Ok, A New Painter in 'The Quad City's, Iowa' that's a personal acquaintance of mine was asking me the going rate on

Question

painting and what he should charge per. Sq. Ft. . Customer is supplying Sherwin Williams Paint. There are 16 units to be painted everything is going to be the same color Ceilings, And Walls. Tapping isn't even necessary because there is no trim or moldings. :) easy I know

Trying to fig a good average to provide him with because this will also land him another 40 buildings to paint with a min. of 200 units per . I said 1.25 a sq ft .  Honest answers please because this is his first big chance at a great contract that will bring steady stream of work for him and his crew.

Thanks for anymore of your great advise !!!

Walter A. Hajost II

Nichter's Home Services Corp · Answer

New work? Re-do?
spray?
How many coats specified?

Honestly, I NEVER let the 'going rate' determine my rate. That is allowing the competition determine whether I barely survive or make a comfortable living. I figure MY costs, overhead, and desired profit and bid accordingly. I the going rate causes him to loose two cents a foot on forty units, what good will it do him to land another 200 at the same rate?

Peace Painting Co., Inc. · Answer

I would not be of any help providing a formula.  
Your friend needs to go to his local Sher-Will and ask to speak to his rep.
Ofcourse, he needs to open an account if he does not have one.
SW is his best professional resource for painters.  For any kind of help, they will try to find a contractor an answer.  I have asked that same question and if my rep did not know the answer, he would ask around to other contractors for me.
Best, Charles

Woodbridge Environmental Tiptophouse.com · Answer

Nichter is right on with this.  Every area in the country has different labor rates for every trade. 
Your friend needs to figure out his overhead, what he pays his men, His desired profit to determine what his make or break point would be on any job he works in.  Then he must add factors such as current condition of units being painted, Is he doing repairs? What about the units are they empty or occupied?  Access to units.  All this needs to be considered.

Spray, brush, roll?  What kind of paint is being used.  Who is purchasing the equipment, rollers, brushes, drop cloths?  Ladders?  What about employee experience?   Workman's comp insurance?  All plays a roll in doing the job right, safely, and fast enough to make a living.

Do not forget, trims, doors, closets, each area is a different rate. 
I would suggest that he purchase perhaps the Craftsman 2011 national home Improvement estimator and use that as a guide to start with.

Below is older version of estimator just to give you an idea of pricing using this program.

'Labor Estimates for Painting'
''
'Cost to repaint a home interior'
__________________________________________________________________________

'Cost to repaint a home interior. Typical costs per 100 square feet of floor for roller and brush application of a single coat to walls and ceilings in all rooms of an occupied dwelling, including bathrooms and closets. Add the cost of coating cabinets, trim, doors and window trim. Includes minimum surface preparation, spackle of minor defects in wallboard or plaster, masking of adjacent surfaces and priming of stained or discolored surfaces. Use these figures for preliminary estimates and to check completed bids. These estimates equate to 3 painter-hours and 1 gallon of paint per 100 square feet of floor.'
Repaint a home interior, per 100 SF of floor

'Craft@Hrs',    'Unit'      ,'Material',   'Labor'              ,'Total'
PT@3.00	    CSF	    17.54	          144.80	             162.34

Labor Estimates for Painting
'High time difficulty factors for surface preparation and painting'

'High time difficulty factors for surface preparation and painting. Painting takes longer when heights exceed 8' above the floor. Productivity is lower when application requires a roller pole or wand on a spray gun or when work is done from a ladder or scaffold. When painting above 8', apply the following factors.'
'	Add 30% to the area for heights from 8' to 13' (multiply by 1.3)'
'	Add 60% to the area for heights from 13' to 17' (multiply by 1.6)'
'	Add 90% to the area for heights from 17' to 19' (multiply by 1.9)'
'	Add 120% to the area for heights from 19' to 21' (multiply by 2.2)'

Accurate Repair & Home Improvements · Answer

Thanks everyone some of This info helped me to appreciate all the comments! Walter

Dan's of Central Florida, Inc. · Answer

I don't know your local trade practices, but I assume they are not much different than here. It sounds to me like these are apartments or condo units? Or track housing? Either way, the person awarding the contract is going to expect a volume discount. And, at least around here, that is way below $1.25 per square foot. Commercial painting is around $0.50 a square foot. Track housing around $0.75/sft. Apartments are way cheaper and bid by the number of bedrooms/bathrooms in the unit. For a  4 bedroom/2 bath apartment you probably won't get much more than $250 per unit (what's that, maybe 15 - 20 cents a square foot). You charge a flat rate per unit and the square foot size is not relevant really.

Even at these prices, you can make some good money. If you really move your rear and have some good workers, your friend can still make a few hundred dollars in a day after expenses.

Look into your local pricing , especially for large amounts of units like your friend has going. It wouldn't do them any good if every body else is bidding things for 1/4 his asking cost.

Accurate Repair & Home Improvements · Answer

Thanks, That is what I was telling him. But I always like to explore the rates of other states and cities around the U.S to just as reference. Thought some of this question would provide me a little more info on my research on that aspect and answer his question also.

It is amazing on how much of price vereations there is. Here Honestly I've been getting 1.50 sq. ft. per room on repaints and an extra $50 if they want ceilings at time of service. which incudes paint of course 1.00 sq.ft with customer purchased paint.

Accurate Repair & Home Improvements · Answer

Thanks,

everyone for your time and your help !

Walter

Ok, A New Painter in 'The Quad City's, Iowa' that's a personal acquaintance of mine was asking me the going rate on

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Ok, A New Painter in 'The Quad City's, Iowa' that's a personal acquaintance of mine was asking me the going rate on

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