How to estimate painting Jobs: The fundamental principles

The Painting Estimator’s Toolkit: Principles, Variables, and the Perfect Equation

Stop Painting Estimate Panic! This guide will help you become a cost-conquering pro. Learn the fundamental principles and variables to adjust your estimate based on your market and feedback.

Do you know how to estimate painting jobs? In this post, we will guide you through the estimation process, fundamentally the painting works are estimated according to the real principles behind the project.

So, we’ll look at the fundamental principles on how to make your estimate, including some different things like purpose, price, variables, the equation, and adjustments. Follow us and learn.

Purpose of Estimate Painting Jobs

The aim of your process of estimating paint jobs is to obtain a precise and consistent price. This is because whenever their prices are consistent, their profits will also be consistent.

On the other hand, what happens to your team and ultimately, if you’re forming a team, you can train other people to get the same accurate and consistent prices.

The price should meet two important conditions: reaching the margin of profit and offering the best labor on the market.

4 Main fundamental processes for Estimate Painting Jobs in Okotoks, Calgary

Professional painters tend to be precise in their estimation of painting calculations. But how do they do that? Through vital principles you have learned through years of experience. Pay attention so that you also know how to estimate painting jobs.

• Price

At this point, we need to find a price that allows us to reach the profit margins, because we have to run a healthy business. So there’s a certain price you have to charge for all your expenses and take home a profit that pays you.

Normal Gross Profit

So there’s a certain number we have to be at, and what painting experts usually teach is to want to have at least 50% of gross profit from the total price. This means that it will be allocated to labor and material costs.

The remaining 50% is for all other operating expenses of the painting company, including marketing and general expenses. How to pay sales, estimators, project managers, office managers and others. While maintaining a healthy benefit margin.

Major Gross Gain

However, the 50 % could be a little higher or a little lower depending on the stage in which a painting company is located. As companies grow, they have more overall costs, so they need to have a slightly higher gross profit margin to cover that.

When estimating a price, we want to ensure is that we are reaching our margin, and we can do it while we can afford to pay the best labor in the market. We want to be able to attract the best painters or the best painting contractors to work for us.

So, I could charge a lower price and still keep my margin, but that means I would have to pay less money and get less talented labor. So we want to make sure that these two conditions are met with the price.

The goal of the price is not to win the job at any cost.

A low price to win the job is not our goal. and we see that many people come across this problem in which we’re lowering the price to win the project.

But now, we cannot afford a labor force or a reduced profit margin that can’t grow and scale a painting business or we’re not earning enough money and starting to be defeated.

If we rely on price to win jobs, what will happen over time is that we will gradually consume our profit margin and our ability to grow the business. In fact, hiring a team and creating freedom for us, which is the goal of building a business. So we don’t have to set a price to get a job.

That is the work of our sales process in marketing systems, mouth-to-mouth, repeat business and earn a good reputation. Then, when it comes to winning projects you should focus on the sales process and do everything right.

• Price variables

There are 4 variables that influence the price when estimate painting jobs. According to experts in the area they have to do with production rates, labor rate, material and markup. Let’s see more details of each variable.

Production rate

Production rates refer to the time, that is, something that needs to be painted and how much material is needed to paint it. So, for any outdoor paint project there are all the different things that we’re going to paint at work.

For example: the edge of the garage, the edges of the door, the fascia of the vertical edge, the alleys, the descents, the doors, the coating, the stucco, the bars and so on.

Exterior painting

Each exterior surface has a different production rate, which means, how long does it take to pay 10 feet of this?, how long takes it to paint a door?, How long is it taking to draw a garage frame for a car or two cars?, How long does it take to paint windshields that are hanging in the house?, and what can I paint so that we have all the things we need?

Interior painting

The process for estimating interior painting is similar and everyone is assigned a production rate, how long does it take to paint them? We then consider the material rate, which refers to how much material is needed. 200 square feet of coating or 1200 square feet of coatings? So that’s the production rates.

• Estimating equation

The first thing to do in the equation to estimate painting jobs is to take all our measurements. For example, how many feet of fascia I have, how many doors, I have a garage for two cars. How many windshields do I have in the house? Do I have 25 feet of bars and so on?

So we measured the house and according to our reproduction rate, it will tell me how many hours are required and how much material is required. Having all this information, how do you get these production rates?

Multiply by production rates

One of the resources is the calculation of our labor costs, we say how many hours will take the work multiplied by my labor rate. Your labor rate could be 20, an hour that doesn’t mean you pay 20 dollars an hour. That means you’re bidding per hour.

According to the experience of experts, the production rate of good painters is about $60 faster. So if we offer for $20 an hour, our good painters earn $30, maybe even $35 an hour because they’re very fast and efficient.

So we multiply our hours by our labor rate and it gives us our work floor. Let’s assume it takes 50 hours of work, billed at a rate of $20 per hour. We have a thousand dollars in labor costs.

Material cost

We take our estimated materials based on our production rates. Let’s say it’s 25 gallons and our cost per gallon is $30. So that’s 25 per 30 and it gives a total of 750 for our material cost.

Now let’s add both, that’s going to be a thousand dollars plus 750 is 1759 dollars for our labor and material cost. So, take your 1750 and you multiply it by your profit margin that should be twice or maybe a little more than that.

This calculation provides a base price of $3500, which could increase to $4000. It is important to have some labor margin for some management costs or maybe some money for the subcontractor.

We factor in additional costs like profit and unforeseen expenses that we do not include in the offer, whether it is various items or repairing some equipment or buying new sprayers, etc.

• Adjusting and tweaking

Once we have the price we have to see how we will adjust and modify our estimates over time. To do this, two main objectives must be taken into account when estimating painting jobs. The first is to have a consistent and precise way to get your price. All you need for that is to need this estimate equation and you need production rates.

Consistent process for consistent pricing

We have a process that we are following in which it is done to get the measures and the price is said at the end. Now I have consistent prices and then the second goal is to adjust and modify up to that price until it meets the requirements. With this first objective, we reach the gross profit margin for growth and current and future profitability of around 50% of gross profit.

Adjust pricing until it fulfills two purposes of estimating

In this second objective, the best talents in the working group can be recruited and retained. That is necessary to build a healthy business, provide incredible customer service, and not be a professional nanny who needs to micro-manage every workplace.

How can I adjust and modify these estimates?

It is really simple, works consistently and accurately and then starts to produce more works, that is, recruit talented painters or subcontractors. It is vital to observe them and make sure they are painting efficiently. And get the 50% gross profit and they’re happy.

Well, if I only get 40% of gross profits. Maybe you need to raise the prices a little bit, so now go more slowly and start using the feedback cycle and I wonder: Can I get good painters or subcontractors at these prices? Am I reaching my margins?

Two main adjustments can be made

If I am reaching them, I am good and not, I need to make adjustments and there are usually two main adjustment that they need:

Calgary City Coatings: Hire professional painters in Okotoks

Are you looking to refresh the interior or exterior of your home in Okotoks? Calgary City Coatings is here very close to you to help you! We are a magnificent team of highly qualified and passionate painters dedicated to providing you with exceptional service with results of a first level and category.

Why choose Calgary City Coatings?

One of the main and most important reasons is that we use our quality paint chains. Our techniques are industry leaders, so we can ensure an excellent finish. Which one is very impeccable and durable, this will let your home change and look the best. Furthermore, we also maintain: 

Experience you can trust. Our great team has a wonderful experience in painting projects in large or small spaces. We can talk directly with the customer and advise on how to choose the best paint brands and thus be able to guarantee a great solution, a smooth experience so that you do not have to fight with the stress.

Commitment to quality. Customer satisfaction is part of our valuable plans. We go the extra mile so that we can always make sure that we do our work properly and be very professional. Exceeding the customer’s expectations at every step he finds in our way.

Are we waiting and ready to turn your home into Okotoks? Quickly contact our company Calgary City Coatings today to get a good deal and above all free.

We will cordially discuss your project in detail, we will answer your questions with the topic you may have. The result is that we will provide you with a good offer that you did not want to miss as it is very competitive. 

Don’t think too much about it, give your home or office all the refreshment it deserves! 

Calgary City Coatings, is your ideal friend and partner in what represents the perfection of painting.