What should I charge for painting services?

Question

I am interested in starting up a painting business and I was just wondering if anyone could give me an idea on how to go about charging for a room? Is there a formula based on the size of the room that needs to be painted? Obviously it is more if the woodwork needs to be painted also, how's that possibly figured in? Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

Answer 1

hiya curious...

as you move forward into the exciting world of professional painting, you're gonna find that there is absolutely no standards within this industry that determines the rates painters will charge...

here are a couple of estimating pointers...

1) affix a square footage cost that'll include the cost of surface preparation, material, application labor and clean-up. for example a bedroom may have 400 square feet of wall space (approximately 1 and 1/3 gallons of paint). if you were to charge $.32 per square foot, the total bill would be $128...your cost of material is gonna be approximately $30.00 and time to prepare, apply and clean up will be about 3 man-hours (if no furniture is to be moved and replaced by you)

2) another way to estimate is to figure the job on a time and material basis. the industry states you should be able to apply 1 gallon of paint in 2 hours by brush and roll. if you need to charge $75.00 per hour to cover your travel, labor, overhead and profit then the same job as above would run about $255 (3 hours @ $75. + $30.00 material)

3) using a material multiplier is a simple way to guestimate charges for a job...figure (for interior purposes) that material should account for 20% of the total job...that means labor, overhead and profit accounts for the other 80%....so in this example material cost is $30.00, labor would then be 5X the material amount or $150 (total job $180)

there you have 3 ways to kind of guage what to charge for painting a room...bidding is certainly not an exact science - you want the job but you don't want to be too cheap nor do you want to leave money on the table...so until the time you feel comfortable looking at a job and saying "i can do it for this amount of money..." - if you figure each job a couple of different ways you should be able to come up with a price that is fair and reasonable to both you and your client.

remember this though...if you get into competitive situations there will always be somebody that'll do the job for less - don't get into price wars with low ball painters, you can't win. give a fair price for your services and explain to your prospective customers what you are going to do and what they can expect from you. if they balk at your price, emphasize your workmanship and quality...if they continue to balk, you may want to walk away from this type of customer.

always use the best quality tools and products - it will provide a better finish product for your client plus it will dramatically cut your labor time....and buy from your local independently owned paint store - they are small business people, just like you....and they have the expertise to help you with surface preparation guidelines, product recommendations and problem solving - PLUS - they are a great source for new business as they'll have the opportunity to recommend you to their customers looking for quality painters.

good luck

ric

Answer 2

Measure the room off so you have a general idea of the size, look at the coverage that the intended paint will give, purchase 15-20% more than you might need.
Figure out how long it takes you to paint a ten foot square, use that figure as a base to calculate your time.
Next charge each job for all the materials used, brushes, rollers,drop clothes, etc...and if they want them at the end of the job give them to the client.
the final piece is how much are you going to pay your self...?
Double it....!!!! then add the standard taxes to that figure and you know what charge.
Don't mark up on the paint or the other materials or you may be responsible to pay in sales taxes.

Answer 3

charge painting services

Answer 4

My dad has owned a painting business for 30 years. He prices out his estimates around $30-35 an hour.

Answer 5

Your best bet is to research what your competitors charge and charge less. It's still possible that someone will charge less than you, but everyone won't. Just make sure to calculate what you need to make, so you don't end up being a starving painter.

Answer 6

start by figuring the type of paint and how much it will cover. that is your biggest variable. then equipment. what do you use once and what do you use on another job. figure in the depreciation. then time . have a few companies come to your house and give a couple of estimates that will help. you can also you those estimates to price comparatively and show potential customers. get contracts.

Answer 7

50$ a hour

Answer 8

1000 PER HALF HR