Author Topic: Painting Kitchen Cabinets: Labor Rate?  (Read 8249 times)

Offline Wannabe-A-Pro

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Painting Kitchen Cabinets: Labor Rate?
« on: January 25, 2006, 04:43:39 PM »
After many years of painting for free and for food, I’ve just started my own painting business.  I think I’m doing pretty well pricing most of my jobs, but I can’t make any sense out of the cabinet pricing in my painting cost guides.

I need a realistic labor rate to come up with a reasonable price.  What’s an average labor rate  - e.g. labor hours per 100 SF of cabinet surface?

Thanks!!

the PAINTSMITH

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Re:Painting Kitchen Cabinets: Labor Rate?
« Reply #1 on: January 28, 2006, 02:25:58 PM »
I've never done cabinets unless on a time/material basis. There are way too many variables involved. I couldn't even come up with a sq. ft. average for you, as every one has been different, ie. some brushed, some sprayed, some needed a light sanding, some had 30 years of grease to remove before anything would bond...

...I know there are brave souls out there who'll give a set price, but it ain't me...

,,,And good luck

Offline Wannabe-A-Pro

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Re:Painting Kitchen Cabinets: Labor Rate?
« Reply #2 on: January 29, 2006, 03:09:03 PM »
Thanks man!  

Yes, this looks like a time and materials situation. There are too many variables involved - condition of the cabinets, cabinet style, door style, number of doors, wood or other construction, hardware, etc., etc.

Just to get a point of reference, I’ve estimated the time to paint one 30”x30” cabinet front and with double doors, assuming the cabinet is in good condition and not very greasy/dirty.

Remove hardware and door, clean and prep: 10 minutes
Apply one coat of primer sealer Prime/seal to cabinet front and 2 door (2 sides): 15 minutes
Apply two coats of satin latex enamel to cabinet front and 2 door (2 sides): 30 minutes

Total 55 minutes (round up to 1 hour)

30”x30” cabinet = 6.25 SF

Approximate rate is 6 SF per hour

You would pick up speed as you do more cabinets.  Let’s say this rate doubles on a 100 SF cabinet job.  At 12 SF/HR, it would take 8.3 hours to do 100 SF.  Of course, you still have to factor in setup/cleanup time, and time to reinstall the doors, and hardware.

I’ll go with time and materials, but I’ll try to time myself when I do a kitchen cabinet job and see how far off I am on my estimated labor rate.

Offline rmichael

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Re:Painting Kitchen Cabinets: Labor Rate?
« Reply #3 on: January 29, 2006, 05:50:28 PM »
A very practical start...Looks like a sound formula.
Don't forget to figure material handling ( time at the paint store), job set up, job break down and clean up. All of these eat time and Time is Money.. ;)
We multiply the face sq. footage by a factor of 4 or 4.5 to estimate cabinet interior and exterior sq. ft. (this includes standard fixed or removable shelving.)
« Last Edit: January 29, 2006, 06:03:12 PM by rmichael »
Pro Painter 30 years ~ Down East Coastal NC

"Hell Son, It's always been about the work."