I have been hired to paint two identical garage doors that can accommodate one car each. There is some rusting and flaking, which I can remedy. I am using Rust-O-Leum to paint the doors. What would be a decent rate for the entire service?
Painting a garage door....
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i charge $15 a door
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14,407 Posts
That sounds high. With spray cans they take like 2 minutes per door. :blink:
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they hired you without a price?? when you say rate are you talking production rate or price??
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I would have figure out how to figure a price for that service before I offered it.
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I'm considered high priced in my area, i use quality spray paint like rust o leum
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So at 2 they would be looking at $19.98 plus a 7.75% tax:jester:
You don't do discount for more than one? I could do three double size doors for that and pre-treat the rust with some acrylic primer thrown in...
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Good to see you increased your prices brother. I think that little chat we had helped. I think I get credit for this one. You took my advise, I want a pat on the back. That was trademark material.
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The following formula applies to any kind of painting job—interior or exterior, large or small, commercial or residential:
Total price = (((Overhead per man hour) + (Average wage + labor burden)) X Man hours) + (Materials + Material markup) + (Other expenses + markup) + Profit
I agree with the others-- why didn't you give a price before you took the job? What will you do if they don't like your price?
Brian Phillips
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463 Posts
What's wrong with all you guys? The poor guy asked a legitimate question. Rather than a straight answer, you guys make fun of him. This is the problem with this site. A bunch of smart a$$ "painters" that can't come up with a number so they belittle the question asker.
Here's a real answer:
$200 per door. If the door has windows, $20 per window. I wouldn't use rust-o-leum. Prime the door if the rust is really bad and go get a gallon of Pittsburgh Paints Timeless Exterior Satin. Two coats will be beautiful and wash easily.
I understand that you guys can't estimate a lot of jobs on a description alone; however, a garage door? Are you kidding? So what if this is a DIY'er or newbie to the business? Don't you remember when you first started out and were lost when it came to certain estimates? Don't you remember when you weren't getting calls back and started wondering to yourself why? Was your price to high? Maybe it was so low the homeowner didn't trust you knew what you were talking about. All of us have been there and you guys can't help out an up and comer? I thought thats what this site was for.
Here's a real answer:
$200 per door. If the door has windows, $20 per window. I wouldn't use rust-o-leum. Prime the door if the rust is really bad and go get a gallon of Pittsburgh Paints Timeless Exterior Satin. Two coats will be beautiful and wash easily.
I understand that you guys can't estimate a lot of jobs on a description alone; however, a garage door? Are you kidding? So what if this is a DIY'er or newbie to the business? Don't you remember when you first started out and were lost when it came to certain estimates? Don't you remember when you weren't getting calls back and started wondering to yourself why? Was your price to high? Maybe it was so low the homeowner didn't trust you knew what you were talking about. All of us have been there and you guys can't help out an up and comer? I thought thats what this site was for.
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No your the problem, you are acting as if there is some set rate for a ****ing door. My overhead and your overhead are different and our prices will reflect that. So for some one to come and ask us how much to charge is not possible because we don't know the overhead. If he asked what the best way to paint the door then we would have answered to the best of our ability because that is relatively constant but pricing never is.
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That's brilliant home guards. I never thought of it that way. So if your overhead is $1000 monthly and mine is $200, and we estimate the same job, could you possibly explain to the ho why your price for the same door is $400 while mine is $200. Same experience, same products, would you tell the client that your overhead is higher so he has to pay more? If so, would you get the job?
I didn't say there's an exact science. There's not. But this guy didn't ask for a precise number to tell his customer - he asked what might be a reasonable price. Maybe if I said $200 p/d and you said $250 p/d and the next guy said $175 and the next guy said $215, he could have at least had an idea what everyone else was charging so he would have known a "reasonable rate." I have been estimating jobs for years both for myself and for other companies and there are still times when I have to sit back and think to myself, does this seem right? This is especially true on small jobs. I've had customers ask me to paint a closet. 3'X6'. I say $200 and wonder what the client thinks because the bedroom that the closet is in only cost $425. It's no crime to ask the question. And your overhead should have nothing to do with your quote. If the going rate is $65 an hour in your area, you won't get away with $95 just because you are spending too much on marketing and salaries. Your overhead, instead, should be dictated by your hourly rate. Right or wrong?
I didn't say there's an exact science. There's not. But this guy didn't ask for a precise number to tell his customer - he asked what might be a reasonable price. Maybe if I said $200 p/d and you said $250 p/d and the next guy said $175 and the next guy said $215, he could have at least had an idea what everyone else was charging so he would have known a "reasonable rate." I have been estimating jobs for years both for myself and for other companies and there are still times when I have to sit back and think to myself, does this seem right? This is especially true on small jobs. I've had customers ask me to paint a closet. 3'X6'. I say $200 and wonder what the client thinks because the bedroom that the closet is in only cost $425. It's no crime to ask the question. And your overhead should have nothing to do with your quote. If the going rate is $65 an hour in your area, you won't get away with $95 just because you are spending too much on marketing and salaries. Your overhead, instead, should be dictated by your hourly rate. Right or wrong?
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Homeguards, let's be honest, you are a 24 year old know-it-all that doesn't have enough business to keep busy so you sit on painttalk all day to discourage newbies.
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I gave him a real answer. The price of any job has variables, and he did not provide the variables. To give a price without knowing those variables is irresponsible in my opinion. I provided the formula for him to plug in his variables.
Give a man a fish, or teach him to fish?
Brian Phillips
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Wrong. How do you come up with an hourly rate while ignoring your overhead? Using your hourly rate to determine overhead is putting the cart before the horse, and that's a very certain way to never get to the market.
Brian Phillips
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4,540 Posts
Im more worried about the HO this guy is going to be working for. I dont think its fair to come across as a professional and try to sell a service if you have no idea of what your doing. It really doesnt get any more basic then a garage door or two, I thaught the post was a joke, sorry if that offends someone.
I would suggest you go work for some one and learn the trade.
Pinnicle I agree with you in a way, but Im get sick of every guy that gets laid off from the plant ala of the sudden is a paint contractor.
I would suggest you go work for some one and learn the trade.
Pinnicle I agree with you in a way, but Im get sick of every guy that gets laid off from the plant ala of the sudden is a paint contractor.
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No it's not Brian. You need to go to business school to figure this one out. If you are making $5000 per month and spending $6000. You have to make $1000 more to compensate. Well, if you start charging more, you will begin to lose money because your client base is going to go elsewhere. Maybe you need to hire someone so that they can start making you more money but bumping up your prices (too high at least) is going to lose you business. Therefore, your overhead can only go as high as you are able to charge in your area. How can that be wrong?
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dave mac, i agree with you as well. but, the more hack jobs out there, the easier it is for us to gain a loyal client base
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