Nobody wants to work for nothing, but many paint companies do it when they do not charge for all the things that are part of each job. If you intend to do a full job and your client requests a full job then you should charge for a full job. Leave something out of budget and you are working for nothing. Doing a complete and thorough estimate involves everything that takes time, whether it’s screwing in the switch plate cover or painting the altar in that church. Many painters boast of what they describe as an almost mystical experience, like walking into a room and a price pops into their heads. I never liked that because it is inaccurate, vague and will probably end badly, at best you will just miss something and work for nothing in that part of the job. Another reason this lump sum magic is bad is that someone is always surprised when the customer finds something that was not done and thought it was part of the job. And they tell you to do it or not to get paid. I speak of this when I speak of the proposal itself.
Setup: Whether it’s driving 100 miles to work or 2 days installing scaffolding or 20 minutes unloading falls, ladders, and paint, it’s part of every job. And because it is part of the job, it is included in the cost of the job and must be estimated. Think of special circumstances as mentioned above, or keep a percentage to use as a formula for each job. For example: if you are mounting scaffolding on that church steeple for scraping and painting, then you need to find out everything about this stage, including disassembly. This type of setup is likely to be much more expensive than the actual paint job. Whereas painting the interior of an average client’s home can be done room by room as a percentage of total hours. For example: if you are leaving a room, removing switch plates, moving furniture, etc. So an easy way to do it is to take your total hours painting and multiply by 1 or 2 or whatever you think is an average time. Estimating setup, setup, and cleaning as a percentage of average jobs saves time when estimating.
Preparation: Many times this costs much more than the paint job. For example: we did a paint job on a 1840s wood slat monster house. 15 weeks removing paint before a drop of paint went into the house, the paint itself was about 3 weeks. Not only the time, but many sanding discs, respirators, disposable coveralls, daily cleaning and removing all dust and chips was a big issue due to the size of the job and due to the old lead paint. The opposite is the average home interior that can be estimated as in the configuration example above using a percentage. Most of the time, interior prep is just minor surface repairs and some caulking – things that are the same from job to job. Repairs or special problems should be detailed.
Painting – How long does it take to paint 5 wooden casement windows at ground level without a ladder? How long does it take to paint those same 5 windows 40 feet up a hill when each window is 8 feet apart? Probably more than 2 times what it takes to paint the ones on ground level, each time the ladder is moved and placed on uneven ground, they will most likely involve 2 people to move and set up the ladder for each window. So an easy formula to use at heights greater than 25 feet would be 2 times or 2.2 times or the time it takes to paint the same window without a ladder. Most of the time, estimating paint costs can be done with a formula that works quite well from job to job.
Cleanliness – This part of the paint job is likely to be overlooked or ignored from an estimating position. This is a big mistake because it can take longer than actual painting, depending on the job. If this part of the work is not done well, the client may consider that all the work is badly done. And if done really well, it may put the finishing touch on the job. Calculating the time required to perform a proper cleaning after each job is essential for your estimation. If you shorten this part of the estimate, by not allowing enough time, then something has to give and the result is likely to be a dissatisfied customer. Average jobs can use a factor to estimate time. For example, an 8 hour interior job can be cleaned in 8 hours x 1 = .8 hours.
When I see some of these “home remodeling” shows they cut through the painting like they’re nothing, I laugh, but then I think about the ignorance they create. When Norm does his woodworking magic, it is an event to behold; But, when Carlos spends 3 hours vacuuming, dusting, and cleaning windows after a paint job, it’s nothing, it’s not even mentioned. Some homeowners tackle paint jobs and have no idea what it really entails. Like when we were called in to touch up walls in this multi-million dollar mcMansion after a $ 25,000 audio system wiring job where the technician drilled holes in 11 different rooms. Each room had a different color, so we cleaned rollers, brushes, cut cubes, etc. after each color. The owner gave me a great discussion about charging him for the time to clean our tools. If it’s part of the job and you wouldn’t be doing it except for your job, then they should pay you for it.
