[ocpartydj]

Hi, my name is Trevor, I'm 19 years old. I want to know if anybody has any standards for interior.

I have exterior standards that go like this.
spraying 200sq ft= 1 hour
40 lf of fascial boards= 1hour
40 lf of second story fascial boards= 2hours
front door = 2hour

I have to bid out a giant interior job and whenever I do interior I am always way off on my bid.

Does anybody have any standards I can follow for interior? I need to figure out how long its going to take to roll out the wall 2 stories up on a ladder also.
thank you very much, I appreciate any feed back

 

[Workaholic]

I may be slower or faster than you so not sure how my time will benefit you for pricing.

Also add the cost of a long extension pole into your price so you can do the job easier.

 

[Schmidt & Co.]

What you are talking about are production rates. Everybody's is different, and years of tracking and tweaking goes into it. The PDCA has a manual with various averaged production rates in it. I have one and will refer to it on occasion for odd things that I don't come up on often.

http://books.google.com/books/about/PDCA_Cost_and_Estimating_Guide_Volume_II.html?id=b8A-5HDlrKcC

 

[TJ Paint]

Go fast but not hasty.
Go swift but not crazy.
Go confident but not cocky.
Make sure the check will be good and on time.
Live long and prosper.

 

[HJ61]

Umm, average painter say you should be able to cut and roll at 200 board feet/hr, per coat, plus prep work. If know you are way off, best not to start with a giant interior, that could set you back if you bid to low.

Is your front door rate for 2 sides plus a frame? Or just door two coats?

 

[NEPS.US]

College Painters?

 

[StripandCaulk]

College Painters?

* College "painters"

 

[HQP2005]

Hey Trevor,

Having been exactly where you are not so long ago, believe it when people say that no-one can tell you what your rates should be.

Dont expect yourself to "come out ahead" right away, but if your serious about painting, take every job you get as an opportunity to log how much time each aspect of the project take. The more you do this, the quicker your gonna start making better bids. And just consider all those low bids as payments for learning.

Welcome to PT by the way :thumbsup:, you should post an introduction in the new members section.

 

[ARC]

In my opinion, if you try to quote on standards like that, you will always be off, because jobs vary. A soffit on one house will take 1 hour for 20ft. On another house it will take 5.

I have a system that takes into account different types of trim, surfaces, and degrees of prep. And I will add a 'custom' time budget for any special circumstances, like a hard to reach dormer requiring roof jacks, etc.

 

[hotwing7]

Hi trevor, don't take this to sound condescending because it totally isn't meant to.

Giant jobs are exciting - to even get the opportunity to price one out when you are relatively new gives you that "hell yeah look at me go" type moment.

For sure you want to get the job who the hell wouldn't, but as it stands at the moment if your prices seem to be well off it's because you are pricing it out based on how long you think it should take YOU. And a more experienced painter will be able to work faster and smarter along with knowing thpitfalls of a big job and the all important timescales and materials cost - because he / she has been doing it for a while.

There's nothing wrong with letting the big jobs slide for a while - until you get to know your own pace / tools / equipment and all that fun stuff.

Get good on the smaller jobs, and work your way up to the bigger ones - by the time you actually get one (that you have priced right and not shot yourself in the foot because you went in too low ) you will be confident in knowing you are right on the money.

Big jobs priced wrongly are a pain in the ass from beginning to end (they can be a pain even when priced right lol).

Get good, get efficient, get experience - then get the job - it won't take long and it's no big deal to say "I'm gonna step aside on this one".

Good luck

 

[RH]

Along with what hotwing posted (good reply), if you do pass, perhaps you can refer the customer to another company that you trust and you know does good work. In exchange, they can refer some more manageable jobs to you. I have this type of arrangement with another company in town - we won't knowingly bid against each other and I refer all my exterior inquiries (I only do interiors) to them as well as bigger jobs requiring a crew. They reciprocate.

Of course this will only work if you have a really good relationship with the other outfit. I'm fortunate in that respect.

 

[kdpaint]

A lot of really good advice on this topic. When I first started painting, I jumped into some jobs that were too big for me, and I ATE it.
I learned so much from these mistakes, but man, finishing some of those jobs I had no business starting, doing the math, finding out after I paid my guys I had made about $12 an hour. That number was ONLY counting actual hands on work, not writing proposals, contracts, hours spent asking more qualified painters how THEY would do it, phone calls, driving around picking material/staging etc and otherwise running around like a maniac.
Then, when you think you are done, and have your $12/hr (which takes a while, because it took waaaaay longer than you thought, maybe paying the guys out of your own pocket until you get paid, you sit back and figure out you have not slept right since you started the job, because you are not yet qualified to do this type of work.

Best of luck if you jump into the cold, cold water of big time contractor! Or, do as Hotwing and others did, start small, learn how YOU work, then, when you get a big job, you crush it, and make a pile of dough.

 

[HQP2005]

Over the last month, I have went out to look at 2 exterior projects that were way to big a project for what I got set up right now. On the second one, I just decided to be real straight forward and actually told them they would be better off going with a larger contractor, but would be happy to answer any questions. I figure being honest may at least get them to call me again if they have any interior work in the future.

By the way, I dont think OC-Party-DJ is'nt coming back, and were basically having this conversation amongst ourselves now.

 

[epretot]

I have never said "no" to any size job. I figure you have to fake it until you make it. I have walked into several jobs (especially in the first 3 years of business) that I was scared to death to do. I am so glad I tackled them. How else are you going to gain experience. I didn't have the equipment or know how. I rented the equipment and asked for a lot of advice.

 

[Schmidt & Co.]

I have never said "no" to any size job. I figure you have to fake it until you make it. I have walked into several jobs (especially in the first 3 years of business) that I was scared to death to do. I am so glad I tackled them. How else are you going to gain experience. I didn't have the equipment or know how. I rented the equipment and asked for a lot of advice.

I hear you epretot. But IMHO there is a difference between doing a job outside your comfort zone, and one you have no business even looking at. Just a simplified example: I'm an experienced residential painter. It would be cool to paint the exterior of the Sears Tower sometime. But........

 

[HQP2005]

I have never said "no" to any size job. I figure you have to fake it until you make it. I have walked into several jobs (especially in the first 3 years of business) that I was scared to death to do. I am so glad I tackled them. How else are you going to gain experience. I didn't have the equipment or know how. I rented the equipment and asked for a lot of advice.

Yeah, I get what your sayin.

I didnt actually say no, I was just honest with them as to how long it would take me to get it done. If they were OK with the time frame and still wanted me to give them a price I would of. In this case, its not so much a lack of experience but a lack of employee's, (which im in the process of figuring out right now).

 

[RH]

Over the last month, I have went out to look at 2 exterior projects that were way to big a project for what I got set up right now. On the second one, I just decided to be real straight forward and actually told them they would be better off going with a larger contractor, but would be happy to answer any questions. I figure being honest may at least get them to call me again if they have any interior work in the future.

By the way, I dont think OC-Party-DJ is'nt coming back, and were basically having this conversation amongst ourselves now.

Yeah - probably. But most of us are self-delusional so we just merrily post away regardless.

You made a good call on that Matthew and hopefully you will be right. Personally I'll always respect and appreciate someone who is honest and up front with me. Combine that with being helpful and it would create a very positive impression.

When you read some of the posts here from guys that have no idea what they are doing but are bidding anyway, I can't help but think, "Man, there's no way I'd want that guy working on my house."

I was doing some work for a remodeling contractor last year. Midway through the job, they wanted me to add in a bid on staining and finishing a fairly extensive amount of handrail and balusters. Due to other job commitments I just couldn't fit it in so they ended up bringing in another outfit. Very well known, several rigs, and crews, advertise a lot, etc. I couldn't help but hear them as they worked and they had absolutely no clue as to what they were doing (weren't using a wood conditioner, having difficulty matching the existing woodwork color, not sure what topcoat material to use, getting stain on the walls). Eventually it got worked out but their finished product never did look good (IMO) and I know they had to have taken it in the shorts big time. Plus the lead carpenter swore he'd never use them again. Seeing one of the "bigger" outfits conducting themselves this way was rather alarming.

 

[RH]

I hear you epretot. But IMHO there is a difference between doing a job outside your comfort zone, and one you have no business even looking at. Just a simplified example: I'm an experienced residential painter. It would be cool to paint the exterior of the Sears Tower sometime. But........

Paul,
You could start with this and then consider the tower... :whistling2:

 

[kdpaint]

Knowing when to say no is a skill. Saying yes to big jobs in the context of what OCParty has with 2-3 years painting experience, max, is a recipe for disaster. We have all learned along the way, but there are a few jobs I can think of that even now I wished I hadnt accepted, even with what I learned from them.

 

[epretot]

I hear you epretot. But IMHO there is a difference between doing a job outside your comfort zone, and one you have no business even looking at. Just a simplified example: I'm an experienced residential painter. It would be cool to paint the exterior of the Sears Tower sometime. But........

I agree. I was looking to get into the commercial game at this time. This project fell into my lap. Plus this project was in the news. I won't post the pictures of the project I'm thinking of (as they are in my album)...but that was the job I was scared of. In fact, it was a cold breezy day when we started. The rig was bouncing a little and we were freezing our "nads" off. I remember going all the way to the top to start scraping the building. After getting up there I said to the guy working with me on the rig, "lets go down and work our way up"! Looking back, I can't believe I was intimidated at all. I have since done a few jobs like that one. It was no Sears tower though.