wall. That seems to be working for me, but it's all the trim and detail work that gets me.

What bidding methods are you guys using to bid for painting baseboards, molding, hearths, window and doorways, as well as doors? I have another project coming up, and I figured I would just time myself and see how many linear feet I can paint in an hour and adjust it for the projected ability of my current and future hires.

Working in the northwest, it only makes sense for my business to take on as much interior work as possible since my exterior season is 5 months at best, and I want to be able to bid competitively and fairly without undercutting myself or overbidding and losing to many jobs. (I consider 40-50% of jobs estimated to be a good success rate, but would like to improve there as well)

So far the best tip I can give other painters is doing your own research. Not just looking it up on the internet or reading a book, but actually keeping track of your work and documenting it. For example, I bid a project recently as a 120 hour job, but finished it in 100. The Trim and fascia flew by a lot faster than I expected. My painters were as experienced as I was, and my management style is to give everyone a clear goal by the end of the day. I now keep it mind when bidding similar projects. Writing down your progress every day at the end of the day (takes 5 minutes or less) is a good resource to look back on when you are bidding future projects.

Thank you in advance for any tips! Take care!

-CW
"Sucking at something is the first step at being kind of good at something"

Offline Rick M

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Re: Bidding Interior Paint Jobs
« Reply #46 on: March 30, 2014, 02:26:48 AM »
Hello All. I am Rick M and a Newcomer
Ive been reading your comments on estimating and would like to share with you two things, bidding by the sq.ft. is only good if youre painting floors and read the PDCA estimating and cost guide vol's 1 & 2. When im in doubt or not sure these are the things to remember.            Thanks and Hello again        Rick M

Offline Jerseypainter22

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Re: Bidding Interior Paint Jobs
« Reply #47 on: April 21, 2014, 08:24:46 PM »
I just signed up to this site. Ive been painting for some time and still haven't figured it all out when it comes to bidding. I do think that calculating sq.ft. Really only works for new construction. When it comes to working in someones home there are so many variables I don't think sq.ft works. For example setting up, moving furniture, drop cloths, masking...Ive painted rooms with all furniture moved to the center with little room to maneuver because there was just nowhere to put it. The same room might take half the time empty. Thats just one example. But my point is every job is different. I have my day rate, I figure how many hrs, or how many days, calculate materials, and then add 20% to cover, overhead/profit. I try to get 200$ a day, but to use someones word from recent post philanthropainting, some times Im flexible. Factor in things like trips to paint store, time it takes to clean up every day. All these things go way beyond the sqft price. Also according to the Paint Contractors manual published in 1985 the sq.ft price average was 1.30 how is it possible the average went down since 85? Im not being a wise ass just trying to learn. Hope this helps.

Offline chrisn

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Re: Bidding Interior Paint Jobs
« Reply #48 on: April 22, 2014, 03:17:57 AM »
$200 a day in Jersy??????  How do you survive?

Offline Jerseypainter22

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Re: Bidding Interior Paint Jobs
« Reply #49 on: April 22, 2014, 07:51:41 AM »
Well its a struggle. Hmmmm maybe theres something to be learned here. That only includes labor. But low huh?

Offline The Painterman

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Re: Bidding Interior Paint Jobs
« Reply #50 on: June 16, 2014, 05:31:18 PM »
I just signed up to this site. Ive been painting for some time and still haven't figured it all out when it comes to bidding. I do think that calculating sq.ft. Really only works for new construction. When it comes to working in someones home there are so many variables I don't think sq.ft works. For example setting up, moving furniture, drop cloths, masking...Ive painted rooms with all furniture moved to the center with little room to maneuver because there was just nowhere to put it. The same room might take half the time empty. Thats just one example. But my point is every job is different. I have my day rate, I figure how many hrs, or how many days, calculate materials, and then add 20% to cover, overhead/profit. I try to get 200$ a day, but to use someones word from recent post philanthropainting, some times Im flexible. Factor in things like trips to paint store, time it takes to clean up every day. All these things go way beyond the sqft price. Also according to the Paint Contractors manual published in 1985 the sq.ft price average was 1.30 how is it possible the average went down since 85? Im not being a wise ass just trying to learn. Hope this helps.

Woah. If you are a professional painting contractor and you are finding and doing your own jobs then you are selling yourself way short making only $200 a day. Around $200 a day is what a skilled and experienced house painter should be making working for a reputable painting company not running his or her own business.

My suggestion is that you start quoting jobs based on the total job cost and not by the hour or day. Believe me you will find that to be much more profitable and you will deal with a better level of clients however you will have to find at least one reliable and competent painter to help you especially if it is a larger job like an entire house otherwise you will lose money and anger clients when their repaint drags into weeks because you are doing the work alone. Look at it this way. If you are charging $200 a day to paint say a master bedroom when the job is really worth say $350-$400 based on what other companies in your area are charging and the job can still be done in a day then you are losing money each and every day.

If you are cool with making around $200 a day then do yourself a favour and just work for someone else and avoid all the headaches of running your own business and paying all your own overhead. If you want to step it up and make the real dough you will have to start learning how to properly quote by the job its that simple.

With regards to quoting repaints they can in fact be done by calculating square footage quite easily and this method is by my experience anyways is used by many painting companies including my own. Start by finding out what other companies are charging on average in your area per square foot to help you arrive at your standard base price per square foot. In a nutshell you then measure the walls and ceiling heights to calculate square footage of the walls and this will also help you arrive at the square footage of the ceilings. Then subtract the square footage of any doors and windows from the total area of the walls. Measure the linear feet of trim and crown mouldings in the home and count the number of doors and closets. Then you simply charge somewhere around your areas average price per square foot for walls, linear trim, ceilings, closets and doors. Take into account the affluence of the area, your labor and your paint costs which may fluctuate depending on if a client requests a certain paint before arriving at your final per square foot price and then add on some money on top of the overall quote for your overhead like gas, insurance, cell bill and for materials like tape, caulking, sandpaper etc.

Obviously take into account if any major prep work or priming will have to be done and if a ton of furniture will have to be moved and will be in the way and add on for that and voila you should have a solid price to hand a potential client that is reasonable to what others are charging in your area so that you won't over bid and lose a job or worse underbid, get the job and then lose money. Ive heavily simplified the explanation of the process for conversations sake but if you tinker with your numbers over a few jobs you will find that you can make good money by quoting the entire job by calculating square footage on repaints while staying competitive to other painters in your area as opposed to just dropping your pants for a low hourly or day rate and dragging jobs out resulting in few call backs or referrals. Arriving at numbers for all the intangible stuff like moving furniture, major prep etc. will all become easier the more jobs you do and will just become second nature.

Do this for long enough and eventually you will be able to walk into most homes and rooms and quickly arrive at a fairly accurate number in your head right away but I always measure things anyways as I find that clients more often than not are more likely to hire the thorough painter that pulled out a tape or laser measure before giving them a quote as opposed to the guy who just quickly walked through the house before giving them a price especially if their bids are close dollar wise. A nice thing about quoting on the entire job by square footage is the method can applied to pretty much any house. Another nice thing with quoting total job price is that if you and your guys bang it out in less time than you estimated then you will be off to the next one quicker and the client will be impressed which doesn't usually happen with a drag it out hourly or day painter.

Hope this helps.

Offline Straight Edge Painting

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Re: Bidding Interior Paint Jobs
« Reply #51 on: July 13, 2014, 11:52:15 AM »
Interior bidding can be easy if you have done a lot of interior painting. 

The main factors I consider are:

1, how many days will it take me or whoever to do the amount of work proposed
2, how much preparation to the surfaces does the customer want?  be specific, ask them upfront what they expect...
3, how many gallons of paint and what is the cost per gallon of paint you plan on using.  overestimate paint costs a little...
4, how much do I pay my help for the entire project-I then add the paint costs to this
5, how much do I want to make on the job....always considering if you have other work lined up or not-bid it to get it or do marketing so you don't have to buy jobs....


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Offline A New Leaf Painting

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Re: Bidding Interior Paint Jobs
« Reply #52 on: November 04, 2014, 02:25:43 PM »
There are many factors that influence the price of an interior painting estimate. I believe they have all been addressed here, I find this thread to be pretty comprehensive. Good stuff! Painting Contractors Jacksonville FL
« Last Edit: November 04, 2014, 02:38:20 PM by tjdrake »
“The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of a low price is forgotten” – Benjamin Franklin Painters Jacksonville FL

Offline Straight Edge Painting

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Re: Bidding Interior Paint Jobs
« Reply #53 on: March 18, 2015, 05:46:40 AM »
I try to take a big picture way of looking at interior jobs.  I know my crews, my painters, enough to know what they can get done in one day and big jobs accordingly.  I am a painter, so it helps me know how long things should take.  Painters and crews paint at different speeds so I like this method best.  Also, I am doing a lot of estimates per week and I don't have the luxury of taking an hour at every job to do measurements...


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Offline Straight Edge Painting

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Re: Bidding Interior Paint Jobs
« Reply #54 on: March 18, 2015, 05:52:14 AM »
I try to take a big picture way of looking at interior jobs.  I know my crews, my painters, enough to know what they can get done in one day and big jobs accordingly.  I am a painter, so it helps me know how long things should take.  Painters and crews paint at different speeds so I like this method best.  Also, I am doing a lot of estimates per week and I don't have the luxury of taking an hour at every job to do measurements...

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Offline paintit.com

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Re: Bidding Interior Paint Jobs
« Reply #55 on: March 24, 2015, 06:35:06 PM »
I've always looked at 1 piece, such as a window, figure how long it takes to complete, then multiply by how many in room(s) then move on to next item. For BIG things like long banisters, we just see how many feet we think we can do in an hour, then multiply by how long it is. I guess the main thing has always been to break things down to workable understandable sizes and the multiply by how many.Hope that makes sense.

Offline carter custom painting

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Re: Bidding Interior Paint Jobs
« Reply #56 on: March 24, 2015, 10:21:15 PM »
bid what you want to make an hour. check what your competition is charging which really doesnt matter I have seen all types of prices. Sometimes it is hard to believe what people charge. one guy charges 100.00 an hour. don't sell your self short.... is what I have come to find out. If you don't charge enough believe it or not some people won't hire you, and those are the people you want to work for. If you market your self as a 200 a day painter that is really all you will ever be, those are the only clients you will get. I would build a business around higher end customers who appreciate high quality craftsmanship.
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« Last Edit: March 24, 2015, 10:34:52 PM by carter custom painting »

Offline Straight Edge Painting

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Re: Bidding Interior Paint Jobs
« Reply #57 on: March 29, 2015, 06:38:53 AM »
This is why I work so hard on delivering high quality work with a strong marketing so I can get the prices that I feel I deserve..

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Offline woodbury

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Re: Bidding Interior Paint Jobs
« Reply #58 on: March 01, 2016, 12:13:25 AM »
Thankyou everyone for all of this great info. I'm a "new kid" on the block with only 3 jobs under my belt so far.

Offline facembani223

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Re: Bidding Interior Paint Jobs
« Reply #59 on: March 15, 2016, 04:46:28 PM »
I believe some of these guys are under valuing their skills.
Keep up the good work guys !

 

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