How to Estimate a Contract House Painting Job
A job as a house painter can be a fairly lucrative position. However, if you aren't charging enough for your services, you are cheating yourself out of money. In order to generate a fair price for both you and the costumer, its important that you properly estimate the cost of a painting job before you begin.
What You'll Need:
- Measuring tape
- Calculator
- Written price guide
- Pen
- Estimating sheets
- Physically visit the job site. Potential customers will frequently request an "average price" for a painting job. However, the reality is, there is no "average price." Each location will have different measurements, a different layout and various other factors that will contribute to the overall price of the job.
- Ensure that you get an accurate account of the measurements for the job including walls, ceilings and floors.
- Inspect the condition of the existing surfaces. See if the paint is peeling, if there are any wood stains, if the are walls dirty or if you need to pressure wash the siding. When determining the price consider all the pre-work you will have to do before you even begin to start painting the job.
- Utilize a painting price guide to calculate a base rate for the project. You can find these price guides on the Internet. However, you'll want to ensure that the pricing guideline is for your state. Take the cost of the paint you plan to use into consideration on your pricing guide as well. Add an additional 20 percent to the total to make up for any erroneous measurements or small task that may occur while completing the job.