# Exterior Painting Pricing



## kcremodeling (Nov 8, 2009)

I've got a really good painter that sub's for me. He has been out on his own for a little over a year now. He does good work and doesn't take shortcuts. However, he has had some trouble with the business side of things. I would like to be able to do his estimates for him. All my work is interior, so I am a litte unsure of pricing for exterior painting. Is there any free estimating software out there? Or do you guys just go off a sf price? What is a good sf price for exterior painting? Your expertise would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. :thumbsup:


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## Steve Richards (Mar 7, 2006)

kcremodeling said:


> What is a good sf price for exterior painting?


:no:

You've been here for a year!

But before this gets closed...SF pricing on exteriors would be tough. Too many variables IMO.


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## kcremodeling (Nov 8, 2009)

:laughing: I know. I actually did a search to try and figure this one out and didn't come up with anything.


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## Workaholic (Feb 3, 2007)

If you do his estimates how we he learn to be self sufficient?


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## kcremodeling (Nov 8, 2009)

He is a big part of my team. We do lots of high end interior finish. He has worked very hard for very little, in hopes to establish himself.


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## griz (Nov 26, 2009)

Most of the price on an exterior paint involves the prep. Just going with a SF price leaves a lot of wild cards. Also how far does the painter or owners want to go on prep? Take your buddy & look the jobs over. Note what has to be prepped/repaired & how it is to be done. Figure the material (nails, caulk, a piece of trim etc) This is like estimating anything else. You guys know how fast you can work & for how much. Then your buddy should be able to figure the paint & how much he can apply in a given situation for how much. Good Luck.:thumbsup:


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## ltd (Nov 26, 2010)

*yes sir re jim bob*

i do mostly interior work some exterior and i do it the same way .brake job down in what you can do in a day 8 hrs. or half day. leave your self plenty of time. figure paint misc supplies add materials be generous .then add days if comes out a half day at the end round it up to full day now how much do you want to make a day also factor in you insurance, health ins , van payment this will help you no how much you need to make day .be confident and charge a fair price. and what i mean by that is dont cheat yourself. this is very basic but it works for me. that's nice that you are helping your friend everybody can use use a hand ever once in awhile


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## kcremodeling (Nov 8, 2009)

That is exactly what my painter did that got him into trouble. I am looking for a sf price with an additional cost per window or door.


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## Gough (May 1, 2010)

There are the national estimating guides, like RS Means, that will give you a starting point. I used those when we first started and kept track of our productivity for different tasks. That was the basis for our bid book. We update it as we improve our approach and learn new techniques, and it's the basis for our estimates.


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## hoz49 (Nov 1, 2010)

No one wants to tip their hand. (It's frowned on here. 

I'll take a stab.

Major midwest city. 

One coat, a buck fifty a foot (wall space, not floor!) , includes material. Discount for 2nd coat. 

Windows and doors extra $30.00 each.

Don't take off for gables (figure them square, width x height. 

Prices include minor prep and rigging. Extra prep or rigging extra charge.


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## Steve Richards (Mar 7, 2006)

Nice stab.

(in the back)

It's not really "tipping my hand", as much as it's not really wanting HO's getting out their tape measure and calculator, and then telling me how much I should charge them, because of something they read here.

(typed out by you)

get it?:jester:


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## hoz49 (Nov 1, 2010)

Steve Richards said:


> Nice stab.
> 
> (in the back)
> 
> ...



Makes no difference what a HO "reads here" or anywhere else. You set your prices and you negotiate. My bids are always firm. 

And I wasn't stabbing in your direction.


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## Gough (May 1, 2010)

Steve Richards said:


> Nice stab.
> 
> (in the back)
> 
> ...


VERY early on, I quoted a square-foot price to an apartment manager. He deducted for every area not painted, windows, medicine cabinets, even the TP holders and electrical boxes. He was also an attorney, so that became a mistake never to repeat. I have managed to find enough other ones to make over the years....


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## boman47k (Oct 13, 2006)

hoz49 said:


> No one wants to tip their hand. (It's frowned on here.
> 
> I'll take a stab.
> 
> ...



I don't generally paint exterior for others, but the gable aspect seems reasonable. The windows may call for a close inspection, imo.


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## NAV (Sep 5, 2008)

Get a high end painting contractor to bid a few jobs direct to you and have him itemize his quote. then you should be able to figure out where he is at and bid the jobs yourself. 

Or, go off the time and material from previous jobs vs what you charged and figure out the profit. you can adjust your pricing accordingly. If you guy didn't keep track of his profit then maybe he should just go work for someone and let people that know what they are doing run companies.


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## TBFGhost (Oct 9, 2008)

NAV said:


> Get a high end painting contractor to bid a few jobs direct to you and have him itemize his quote. then you should be able to figure out where he is at and bid the jobs yourself.


 
I never really understood this pratice. You would be pissed to know your just bid a job so the other guy could steal your estimate.


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## hoz49 (Nov 1, 2010)

Gough said:


> VERY early on, I quoted a square-foot price to an apartment manager. He deducted for every area not painted, windows, medicine cabinets, even the TP holders and electrical boxes. He was also an attorney, so that became a mistake never to repeat. I have managed to find enough other ones to make over the years....


My customers don't get my sq ft price. Just the bid for the job. 

I would have told that attorney that all those items have to be cut in and therefore take more time than just painting a flat wall, there's no "deducting" for windows or doors or anything else. .


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## Gough (May 1, 2010)

NAV said:


> Get a high end painting contractor to bid a few jobs direct to you and have him itemize his quote. then you should be able to figure out where he is at and bid the jobs yourself.
> 
> Or, go off the time and material from previous jobs vs what you charged and figure out the profit. you can adjust your pricing accordingly. If you guy didn't keep track of his profit then maybe he should just go work for someone and let people that know what they are doing run companies.


NAV, I gotta say that I wholeheartedly agree on the second suggestion, but disagree on the first. In the wake of a few mistakes early on, I don't give itemized quotes. After having a few contractors go through my bids as if they were menus at a Chinese restaurant, I stopped playing that game.


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## Gough (May 1, 2010)

hoz49 said:


> My customers don't get my sq ft price. Just the bid for the job.
> 
> I would have told that attorney that all those items have to be cut in and therefore take more time than just painting a flat wall, there's no "deducting" for windows or doors or anything else. .


As I said, that was early on. They haven't gotten the sq. ft. price from me in the last 30 years.

If you don't think we had that discussion, you're sadly mistaken. BTW, the industry standard is to deduce for windows, etc. above a certain size.


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## hoz49 (Nov 1, 2010)

Gough said:


> BTW, the industry standard is to deduce for windows, etc. above a certain size.


Really? Too bad, that's part of my "profit".


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