Means Residential Square Foot Pricing Guide 2013
I’ve painted houses for 11 years now and I still run into situations that are difficult to bid, but over time i’ve developed a simple process that can teach anyone to bid a painting job; exterior or interior. There are really only 5 expenses to consider when estimating a paint job:.
Paint. Materials. Labor. Marketing. Your Mark-up That’s why I love painting businesses; they’re simple.
[83926f] - Contractors Pricing Guide Residential Square Foot Cost 1997 Means Contractors Pricing Guides this chapter describes and evaluates various solutions to common parking. Means Square Foot Costs 2010 RSMeans Contractor's Pricing Guide: Residential Repair & Remodeling 2016 (Means Residential Repair & Remodeling Costs) RSMeans Contractor's Pricing. Nov 2, 2015 - In 2013, NAHB developed a different construction cost breakdown. Companies that provide more specific cost estimating, usually for a fee, include RS Means and Marshall. The Census Bureau's data on new residential construction shows. The average lot cost per square foot in 2015 is $4.20, which is.
I’ll break down each of these categories in detail: 1. How Much is Paint? A gallon of paint can be anywhere from $15-80. It really depends on the brand, the quality and the contractor discount you’re getting. A homeowner might be paying $30 for a gallon of paint, when a seasoned contractor can get the same gallon for $15.
This depends on the relationship the contractor has with the paint store, and how many gallons they’re buying each month. A personal example: When I first started, I was paying $37 per gallon of Sherwin Williams “Super Paint”. Over time, I developed a relationship with the store and proved that I was buying hundreds of gallons each month. After a couple years I negotiated my Super Paint price down to $25 per gallon. From $37 to $25! That’s a big deal for my painting business: That’s 33% off my paint expenditure category. The cost of paint also depends on the quality.
A lower quality paint typically has less resin (the resin is what actually holds the paint together), whereas high quality paint has more resin and holds up better over time. Cost of Paint (Avg.
Per Gallon) Quality: Low Medium High Homeowner Price $20 $40 $80 Contractor Price $15 $25 $45 How much paint do I need per house? Size of House Body Color Trim Color Total Gallons Total Cost (@$25 per gallon) 1500 sq ft. 8 2 10 $250 2500 sq ft. 12 3 15 $375 4000 sq ft. 20 5 25 $625 2. How Much are Materials?
These are the most common painting materials you’ll need on each job and how much you’ll need for a 2,500 square foot exterior paint job with medium prep work: -Masking Plastic (2 rolls) $25 -Masking Paper (3 rolls) $15 -Tape (10 rolls) $35 -Caulking (6 tubes) $15 -Primer (1 gallon) $25 Total Cost: $115 How many materials you need also depends heavily upon:. Amount of prep-work needed. How many windows. How much brick. How much roof line This checklist is pretty typical, but can vary greatly depending on the house. If there is a LOT of prep needed, you might go through 3 gallons of primer, and 12 tubes of caulking.
If there is a LOT of brick + roof line that needs to be masked off, you might go through 5 rolls of paper and 3 rolls of plastic. How Much is Labor? This is by far the hardest cost to estimate when bidding a house, mainly because there are SO many factors. The short answer is this; A good crew of 2-3 painters can finish the exterior of a 2,500 square foot house in 1-2 full days. And a good crew usually costs about $800 per full work day.
However, the following obstacles on a house can TRIPLE the time + labor it takes to paint a house:. Heavy Prep-work (peeling, wood damage, failed caulking). House access (difficult ladder placements, steep roof etc.). Type of windows (embedded windows, vinyl windows). Vegetation coverage (trees in the way, lots of ivy, nice gardens). Radically different colors (applying 2 or 3 coats before the paint covers) The safest/best way to get a good price on labor is to actually bring your experienced crew to the house with you. They can alert you of certain aspects of the house that are very time-consuming, so you can factor in the extra work.
If you are inexperienced at painting or estimating, it is better to charge MORE in order to protect your profit margin. Making mistakes at the beginning is inevitable so charging more protects you against an underbid job or a missed expense. Here’s a quick table to help you with labor cost: Size of House Full Work Days Total Labor Cost 1500 sq ft. 1 $800 2500 sq ft. 1.5 $1200 4000 sq ft. How Much is Marketing?
You can market your painting business a variety of ways, we have 7 proven methods No matter what you use for marketing, whether it’s lead providers, lawn signs or door-knocking, you should track the overall cost. It’s important to isolate the marketing that gives you the best ROI (return on investment) and spend all your time/money there. Keeping your marketing percentage below 10% is a good rule-of-thumb.
Let’s say you sell a $3,000 paint job. Spending $300 or less on marketing to obtain the job will still leave you plenty of profit. Here are some typical marketing costs for our painting business:. Lead Providers – $30-$60 per lead. Lawn Signs – $10 per sign.
Door-to-door leads – $10 per lead. Flyer Drops – $1,000-$4,000 per drop. Referrals – FREE. Lead Groups – FREE 5. Mark-up: How to factor in your profit.
You’re in business to make money right? And to provide the best dang paint job out there, so it’s important to add mark-up into your bid. Let’s use our 2,500 square foot house as an example: Paint – $375 Materials – $115 Labor – $1,200 Marketing – $100 Mark-up –? Let’s say I want to make 35% profit on this paint job. I’m spending $1,790 on paint, materials, labor and marketing. So I should charge around $2800 total, which would make my mark-up $1,010. Summary I’ve used this basic formula for many years with success.
Please keep in mind that it takes a lifetime to truly master painting, and there are an infinite number of obstacles and situations that house painting can create. Some painters keep it simple and just charge by square foot; If you charge $1.25 per square foot, 2500 sq ft. Would cost $3,125 for the homeowner etc. Thankfully, almost every paint job will fall within the following pricing: Exterior Paint Jobs: 1500 sq ft – $1,500-$2,500 3000 sq ft – $3,000-$5,000 5000 sq ft – $6,000-$10,000 Interior Paint Jobs: 1500 sq ft – $1,800-$3,000 3000 sq ft – $3,500-$4,500 5000 sq ft – $5,000-$8,000 Find a method that works best for you and keep it consistent. Let us know about estimating tips that you like!
Thanks for reading! -Chandler Zieg. Kadie August 12, 2017 at 6:50 pm I have been painting for almost a year.I have a side job and I’m not sure how to bid.Here is the list of things to be done. Mantle needs caulk,puddy sand and paint.6 doors and door frames to be caulked puddied sanded and painted 2 are exterior,caulk bathtub,front door is wood needs painted,small windows around front door to be painted,island in kitchen has 12 drawers to be sprayed blue,trim here and there caulked,puddied,sanded and painted,3 window shutters outside to be painted,window trim outside in back to be caulked puddied and painted,cut in around shower and tub,garage door to be painted,stucco around front door to be painted. Chandler Zieg September 26, 2017 at 9:45 pm Hi Kadie, when it’s sort of a piecemeal job like you’ve listed, we recommend bringing your head painter to help estimate. Your foreman, or most experienced painter can tell you how long each item will take. For example: Sanding and Painting 6 doors = 4 hours.
3 window shutters = 1.5 hours etc. After itemizing everything with your painter you’ll get a labor total, like 25 hours. And then charge an amount per hour that includes hourly labor, materials and your profit margin. Lets say all your items take 25 hours and you charge $60 per hour (includes labor, paint, and your markup). You would bill the customer 25x$60 = $1,500. This estimating process is recommended when there are many scattered things to be painted and it’s not just a full repaint.
Hopefully this helps, Kadie. Chandler Zieg September 26, 2017 at 9:50 pm Hi Cindy, new construction can be difficult because often times nothing is caulked or primed. We recommend charging at least 30% more when doing new construction. If your typical rate is $1.50 per square foot, on new construction we’d recommend charging $2.00 per square foot. You will save some money by having them buy the paint, but paint is usually only 10-15% of the job cost.
Builders don’t usually pay much for house painting, so it is recommended you meet with the builder or construction company in person to agree on a final price. Dean January 20, 2018 at 8:50 pm I think it best to measure walls and ceiling areas to be painted. Measuring the floor space only will not give you the actual wall square feet. A wall could be 8’. 10’ or more high. Measuring the floor only could cost you money.
If I had a 10×10 x8 high room. Floor space is 100 sq feet but the wall would be 320 sq feet minus door, window and closet. Now if I had the same 10×10 room but 12 feet high.
That would be 480 sq ft of wall minus window, door and closet. Using floor square feet of floor only would make your estimate inaccurate. I know some may disagree but that would be the correct way to measure a room for painting. Bruce October 12, 2017 at 5:18 pm How do you feel about using a sprayer versus rolling paint on? Do you really save that much time with a sprayer and increase your profitability? In my experience I found that my time is better spent by rolling on almost immediately.
It can take a lot of time masking off and covering everything. Sometimes a whole day. Besides you still have to back roll, you still have to cut in and do trim with a brush. Typically I also save on the amount of paint used. Your thoughts? Scott in Virginia Beach February 1, 2018 at 3:04 pm Good day.
Stumbled on your site and spent some time reading. Great information. I’ve been applying coatings for some time now, but after that time still hit a stumbling block when putting together estimates for exterior work when doing brick homes that require doors, and the trim package. I’ve got a 4,000 sq ft ranch and has one high side where the driveway slopes down to a garage.
Is everyone running linear feet pricing nowadays for fascia, soffit, and dentil moulding? I know different markets will have different tolerances. Trying to soundboard to see what most exterior guys are doing now. We’ve been indoors for some time now and branching back to more exterior work. Appreciate any advice and feedback.
Joseph Gerardi February 28, 2018 at 3:52 pm Hi, I have a house that I’m bidding on, it’s huge about 12.000 sq ft of wall space and 20 -24 ft ceilings many holes to patch from pictures being hung,that’s just the main, there is also a 3 room in law. The nice part its all going to be one color, off white so spraying is the way to go just have to mask the windows.The outside is mostly vinyl siding so power washing will do but it is 3 floors and has some wood trim that needs to be addressed. Nice part no sanding on inside or out just a little scraping.If I use your formula for pricing looks like about 25 k.Does this sound in the ball park?
Conaz P March 8, 2018 at 10:27 pm Hi Chandler, Very nice blog. Pretty good information.
BTW, how do you estimate the equipment cost for a painting project? You might have spray machines bought 3 years ago or may be renting such machines.
So how much equipment cost will you charge for a given project? Also how about the overhead cost – like insurance, rent, ad, vehicle, utility, salaryetc?
How do you figure out how much overhead cost to be charged on a given painting project? Chandler Zieg March 9, 2018 at 12:56 pm Hi Conaz, good question. There’s a really good breakdown of all painting equipment (cost, supplies list etc.). As far as your other costs, I would break it down into categories, similar to how an accountant would do it: Marketing Expense, Insurance/Workers Comp., Gas/Mileage.
Once you’ve discovered this monthly overhead you can determine your markup. We always try to make 40-50% gross profit on a paint job before any other expenses. Your net profit will be determined by the size of your business.
For example, one painting company with 40 employees may only have a net profit of 10%, but a smaller operation; One owner and one crew may have a net profit of 35%. You should decide beforehand what you want to make per job, factoring in all your costs, and then create a consistent bidding process to make what you want.
Kathleen March 30, 2018 at 4:51 pm Hi, thank you for breaking down the cost of painting. We have a 2400 sq. Ranch style home and I need to find a painter who can paint the interior – one coat- as it was already done 5 years ago. We live in an affluent neighborhood and after 7 quotes, theyre all asking between $8-10,000!
I know it’s bc they see deep pockets in this area, and can get those prices. I’m wondering if you can recommend some painters who are more down to earth? My area code is 07041 NJ. Thank you very much. Kathleen 97422074.
Kim R. April 10, 2018 at 7:10 pm Hi guys, Thank you for this site.
Its helpful to read all the comments and replies. I am starting out on my own and like most everyone else, I am inexperienced with estimating and pricing. I know you dont do estimates, but my question is about the pricing market in the DC area as oppose to other regions. I painted mostly in the west where the cost of living is much cheaper. How will I compare pricing from there to here in the DC area where the cost of living is 3xs as high? Chandler Zieg April 16, 2018 at 4:31 pm Hi Kim, we’re glad you like the site. You’ve asked a really good question.
We recommend keeping a consistent pricing structure no matter what the area. Some painting contractors will try to raise their price if the area is very affluent, but if you have a consistent estimating system, the pricing should take care of itself. More affluent areas usually have larger houses, so your pricing is already going to be higher when considering the job size. You shouldn’t price based on what the area is, but rather, what do you need to charge to make your target profit margin. Bob Burden April 17, 2018 at 2:43 am hey there, i’ve been painting for years working for a guy who ripped us off at any given moment but thats another story.
Anyway, long story short me and my friend are starting up our own business and have not done any estimating before. Thanks so much for putting up this great info.
I just have a question about where you say square footage. It says 1500 square feet you would charge 1800-3000. My question is, would that be total square footage of the house or wall sqaure footage? I just went to check out a house today that was 1900 square feet that had two bedrooms, two baths, 2 walk in closets and a laundry room and an electrical room with a open concept kitchen living area, with 12 foot ceilings throughout most of the house.
So there is alot of walls is what im getting. Not looking for what you would estimate for the house, just wondering if you are taking the square footage of the entire house or the walls? Hope to hear from you soon! And thanks again for all the info you already helped us with. Jose May 7, 2018 at 7:49 pm Hey Chandler, we have a house 2565 sq ft with the old wood trim on windows and doors.
Doors are solid dark wood. We would paint all walls and doors and trim and baseboards. We also would be painting the cabinets in the kitchen from wood to white. We are trying to determine a final all in labor cost + a timeframe to do the job. The trim is trim time is throwing us off a bit. And personally, thank you very much for your time and sacrifice on this blog you have helped many many people.
Chandler Zieg May 7, 2018 at 11:26 pm Hi Jose I’m glad you like the blog. Unfortunately we don’t really do estimates for people. We offer advice (based on our own extensive experience with estimating) that can help guide you to a fair bid for both you and the homeowner. I don’t know what the price would be on your specific example, but I DO know that old wooden trimmed windows take a LONG time to prep and paint correctly. And I also know that going from a dark wood color to a white color can take 3 or 4 coats. Plus it depends if you’re switching finishes, oil to acrylic or vice versa, because you might need to apply a stain blocking primer before you even apply paint.
Based on your example, I would estimate for extensive time on this job. Madrigal May 25, 2018 at 4:13 pm I stumbled across this article as I was looking into “How to estimate paint jobs”. This is totally awesome article!
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I worked for a painting company for 20+ years as a bookkeeper, and my husband is a painter. I have moved on from that job a few years now and we want to start venturing out to bid some small jobs to start and get our feet wet as a side job until it can be something full time. I just need to build my confidence in estimating a job. This article is a great start. Thank you very much! Hope to comment again after we have a job under our belt!
Brendan Taylor May 26, 2018 at 1:27 pm Hi Chandler, This is such a great blog. I have spent some time reading the comments and find it so interesting.
While reading the request from some people i kept thinking is there some way i can help. I myself have been painting and plastering over 26 years and have gained a lot of knowledge in my time. Over the last 12 years i have concentrated my efforts on Scoping measuring and quoting. Over that time i have designed a program that can measure labour, material, travel, margin etc. Weather it be interior, exterior painting or plastering anything realy. I am from New Zealand. We measure in Metric and Liters not imperial and gallons.
This is not a problem as i can easily change the formulas to give me the correct measurements. The price of paint and materials are alot different in New Zealand too, but not to worry as i can also change the formulars in the forward costing tab so were reading from the same page. Please let me know if i can help and please delete if this is not the place for me to inquire.
Commercial Square Foot Pricing
That's the median price of an existing home sold in the U.S. (February data will be released by the National Association of Realtors later this month.) What will that amount actually get you?
Square Foot Pricing Calculator
450 square feet in northernmost Manhattan. An awesome pink bungalow in Ft.
Means Residential Square Foot Costs
And a small castle just outside Detroit. From the D.C. Suburbs down to Austin, Texas, across to California then a quick hop over to Honolulu - yes, Honolulu - check out what you can get for $188,900 (plus or minus $25,000) around the country. These places may be medianly priced, but they're not average.