[becolouring]

Hey all, working on a project...a furnished two bedroom apartment. I understand moving furniture is part of our job and everything but I was wondering if anybody charges their customers for moving furniture so the space can be painted. My current project has four wall to ceiling bookcases and short of removing all the books, those cases are "in place."

What got me thinking about this was we just had our floors done, and the floor company said, "if we have to move your furniture we're going to add a surcharge but if you do the moving no surcharge."

Got me thinking it might not be such a bad idea. I do mostly apartments, and to be honest, unfurnished apartments are a pleasure to paint.

Does anybody add a surcharge for moving furniture?

Steve

 

[Joe67]

I don't know why it would be called a "surcharge." If you have to move the stuff - especially things like full book cases, its just part of the time estimate. Nothing "sur" about it. If you are left to do it, then it goes in the "prep" category. If people don't want to pay for then, then yeah - they need to leave you with an empty space.

 

[RH]

Anything that adds time to a project should be charged for. Cleaning, especially the more intense variety often needed in kitchens and bathrooms, is another item to be taken into account.
Specific to moving, be aware if antiques or expensive furniture are involved. You don’t want to be held accountable for breaking great great grannie’s four poster bed. Also, be aware of potential floor damage when moving stuff, especially on wood floors.

 

[finishesbykevyn]

Absolutely.

 

[Wildbill7145]

I'm sure as hell not moving furniture for free.

 

[RH]

I'm sure as hell not moving furniture for free.

Busting the myth of the “friendly” Canadians one post at a time. 😉

 

[Wildbill7145]

Busting the myth of the “friendly” Canadians one post at a time. 😉

f u .

 

[Masterwork]

I recently lost an office repaint because I told them we wouldn't move anything. They'd have to move all the stuff.

Filing cabinets, full book shelves, etc... I found out the winning bid, and it was below my cost just for the painting. Let them have it.

 

[RH]

f u .

SEE! Validation! 😃😆😏

 

[thepm4]

I don't charge one..its in the quote. I identify what pieces I won't touch and why at job preview.

 

[finishesbykevyn]

If the book cases are "In Place", just paint around them. But obviously these are things that need to be discussed during your consultation. You can't work for free and you should be charging for your time, regarldess of what the task is..
E.G Paint all walls 5hrs., Move book cases. 2hrs. Total = 7hrs. @$50/hr = $350.

 

[RH]

If the book cases are "In Place", just paint around them. But obviously these are things that need to be discussed during your consultation. You can't work for free and you should be charging for your time, regarldess of what the task is..
E.G Paint all walls 5hrs., Move book cases. 2hrs. Total = 7hrs. @$50/hr = $350.

Thanks for posting on PaintTalk.com. Straight pricing answers are frowned upon here, as are 'Going Rate' answers. If you are a contractor seeking to help others regarding their pricing structure, the rest of the Moderators of this forum would like to direct you to this pricing thread - Pricing, Estimating and Success.

PaintTalk.com is designed for professional contractors to discuss issues and topics related to the commercial and residential painting industries. Sometimes we even let moderators posing as professional painting contractors post stuff - sometimes.

We actually don’t apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused. This thread has not been closed - but is under close scrutiny. Damned newbies.🙄🤨😉

 

[becolouring]

This is my point. What about giving them two quotes...one for moving the furniture and one without moving the furniture. Did you consider that?

I recently lost an office repaint because I told them we wouldn't move anything. They'd have to move all the stuff.

Filing cabinets, full book shelves, etc... I found out the winning bid, and it was below my cost just for the painting. Let them have it.

 

[RH]

One thing I used to so is have a tub full of furniture gliders to let people use if they were moving their stuff themselves. Very often they liked them so much they went out and bought their own.

 

[stelzerpaintinginc.]

Just got back from 2 interior estimates. I always ask them how they want me to bid it. I do try and offer options either way and give prices both ways...
-I can plan on moving everything except for fragile items & valuable crap, which they have to move.
-They can plan on moving everything, and I make it clear whether I expect everything to be removed from the work area or just piled in the center.

I then include in the bid the price for each way as well as a phrase which states the hourly rate they will be charged in the event they said they'd move everything but didn't. Easy Peasy. Communication is everything, especially with owner-occupied interiors.

 

[Gwarel]

15 years ago I worked for a guy who put a rug under a piece of furniture in the foyer and told me I could just slide it out to access the wall. When I did it dug a groove in the hardwood. There was a floor guy working in another part of the house and he said he could fix it for $450, I told the homeowner about it and offered to pay the tab. He refused, and held $1500 from my final invoice. Lesson learned.
About 5 years ago I looked at a Great Room, complete repaint, full of furniture. I told the customer that I could not be liable for the furniture, but if she would have it removed I would completely cover all floors with Ramboard. She later told me that my policy is why she gave me the job, and she has been a great repeat customer ever since. We paint.

 

[Masterwork]

This is my point. What about giving them two quotes...one for moving the furniture and one without moving the furniture. Did you consider that?

To be honest, it was so crowded I would have had to move things 4 times to paint each office. I didn't want the hassle, no matter what the cost. Whoever got the job is making less than minimum wage, unless they have some futuristic teleport device thingy.

 

[Joe67]

Thanks for posting on PaintTalk.com. Straight pricing answers are frowned upon here, as are 'Going Rate' answers. If you are a contractor seeking to help others regarding their pricing structure, the rest of the Moderators of this forum would like to direct you to this pricing thread - Pricing, Estimating and Success.

PaintTalk.com is designed for professional contractors to discuss issues and topics related to the commercial and residential painting industries. Sometimes we even let moderators posing as professional painting contractors post stuff - sometimes.

We actually don’t apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused. This thread has not been closed - but is under close scrutiny. Damned newbies.🙄🤨😉

😂. That cracks me up.

 

[finishesbykevyn]

Thanks for posting on PaintTalk.com. Straight pricing answers are frowned upon here, as are 'Going Rate' answers. If you are a contractor seeking to help others regarding their pricing structure, the rest of the Moderators of this forum would like to direct you to this pricing thread - Pricing, Estimating and Success.

PaintTalk.com is designed for professional contractors to discuss issues and topics related to the commercial and residential painting industries. Sometimes we even let moderators posing as professional painting contractors post stuff - sometimes.

We actually don’t apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused. This thread has not been closed - but is under close scrutiny. Damned newbies.🙄🤨😉

Sorry Boss. I gets excited sometimes.😅

 

[RH]

Me too grasshopper, me too.