If you are an experienced painter, you know how long a job will take you or the team you put on it. That's what you should go by, not square footage, because that does not account for the level of difficulty that a job may entail, nor your energy level or mood. Sometimes, two seemingly very similar jobs will require very different times to complete. Be flexible and always make it in your favor. Your time is valuable! And remember that every job is just another, shoulder, neck, back, or knee pain. You are worth more than the square footage.
That's true I'm an athlete and have been for nearly 20 years and my shoulders, feet, back, and knees still have pain in them even doing work like painting. People think painting is such an easy job until they have to pick up a brush and put in some work themselves.
Interesting…I have 5 years as a Home Depot color matching expert, also a BFA in Illustration from Ringling College and I’m trying to start a painting business from scratch. This is very helpful.
@@flowzone1128 How much would you suggest charging per door if you weren't including the paint? Trying to figure out pricing without ripping anyone off, including myself! 🤔
So basically just times everything by 75 basically the window, doors and archway and closet doors. Am I forgetting something or is that the simple math I need to know ... That's it right @@flowzone1128
I saw in one of the comments below that he said this is now dated and charges $100 and sometimes counts doors twice. I think the easier way is to keep the door count and window count, and price them individually, then price the ceiling, then price the walls. This also gives better quantity measures when ordering material and sundries. Typically walls are $1 sq for 2 coats, ceilings are $0.75/ sq for 1 coat. Trim is $1/linear foot for 1 coat. Window trim is $75 for 1 coat, door trim is $100, doors are 100. That dining room would be about $120 for ceiling, walls $425, trim $300, door $100. Total of $945 for that room. Top grade materials only, top tier guys, top tier processes. Take 20% off for 2-3 rooms, 25% for 4-5 rooms, 30% for 6+ rooms. +15% off for VIP clients (those are the good ones he mentions). Those that hire without other bids, refer their friends, family, and neighbors, and don't fuss.
What state is this in I live in California we charge like three even $4 per square foot.. I know a couple big companies that will even charge $5 a square foot insane but yeah we're in Sacramento by the way.. and I was taught by my boss how to bid jobs and he was taught by his boss how to bid jobs and his company has been in business for over 40 years... Hours it will take you to do the job plus price of material and times that by two
Hours + gallons x 2 = total price.... This is just an example but the most simple way... instead of doing All the math... 80hours @ $25 per hour(2 guys...5 working days) $2000 labor... Depends what the labor rates are but 25$ is just an easy for math and standard for a journeyman wage here in sac... Say another $1,000 in material(paint, tape, plastic, drops clothes, lunch for the guys on Friday, etc.) now we're at $3,000 for labor and material... Multiply by 2.... $6,000 If you feel that the customer is going to be problematic or extremely picky maybe up at a couple hundred bucks if it's a family friend or referral that can generate more maybe take it down you will get the feel of it.. if you want to help the guys out and work as an owner then you'll make all kinds of money... It's all about the hours and the price of material instead of guessing how much you should charge per door think of how long it should take you and set that time
Wow.. that's really cheap! I used to do painting estimates.. A house like this would be around $10k if not more. You have to figure in paint, sundries, masking, caulking, labor, and a lot more than just counting doors, windows, and base.. Plus to properly paint doors you need to remove them from the hinges.
@@age_of_reason Not high end, it's just the right way to do it when it's necessary. It isn't always, but there are too many variables on each job to use the 75 method.
I'm trying to start my own business painting independently and learn how to bid is this good advice youall?? Why does he use this formula please someone if you can give me advice❤
I work by myself, so I think of it like choosing parents. Are they going to be involved in my upbringing? Is it a good neighborhood? How do they feel about pets? Will there be other siblings involved? How’s the cooking? Are they sending me to college? Will they even be alive when I finish? If I don’t think they’re gonna work out I’ll pad my bid but if I think they have potential, I’m willing to work with them. And once they sign my agreement, I’ll move right in.
Hey Jeff, so outdated this video, probably a fit for one coat. the formula now should be maybe 100X rather than 75X. Or even more. The idea is to use the metric that works for you
I wonder what the multiplayer would be in 2022? Also, how do you account for railing, two or three tone paint when a customer wants a wall of one color and the second another and the dealing another color? Thanks!
The hack is to only have one door and no windows in your 3500 sq foot home. Have him paint it for $75 then proceed installing your doors and windows. 😊
If I would paint a house like that for 4000 paint included I would starve , don't know how you do it , but if it's working for you and your making a living paint that!!
Alot of guys who have been doing this for a long time develop a speed where u can do most rooms in about 2 hrs walls n ceilings and 1 more hour for trim next day
Spray whenever possible and practical and up your profit, if its not an option to spray and you MUST roll to accept the job, add more to the bid for rolling vs spraying....give the customer, and yourself some incentive as well. An expedited paint project is worth its weight in pay and often times the 'hourly rate' argument doesnt even come up when the project deadline is achieved early.
I have a question.. What advice would you give a young aspiring painter like myself who wants to be the best.. what tips and tricks to get started going in the right direction
Hey great question! I think one of the best things you can do is invest in an audible account and bang out a non fiction book or two every month. Besides this, find a niche in painting that pays well and then dial the marketing. For me this is painting cabinets and using Facebook ads. Totally a game changer. Further, once business is rolling be sure to max out your IRA every year, and manage the money in a brokerage like Fidelity. But indexes, If you start early enough you will retire a millionaire. Best of luck to you
I understand you have chose an easy method for bidding and most likely you are looking for volume, but I don’t know if or how you are growing or paying your crews enough to not look for side jobs. Are you ever able to make an estimate $50k-$75k being known for this method of pricing?
Wait, Home depot paint vs Ben Moore and it doesn't make a difference? I dunno my man. In my ex[erience it makes A LOT of difference unless you're painting a pristine, pre primed & sanded wall. There are so many variables on each job, just using the figure 75 doesn't make sense. If I understood you correctly you did that whole house, walls, doors, windows, ceilings and trim for 4K? How do you eat?
How is it going. I booked an office space gig with one company last year and they pay a flat rate for standard size/office studio .they provide paint. flow of work is not as consistent but great for me to get my feet wet. I tried to ramp up my work and called other commercial office space company. I introduced my services as a painter and she said they need painters and were interested. She asked me what my numbers were and I wasn't sure what to tell her ,for not want to price myself out of work. So I asked her what her budget was and what they were paying out. She said her average rooms are 9x9s. And they are paying $90 just for paint (no prep work/nail pops/drywall repair). I tried to work out the math and it seems that a 9x9 is 81sq ft. And they are paying 1.11 per sq footage of room (not walls)- another question in itself - Should I charge on wall square footage or room square footage. Then she proceeded to ask me my numbers for prep work such as nails pops for drywall repair. and said she would follow up to ask me my numbers. Seeing as how they already seem to be on tight budget as they are a small company.I have no estimating system for prep work or just random regular nail holes that are scattered and can't find how to price that for her when she follows up. What do you suggest, I would greatly appreciate the help.
Hey Wesley, that was so long ago not sure. But I have since replace the 75 with 100 as a multiple, and sometimes count doors twice. It just didnt seem to be enough dough
Not sure, maybe just increase the multiple, do a few jobs with that multiple and keep adjusting upward as needed. For me it is always track and take notes, it becomes a fun game to get it right Best wishes
Hello, Loved the video, thank you for the input. However, I have a question, I am working on a quote for a house. Every room has several stress cracks, I will need to spackle, prime and paint those. how should I price that? the job is in NY. Thank you.
Hey I’d maybe double the multiple for rooms with issues like that, big cracks take time and experience! Maybe also consider tracking your labor per wall problem and consider $60/hr or whatever yr rate may be
Wow!! That's leaving allot of money on the table. We have always added up the total for floors sqft then added all of the walls sqft to that then multiply that by the lowest price available for our area per sqft. Am I wrong in saying a wall that is 8x8 is 64sqft?
Why not price the house based on the number of outlets per room? Because just like windows and doors, that number would fluctuate greatly from house to house. And in the case of windows, the size varies based on the age and style of the house
Thank you for the video I have a lot of Ventura real estate paint and I have no idea how to bid I cannot count the windows or doors like you do because it’s just walls no trim
Yeah I agree, lately it's room by room and a google doc. I don't talk price until I send the attached pdf after the tour of the house. Paint included am generally looking at $400-$700 per room, and most small rooms will average one day of work. I like to net $350/day and stay busy. Hoping to up this without loosing bids, in time.
How do other painters find work, I use Facebook and that keeps me busy for spurts but I want to really be consistent if I can, what are some other methods of getting leads
I charge separately for doors not window trim but I would never base my price off windows and doors. At that price u gotta be a 1 man army with lightening speed. I'd love to sub him some work seriously
It just depends on how difficult it will be to paint. If there’s more doors and windows that means more tape and time consuming work. If it’s just a room you can just take your roller and be in an out. But no I would charge atleast $300 a room with 1 window and 1 door.
Hey Ty it depends so much on the type of paint and how drastic the color change Ideally you’d prep and prime first then apply two coats of paint. Maybe just need to start with a room and track per foot how far the paint went….Easily I’d blow thru 10gallons of Berhr ultra in a moderately sized house
Great stuff, I love the simplicity. Maybe every location has its own number. I work in San Francisco and I have also worked in Eugene Oregon...Those numbers would have to be different Thanks
Crap paint means extra coats bc it doesn't have good coverage. I talk people out of home depot paint regularly by simply explaining that they can buy a can for 1/2 the price of Ben or Sherwin & buy two of them bc it needs an extra coat. One can could get the whole thing done & have a beautiful finish.
Hey, yeah square footage may be good too, but this seems a good baseline to weed out the customers who want a cheap job. Basically if it’s a house or if it’s cabinets they can count it up and get an idea before I make the trip out to get them an exact quote. It’s more of a filter than anything else. I put the videos up on my website as a screen and it saves everyone the time, see? Then when in the house if there’s tons of trim or tall ceilings I may tweak the number upwards. And rarely would the technique of counting doors and windows work when it’s just one room. The multiple would prolly just need to be 100 or something...
@@PositiveVibesVids I think they're meeting wall square foot and ceiling square foot not floor square foot. This is similar to my method but I also charge for wall square foot ceiling square foot he's right it weeds out the ones who don't want quality work.
@@flowzone1128 Do you have pro rewards? If you know of other painters or friends give them access and give them the discount. You will be better for it in the long run. Start at bronze but you will be in the silver in no time. I am almost at gold and I'm a small business. I save almost $50 5 gal on marquee. Usually $230 5 gal i get for around $190.
Hello I am a new painter, I have a job that the client will buy the paint her self. I'm suppose to be going over there today to give her a quote. For a master bedroom two 10x10 rooms and two bathrooms and kitchen. I'm still figuring out what to charge. your response will be highly appreciated 🙏 thanks
Hey there! Maybe a rough estimate for you is one room takes one day, and depending on where you live, and what your goals are for daily income, multiply accordingly And track everything, all expenses and time so you can keep fine tuning the numbers You’ll likely underestimate at first but keep tracking and upgrading your ability both to estimate and to paint well, think long term Hope this helps!
You have to factor in whether or not she buys cheap paint to do the job because cheap paint might lengthen the job I try to never let a customer buy the paint because they generally don’t have a clue.
NEVER EVER let the home owner go and pick out the paint! They will almost always get a cheaper paint than the best line that the store carries... "$40 a gallon" they'll say.... "I saw paint on sale at Walmart for just $6 a gallon!" And they have absolutely no problem saving a couple hundred bucks on the cost of the paint and now you're stuck painting this house with the most watered down crappiest paint available on the market today.... SIX COATS LATER! they're wondering what's taking you so long and why it doesn't look like a good paint job
@@ToddKlemchuk bro I feel like u tag my mind 😆. I literally tell customers I don't really care what brand u like as long as it's $37 or better with primer included in it. U not about to overwork me with the cheap paint. been there done that
True, Nelson, I’ve since changed my formula. The main idea is to try it out selecting whatever multiple works for you in your area, keeping in mind it is a bulk whole house pricing. Thanks for your thoughts!
Dude this guy is the cheapest painter on the planet! Hahaha that’s THREE “colors” ie ceiling, walls and trim?! That’s nuts $4000 for that house! I would be more in the 10k-12k range
I'm a painter and I feel like he's killing himself with that method and he's supplying high quality materials. 4k for labor I get it but not labor and material.
So 75 per door and window. Say 2 doors 1 window 3x75=225. Is this for walls, trim, ceiling and the door itself. Labor only! Plus say 150 material. So this is 375 dollar job. Correct?
Yes but I’ve since upped the multiple And it is used for a whole house not just a one room gig I just bid a comparable sized room for $400 including material
@@Mike__james sprayers are generally only worth using indoors on commercial jobs Like vacant apartments or new construction where ceilings and walls are the same color and where overspray is not an issue, if you spend too much time and expense masking off a job to protect carpets or kitchen appliances it cuts into you’re profit margin and you risk damaging the customers property even if the house is empty.
Over the past four days I repainted our living room. Simple 12'x20' with 8' ceilings, a mantle and decorative molding around the ceiling. One full door, 2 cased openings and 4 windows. Based on your formula I came up with $525. Paint was about $175. So I made about $90 day. Less than minimum wage. You should consider adding $75 per surface in addition to the openings. So another $75 per ceiling, wall, baseboard and trim. Still only brought the total to $1050, but better than starving... I hope you and your family thrive. All the best!
No disrespect but, a painter would have made $350. There's no reason a job the size of yours would have took more than a day. It took you four days because you are probably not a professional painter. Again, no disrespect.
@@beardedbiker333 No disrespect taken. "A Painter" is such a general term. Sure, I could have "painted" our room in a day. But it took me almost a day to move furniture, remove artwork from the walls and protect the floors. I also could have skipped all the sanding and caulking as well. I also could have skipped BIN on the knots to stop them from bleeding again. I could have painted over the dust and pet hair like I've seen some painters do. Ick! All in a day. The pricing itself was too general to slap on any project. And for what it's worth, I have been a professional painter for over 20 years. If a guy came to my house and painted our living room in a day and called it done I would have either fired him or he'd never be welcome in my house again. I work for clients who want me to paint their house the way I paint my own. I'll have to rewatch the video to see how empty the house is and see if I would attempt the pricing he is suggesting.
@@markzelinskiphotography3768 there’s no way you were a pro painter for 20 years and it took you 4 days to paint a room. Unless you’re doing it for leisure. It MIGHT take me 2 days and I’ve only been painting since 2018 regularly (started in 2011 with my dad for a couple years took 2013-2017 off to go to college) . And that’s including prepping, patching, priming with cover stain over your knots, sanding down your dust and pet hair and whatever crap the last painters left on there, rolled the ceiling, cut the walls and rolled 2 coats. Possibly 2 cut ins depending on coverage. But I would charge more in the range of 2k-5k depending on size, ammount of work, location, and scheduling. If I don’t have jobs lined up then yes that 2 day room gig could be stretched to 3 or even 4 like you say but honestly that’s only to please my customers such as yourself who EXPECT it to take more time than it should
@@markzelinskiphotography3768 Sorry but 4 days is insane. Im a drywall taper and painter. One room...i could move the furniture/pictures etc, vacuum the dust/pet hair, use fast-dry mud for any patching, sand & cleanup/ mask everything and paint it in one day easily. 4 days is only acceptable if the room was a total nightmare (which would be a big upcharge) or if you're 75 and half crippled, or insanely busy. It's funny you say anyone who could finish that in a day wouldn't be welcome back in your house... If you came to me as a "20 year painter" and told me the job would take you 4 days i would tell you to get a new job. Just saying.
@@kbkbkbkbkbkbkbkbkbkb Thanks. Your comment just further proved the point of my initial comment. To walk around a house and just count windows and throw a formula on it (which the guy has admitted is too low) is not sustainable. You could have a customer call you and ask for a price and just ask them how many windows are in the room. Then when you show up on the job you realize there are so many other factors to be considered. To quote you "4 days is only acceptable if the room was a total nightmare (which would be a big upcharge)". So many other factors go into pricing than just $75 per window. My whole point was this guy could give me a price per window and then show up and see what kind of shape the room is in as well as other factors and realize he wasn't going to make any money. You don't need to criticize and berate people for their comments. There's a common business pricing philosophy: There are 3 options but you can only pick 2. 1) Fast 2) Cheap 3) Quality I'll stick to that and treat each job individually. Thanks again for reinforcing my original point. 😀
He's on the hook for everything. Let's just say the walls suck the paint up them u have to re prime and double coat everything all over again. Shit, u in the hole at this point and still gotta finish the job
It’s an arbitrary number that seems to work price wise but it could be higher or lower depending on local economy Main idea is to try the counting of windows and doors then multiply by something like 75 for a total price
I'm sorry but this just not seem like a proper way to estimate a paint job. 4k for that house seems extremely cheap. Why bot spend a little time getting your square footage and linear footage so you're not shooting yourself in the foot?
I dont think i would do that. I would start with looking at the size of walls per room, not square footage as you dont paint floors. I use one room as reference. Average size room would be $500, for example, so each subsequent room would go up or down from there. It cannot be an exact science. But i know for me that i can cut a 20 foot wall , top and bottom in less than a half hour, rolling is 10 minutes . times 2 coats etc... If youre a little off either way.. Who cares? No big deal.
Owner/operator here don't do this. Linear ft and sq ft. Larger areas floor sq footage. Smaller areas surface sq footage. Factors to keep in mind is number od coats and caliber of preparation.
Now it’s hartford CT up to Northampton MA Yes too cheap, but yes taxes. I pay so little though with one dependent and a standard deduction based on mileage. Oh also, I increase my rates when I have three weeks filled
Hey man got fired the other day for my attitude, that's all on me. I showed my ass. I'm 27, very confident in all things residential painting, especially cut-in, rolling, trim painting and some spraying. Not trying to brag but I can do it all by myself in a relatively timely manner. I was talking to Angie's leads today and the woman almost talked me into starting a business with them. I was wondering if should try to go off on my own with little knowledge on estimating, and the business aspect of painting or just try to join another paint crew?
If you are an experienced painter, you know how long a job will take you or the team you put on it. That's what you should go by, not square footage, because that does not account for the level of difficulty that a job may entail, nor your energy level or mood. Sometimes, two seemingly very similar jobs will require very different times to complete. Be flexible and always make it in your favor. Your time is valuable! And remember that every job is just another, shoulder, neck, back, or knee pain. You are worth more than the square footage.
That's true I'm an athlete and have been for nearly 20 years and my shoulders, feet, back, and knees still have pain in them even doing work like painting. People think painting is such an easy job until they have to pick up a brush and put in some work themselves.
That’s with any job… if your not in the right physical or mental state quite the job
I agree
Right on!
Dude if you just go by windows and doors you're losing money on materials and labor cost and time this guy doesn't know what's he's talking about
Learning everything before I start my own paint business
Interesting…I have 5 years as a Home Depot color matching expert, also a BFA in Illustration from Ringling College and I’m trying to start a painting business from scratch. This is very helpful.
Awesome, best of luck to you sir!
@@flowzone1128 How much would you suggest charging per door if you weren't including the paint? Trying to figure out pricing without ripping anyone off, including myself! 🤔
So basically just times everything by 75 basically the window, doors and archway and closet doors. Am I forgetting something or is that the simple math I need to know ... That's it right @@flowzone1128
I see the logic behind this method, find it to be effective in many ways, thank you for sharing your approach
I saw in one of the comments below that he said this is now dated and charges $100 and sometimes counts doors twice. I think the easier way is to keep the door count and window count, and price them individually, then price the ceiling, then price the walls. This also gives better quantity measures when ordering material and sundries. Typically walls are $1 sq for 2 coats, ceilings are $0.75/ sq for 1 coat. Trim is $1/linear foot for 1 coat. Window trim is $75 for 1 coat, door trim is $100, doors are 100. That dining room would be about $120 for ceiling, walls $425, trim $300, door $100. Total of $945 for that room. Top grade materials only, top tier guys, top tier processes. Take 20% off for 2-3 rooms, 25% for 4-5 rooms, 30% for 6+ rooms. +15% off for VIP clients (those are the good ones he mentions). Those that hire without other bids, refer their friends, family, and neighbors, and don't fuss.
Never discount your price. Are you crazy. Just because there's more work doesn't mean you need to make less money.
what if there is spackling for every room(old house)?
What state is this in I live in California we charge like three even $4 per square foot.. I know a couple big companies that will even charge $5 a square foot insane but yeah we're in Sacramento by the way.. and I was taught by my boss how to bid jobs and he was taught by his boss how to bid jobs and his company has been in business for over 40 years... Hours it will take you to do the job plus price of material and times that by two
Hours + gallons x 2 = total price....
This is just an example but the most simple way... instead of doing
All the math...
80hours @ $25 per hour(2 guys...5 working days) $2000 labor...
Depends what the labor rates are but 25$ is just an easy for math and standard for a journeyman wage here in sac...
Say another $1,000 in material(paint, tape, plastic, drops clothes, lunch for the guys on Friday, etc.) now we're at $3,000 for labor and material...
Multiply by 2.... $6,000
If you feel that the customer is going to be problematic or extremely picky maybe up at a couple hundred bucks if it's a family friend or referral that can generate more maybe take it down you will get the feel of it.. if you want to help the guys out and work as an owner then you'll make all kinds of money... It's all about the hours and the price of material instead of guessing how much you should charge per door think of how long it should take you and set that time
Thanks for the info
Wow.. that's really cheap! I used to do painting estimates.. A house like this would be around $10k if not more.
You have to figure in paint, sundries, masking, caulking, labor, and a lot more than just counting doors, windows, and base..
Plus to properly paint doors you need to remove them from the hinges.
Yep I heard market changed brother.
House filppin is even going bigger.
#thankyouhouseflippers
You're talking high end painting. I never removed any doors to paint them.
@Antonius Black but he lost on everything else. He's supplying the material also. I would paint a bathroom that size for $200-$300 labor only
@@age_of_reason Not high end, it's just the right way to do it when it's necessary.
It isn't always, but there are too many variables on each job to use the 75 method.
and in the bronx it goes for 250 deppend on the area for room
Perfect. Formula. Ben looking all my life for simple estimating. Thanks.
Don't this is cheap. I'm pretty shore he's learned his lesson
How'd that work out 3 years later?
What in the world does the amount of windows and doors have to do with sq ft cost of paint?
I might have misunderstood. So you’re charging 75 per door? I mean does that include the ceiling, the walls and the doors and trim?
This was helpful and any sound advice on how polite society works is invaluable.
Does this include sanding?
Great advice on deciding to like people.
Does that estimate include painting the doors? Or would you just count the doors again to estimate that cost
I'm trying to start my own business painting independently and learn how to bid is this good advice youall?? Why does he use this formula please someone if you can give me advice❤
Also why include the paint ..seems a little low for where I’m from in NJ
Def am including paint in pricing now, working it into my pricing, just less complicated for customer and me to wrap our heads around.
I work by myself, so I think of it like choosing parents.
Are they going to be involved in my upbringing? Is it a good neighborhood? How do they feel about pets? Will there be other siblings involved? How’s the cooking? Are they sending me to college? Will they even be alive when I finish?
If I don’t think they’re gonna work out I’ll pad my bid but if I think they have potential, I’m willing to work with them.
And once they sign my agreement, I’ll move right in.
Bahahaha
Would this be for 1 or 2 coats? And how much would you charge to paint a door?
Hey Jeff, so outdated this video, probably a fit for one coat. the formula now should be maybe 100X rather than 75X. Or even more. The idea is to use the metric that works for you
I loved the video it was very informative and u got a good personality sir
Thanks you for the positivity, much appreciated!
absolutely!
Is that spray on or roll. At what percentage is spray.
No spray with interior, but no longer painting interior. All cabinets now
I wonder what the multiplayer would be in 2022? Also, how do you account for railing, two or three tone paint when a customer wants a wall of one color and the second another and the dealing another color? Thanks!
Not sure, maybe it is a matter of calculated hours with a good hedge to be sure you dont eat yr shirt! Thanks
What If the wall has no windows or doors
Hmmm maybe I’d just adjust the multiple upwards
@@flowzone1128 thanks!
The hack is to only have one door and no windows in your 3500 sq foot home. Have him paint it for $75 then proceed installing your doors and windows. 😊
Good one!!
If I would paint a house like that for 4000 paint included I would starve , don't know how you do it , but if it's working for you and your making a living paint that!!
More like 8
@@myeverythingworld8123no doubt
Alot of guys who have been doing this for a long time develop a speed where u can do most rooms in about 2 hrs walls n ceilings and 1 more hour for trim next day
He's killing himself and the market with those prices smh. He does great work tho 👍
Cheap yarr...keeping the price low in your area ....stay there !!!
How do you factor in the coats/primer in your price? Or is this just assuming primer + 2 coats?
Spray whenever possible and practical and up your profit, if its not an option to spray and you MUST roll to accept the job, add more to the bid for rolling vs spraying....give the customer, and yourself some incentive as well. An expedited paint project is worth its weight in pay and often times the 'hourly rate' argument doesnt even come up when the project deadline is achieved early.
Is this a method for a home with much less wall space? What if the home has much more wall space and less windows and doors?
What do you do for higher ceilings or is that factored in?
Higher ceilings maybe I'd count an extra door or two to help the pain in the bid...
I have a question.. What advice would you give a young aspiring painter like myself who wants to be the best.. what tips and tricks to get started going in the right direction
Hey great question! I think one of the best things you can do is invest in an audible account and bang out a non fiction book or two every month. Besides this, find a niche in painting that pays well and then dial the marketing. For me this is painting cabinets and using Facebook ads. Totally a game changer. Further, once business is rolling be sure to max out your IRA every year, and manage the money in a brokerage like Fidelity. But indexes, If you start early enough you will retire a millionaire.
Best of luck to you
@@flowzone1128 ty!!
I understand you have chose an easy method for bidding and most likely you are looking for volume, but I don’t know if or how you are growing or paying your crews enough to not look for side jobs. Are you ever able to make an estimate $50k-$75k being known for this method of pricing?
Am a solo operation, so for me this made decent money when jobs were scarce
Wait, Home depot paint vs Ben Moore and it doesn't make a difference?
I dunno my man.
In my ex[erience it makes A LOT of difference unless you're painting a pristine, pre primed & sanded wall.
There are so many variables on each job, just using the figure 75 doesn't make sense.
If I understood you correctly you did that whole house, walls, doors, windows, ceilings and trim for 4K?
How do you eat?
Why the number 75?
What would you say now? $90?
Yes at least, idea is to find your number and use the technique to run bids more easily
How is it going. I booked an office space gig with one company last year and they pay a flat rate for standard size/office studio .they provide paint. flow of work is not as consistent but great for me to get my feet wet. I tried to ramp up my work and called other commercial office space company. I introduced my services as a painter and she said they need painters and were interested. She asked me what my numbers were and I wasn't sure what to tell her ,for not want to price myself out of work. So I asked her what her budget was and what they were paying out. She said her average rooms are 9x9s. And they are paying $90 just for paint (no prep work/nail pops/drywall repair). I tried to work out the math and it seems that a 9x9 is 81sq ft. And they are paying 1.11 per sq footage of room (not walls)- another question in itself - Should I charge on wall square footage or room square footage. Then she proceeded to ask me my numbers for prep work such as nails pops for drywall repair. and said she would follow up to ask me my numbers. Seeing as how they already seem to be on tight budget as they are a small company.I have no estimating system for prep work or just random regular nail holes that are scattered and can't find how to price that for her when she follows up. What do you suggest, I would greatly appreciate the help.
What was the total square footage of the living space in the house
Hey Wesley, that was so long ago not sure. But I have since replace the 75 with 100 as a multiple, and sometimes count doors twice. It just didnt seem to be enough dough
Does this apply for exteriors painting
Bro this painter is more well-read than most hs teachers 👏
This might be a crazy question but, after he counted all the doors and windows, why did he multiply it by 75?
Dollars
Does that formula include caulking and or prep like patching sanding etc.. in not how would you bid with that
Not sure, maybe just increase the multiple, do a few jobs with that multiple and keep adjusting upward as needed. For me it is always track and take notes, it becomes a fun game to get it right
Best wishes
What if theres only one window and 2 doors in a decent sized room. 75×3 doesnt equal verry much $$
Very Jordan Peterson with the estimate philosophy ❤
How long did it take you to paint this place?
What about a formula for just walls and ceiling no trim or it’s all the same formula 75
$50
Hello, Loved the video, thank you for the input. However, I have a question, I am working on a quote for a house. Every room has several stress cracks, I will need to spackle, prime and paint those. how should I price that? the job is in NY. Thank you.
Hey I’d maybe double the multiple for rooms with issues like that, big cracks take time and experience! Maybe also consider tracking your labor per wall problem and consider $60/hr or whatever yr rate may be
Wow!! That's leaving allot of money on the table. We have always added up the total for floors sqft then added all of the walls sqft to that then multiply that by the lowest price available for our area per sqft. Am I wrong in saying a wall that is 8x8 is 64sqft?
@flowzone11 does the $75 cover the price of the paint or is that just the labor cost?
Why not price the house based on the number of outlets per room? Because just like windows and doors, that number would fluctuate greatly from house to house. And in the case of windows, the size varies based on the age and style of the house
Great idea!
I think outlets would be much harder to spot. Especially if the home is furnished.
@@chadacleggone outlet every 12 ft where I live
Your doin it! Thank you.
Thanks Dana!
Thank you for the video I have a lot of Ventura real estate paint and I have no idea how to bid I cannot count the windows or doors like you do because it’s just walls no trim
Why is it always still somewhat of a guess. We need a better method. Still I like the 75 method for doors and ceiling... What do you do for rooms?
Yeah I agree, lately it's room by room and a google doc. I don't talk price until I send the attached pdf after the tour of the house. Paint included am generally looking at $400-$700 per room, and most small rooms will average one day of work. I like to net $350/day and stay busy. Hoping to up this without loosing bids, in time.
@@flowzone1128 I'm a painter, a room that's 100 sq ft I would generally charge about $2-$3 per sq ft labor only
Would the paint be included with the numbers of doors and windows ×75?
And one more thing would that price be for just the walls ?
How do other painters find work, I use Facebook and that keeps me busy for spurts but I want to really be consistent if I can, what are some other methods of getting leads
Hey try Craig’s list -this has worked very well for me, be sure to upload pics too
@@flowzone1128 will do thanks 🙏🏽
Where are you located Mexico
Thank you very helpful
I charge separately for doors not window trim but I would never base my price off windows and doors. At that price u gotta be a 1 man army with lightening speed. I'd love to sub him some work seriously
Don’t forget an extra 75 for a couple of pair of new pants 😉
So, if a room has 1 window and 1 door.. it’s $150 to paint?
It just depends on how difficult it will be to paint. If there’s more doors and windows that means more tape and time consuming work. If it’s just a room you can just take your roller and be in an out. But no I would charge atleast $300 a room with 1 window and 1 door.
We price ours by time, thank you for sharing
How do you calculate how much paint you need?
Hey Ty it depends so much on the type of paint and how drastic the color change
Ideally you’d prep and prime first then apply two coats of paint. Maybe just need to start with a room and track per foot how far the paint went….Easily I’d blow thru 10gallons of Berhr ultra in a moderately sized house
@@flowzone1128 I don't think that's what he meant
Meh how about empty or furnished accent walls yah go for 75 nop
Depending on the paint type that can be a pain to fix
Great stuff, I love the simplicity. Maybe every location has its own number.
I work in San Francisco and I have also
worked in Eugene Oregon...Those numbers would have to be different
Thanks
I'm in the Eugene area, what do you think the price would be this year this area? Any ideas?
Revere pewter
$75/ (door or window) per room
7:52
Mid grade paint $33/gal
Crap paint means extra coats bc it doesn't have good coverage.
I talk people out of home depot paint regularly by simply explaining that they can buy a can for 1/2 the price of Ben or Sherwin & buy two of them bc it needs an extra coat.
One can could get the whole thing done & have a beautiful finish.
This is interesting. Have you tested it against other bidding methods, such as square footage? Does it come out to about the same?
Hey, yeah square footage may be good too, but this seems a good baseline to weed out the customers who want a cheap job. Basically if it’s a house or if it’s cabinets they can count it up and get an idea before I make the trip out to get them an exact quote. It’s more of a filter than anything else. I put the videos up on my website as a screen and it saves everyone the time, see? Then when in the house if there’s tons of trim or tall ceilings I may tweak the number upwards. And rarely would the technique of counting doors and windows work when it’s just one room. The multiple would prolly just need to be 100 or something...
I shouldnt tell him I charge $75 per opening (door/window) + the sq/ft of the wall lol Then linear ft for trim.
Why would square footage matter unless you’re painting the floors lol
@@PositiveVibesVids I think they're meeting wall square foot and ceiling square foot not floor square foot. This is similar to my method but I also charge for wall square foot ceiling square foot he's right it weeds out the ones who don't want quality work.
@@PositiveVibesVids bc there is square footage of walls.
With my discount I have been using marquee for better results!!
Marquee is def a bit better isn’t it? I’ll consider upgrading on my next trim work
Thanks!
@@flowzone1128 you won't have a much problem with coverage and by the time I figure my rebate its well worth it!!
@@flowzone1128 Do you have pro rewards? If you know of other painters or friends give them access and give them the discount. You will be better for it in the long run. Start at bronze but you will be in the silver in no time. I am almost at gold and I'm a small business. I save almost $50 5 gal on marquee. Usually $230 5 gal i get for around $190.
Best paint on the market and I’ve just retired after 35 years
Hello I am a new painter, I have a job that the client will buy the paint her self. I'm suppose to be going over there today to give her a quote. For a master bedroom two 10x10 rooms and two bathrooms and kitchen. I'm still figuring out what to charge. your response will be highly appreciated 🙏 thanks
The ceilings are included too
Hey there!
Maybe a rough estimate for you is one room takes one day, and depending on where you live, and what your goals are for daily income, multiply accordingly
And track everything, all expenses and time so you can keep fine tuning the numbers
You’ll likely underestimate at first but keep tracking and upgrading your ability both to estimate and to paint well, think long term
Hope this helps!
You have to factor in whether or not she buys cheap paint to do the job because cheap paint might lengthen the job I try to never let a customer buy the paint because they generally don’t have a clue.
NEVER EVER let the home owner go and pick out the paint! They will almost always get a cheaper paint than the best line that the store carries...
"$40 a gallon" they'll say....
"I saw paint on sale at Walmart for just $6 a gallon!" And they have absolutely no problem saving a couple hundred bucks on the cost of the paint and now you're stuck painting this house with the most watered down crappiest paint available on the market today....
SIX COATS LATER! they're wondering what's taking you so long and why it doesn't look like a good paint job
@@ToddKlemchuk bro I feel like u tag my mind 😆. I literally tell customers I don't really care what brand u like as long as it's $37 or better with primer included in it. U not about to overwork me with the cheap paint. been there done that
Maybe it depends where you live because $375 per room with ceilings and materials included it’s just not enough.
True, Nelson, I’ve since changed my formula. The main idea is to try it out selecting whatever multiple works for you in your area, keeping in mind it is a bulk whole house pricing. Thanks for your thoughts!
@@flowzone1128 what's the formula now?
@@ThomasPowl Hey Thomas just painting cabinets now with occasional interior I love it!
Dude this guy is the cheapest painter on the planet! Hahaha that’s THREE “colors” ie ceiling, walls and trim?! That’s nuts $4000 for that house! I would be more in the 10k-12k range
Old video, inflation
What type of sheen and paint do you use for ceilings and the wood work
Hey now am using BMoore Advance semigloss for all trim it is excellent paint
Ceiling paint is typically HDepot Behr
$4k ? Seems cheap . I could be wrong , I have been before 🙂
The house looks very good Sir .
Can't wait to see more .
I'm a painter and I feel like he's killing himself with that method and he's supplying high quality materials. 4k for labor I get it but not labor and material.
The house seems to be more bigger, and $4,000 is kind of cheap….
@@pauljohnson2590 agree. Id charge 4k just in labor to do all that work.
Hi why x75
Just trying different multiples and that one worked for a while
Probably would go higher now though
So 75 per door and window. Say 2 doors 1 window 3x75=225. Is this for walls, trim, ceiling and the door itself. Labor only! Plus say 150 material. So this is 375 dollar job. Correct?
Yes but I’ve since upped the multiple
And it is used for a whole house not just a one room gig
I just bid a comparable sized room for $400 including material
@@flowzone1128 Very cool thanks for the response man.
Do you have a sprayer or do you roll everthing. Good info
No sprayer yet but I do get cans to do cabinets. Likely will get a sprayer soon though and try to get good at it
@@flowzone1128 Yeah thats my next purchase still need to do some research though not in a rush for it.
Painting 20 yrs and I do it the hard way ...no sprayer. Cabinets and interior priming maybe...you can really see the difference!!
@@Mike__james sprayers are generally only worth using indoors on commercial jobs Like vacant apartments or new construction where ceilings and walls are the same color and where overspray is not an issue, if you spend too much time and expense masking off a job to protect carpets or kitchen appliances it cuts into you’re profit margin and you risk damaging the customers property even if the house is empty.
@@billprezioso3677 Yeah never thought of that thanks.
Over the past four days I repainted our living room. Simple 12'x20' with 8' ceilings, a mantle and decorative molding around the ceiling. One full door, 2 cased openings and 4 windows. Based on your formula I came up with $525. Paint was about $175. So I made about $90 day. Less than minimum wage. You should consider adding $75 per surface in addition to the openings. So another $75 per ceiling, wall, baseboard and trim. Still only brought the total to $1050, but better than starving... I hope you and your family thrive. All the best!
No disrespect but, a painter would have made $350. There's no reason a job the size of yours would have took more than a day. It took you four days because you are probably not a professional painter. Again, no disrespect.
@@beardedbiker333 No disrespect taken. "A Painter" is such a general term. Sure, I could have "painted" our room in a day. But it took me almost a day to move furniture, remove artwork from the walls and protect the floors. I also could have skipped all the sanding and caulking as well. I also could have skipped BIN on the knots to stop them from bleeding again. I could have painted over the dust and pet hair like I've seen some painters do. Ick! All in a day. The pricing itself was too general to slap on any project. And for what it's worth, I have been a professional painter for over 20 years. If a guy came to my house and painted our living room in a day and called it done I would have either fired him or he'd never be welcome in my house again. I work for clients who want me to paint their house the way I paint my own. I'll have to rewatch the video to see how empty the house is and see if I would attempt the pricing he is suggesting.
@@markzelinskiphotography3768 there’s no way you were a pro painter for 20 years and it took you 4 days to paint a room. Unless you’re doing it for leisure. It MIGHT take me 2 days and I’ve only been painting since 2018 regularly (started in 2011 with my dad for a couple years took 2013-2017 off to go to college) . And that’s including prepping, patching, priming with cover stain over your knots, sanding down your dust and pet hair and whatever crap the last painters left on there, rolled the ceiling, cut the walls and rolled 2 coats. Possibly 2 cut ins depending on coverage. But I would charge more in the range of 2k-5k depending on size, ammount of work, location, and scheduling. If I don’t have jobs lined up then yes that 2 day room gig could be stretched to 3 or even 4 like you say but honestly that’s only to please my customers such as yourself who EXPECT it to take more time than it should
@@markzelinskiphotography3768
Sorry but 4 days is insane. Im a drywall taper and painter. One room...i could move the furniture/pictures etc, vacuum the dust/pet hair, use fast-dry mud for any patching, sand & cleanup/ mask everything and paint it in one day easily.
4 days is only acceptable if the room was a total nightmare (which would be a big upcharge) or if you're 75 and half crippled, or insanely busy.
It's funny you say anyone who could finish that in a day wouldn't be welcome back in your house... If you came to me as a "20 year painter" and told me the job would take you 4 days i would tell you to get a new job. Just saying.
@@kbkbkbkbkbkbkbkbkbkb Thanks. Your comment just further proved the point of my initial comment. To walk around a house and just count windows and throw a formula on it (which the guy has admitted is too low) is not sustainable. You could have a customer call you and ask for a price and just ask them how many windows are in the room. Then when you show up on the job you realize there are so many other factors to be considered.
To quote you "4 days is only acceptable if the room was a total nightmare (which would be a big upcharge)". So many other factors go into pricing than just $75 per window. My whole point was this guy could give me a price per window and then show up and see what kind of shape the room is in as well as other factors and realize he wasn't going to make any money.
You don't need to criticize and berate people for their comments.
There's a common business pricing philosophy: There are 3 options but you can only pick 2. 1) Fast 2) Cheap 3) Quality
I'll stick to that and treat each job individually.
Thanks again for reinforcing my original point. 😀
75 usd or cdn ? Cheers
USD but video is a bit dated
Why 75 is that the hourly rate
Thank you
great brother
$75.00 for both sides of the door?
Four grand for this home is NOT enough I own a paint company no no no
That's like a give away including paint...if it was just the labor i would say that's okay... the material alone coming to $2500
4k for all of that, sounds cheap to me..
True! 4% inflation since then my rates are going up
Why 75?
About 3K low
I need a bid on a 2500 square foot house, it only has one door. 😂
To anyone watching this video thinking this is a good guide as to how to do estimates... just know that it is not...
I agree! But how about just using a higher multiple?
He's on the hook for everything. Let's just say the walls suck the paint up them u have to re prime and double coat everything all over again. Shit, u in the hole at this point and still gotta finish the job
10,000 just from walkabout with you in my area
Old video!
Why 75$?
It’s an arbitrary number that seems to work price wise but it could be higher or lower depending on local economy
Main idea is to try the counting of windows and doors then multiply by something like 75 for a total price
@@flowzone1128
So there isn’t a real formula , you just picked 75 ?
@@stevenmorris2293 Hey Tim the formula is to count up doors and windows and find a multiple that works for you
I have 16 doors and windows in a 1000sqft your saying 1200 to paint the whole house 😂 materials included... your nuts buddy
I'm sorry but this just not seem like a proper way to estimate a paint job. 4k for that house seems extremely cheap. Why bot spend a little time getting your square footage and linear footage so you're not shooting yourself in the foot?
With inflation its now 90 dollars
I dont think i would do that. I would start with looking at the size of walls per room, not square footage as you dont paint floors. I use one room as reference. Average size room would be $500, for example, so each subsequent room would go up or down from there. It cannot be an exact science. But i know for me that i can cut a 20 foot wall , top and bottom in less than a half hour, rolling is 10 minutes
. times 2 coats etc... If youre a little off either way.. Who cares? No big deal.
Owner/operator here don't do this. Linear ft and sq ft.
Larger areas floor sq footage.
Smaller areas surface sq footage.
Factors to keep in mind is number od coats and caliber of preparation.
$4,000? That's only 40 hours labor.
$4,000?? Imo opinion that’s low
That sounds so cheep. Maybe you are not in Hawaii.
Hahaha Hawaii someday yes!!! Love surfing 🏄♂️ And yes formula a bit cheap maybe adjust multiple upward?
What happen to material times 3 like every honest residential contractor wow no wonder I under bid all these local company's👌👊🙂😂🤣🧐
Wondering what city you are bidding paint jobs in? That's incredibly low. I'm assuming you have no employees? Do you pay taxes as well?
Now it’s hartford CT up to Northampton MA
Yes too cheap, but yes taxes. I pay so little though with one dependent and a standard deduction based on mileage. Oh also, I increase my rates when I have three weeks filled
This is the perfect formula to go bankrupt
Old video!
This guy is leaving money on the table.
Hey man got fired the other day for my attitude, that's all on me. I showed my ass. I'm 27, very confident in all things residential painting, especially cut-in, rolling, trim painting and some spraying. Not trying to brag but I can do it all by myself in a relatively timely manner. I was talking to Angie's leads today and the woman almost talked me into starting a business with them. I was wondering if should try to go off on my own with little knowledge on estimating, and the business aspect of painting or just try to join another paint crew?
Go on your own if you can