How much should this cost? [painting+]

[joestein]

I am sure many of you have seen the thread about the house that I recently bought. I had a painter come over for an estimate. He is pretty busy and has a good reputation. I have used him before in the past.

Here is what he is doing:

Painting 4 bedrooms in total:
3 are average size. He is painting inside the closets and all doors and trim. He is going to install crown molding in one of the bedrooms.

The master bedroom is very large - it has a separate sitting room and a walk in closet. It is the equivalent of 3 rooms. We are not painting the on-suite bathroom as are going to remodel it soon. He is going to install crown molding in bedroom and separate sitting area.

He is painting the hallway bathroom.

He is painting the linen closets.

He is painting the downstairs office and adding both base and crown molding.

He is also patching a few holes and adding silicone/putty to the existing base molding that is already installed - but never had that done.

So, if you consider the master bedroom 3 rooms - he is painting 8 rooms & 2 linen closets. He is installing crown molding in 4 rooms and base molding in 1 room. Plus a little patching and some silicone/putty.

All rooms except for office are empty - so no furniture to deal with.

Including all materials (paint is Behr Marquee) and labor - what should this cost?

Joe

 

[TravelTime]

$8000

 

[VacationForever]

How many sq ft is your new home? My guess is also in the region of $5-6K for painting, $2K for crown molding and baseboards.

 

[DaveNV]

When I had the interior of my Mesquite home painted, I paid $4000. No doors, trim, baseboards, or ceilings. Just walls.

Dave

 

[easyrider]

The costs will depend on the materials and contractor. Currently in my area, labor and material costs have increased. I would think a three man crew working on this for six days would complete the job by your description. Labor is $600 a day per man or $1800 a day and about $11,000 x 40% = $4400 or $15,400 labor. Materials would be cost plus 40%. Crown molding requires a floating level sub-trim board and the crown molding. A 3 1/2 inch crown molding will fit on a 1 x 4 trim. My guess is about $9 a lf for the crown molding materials. The bedroom is the size of 3 rooms and a regular bedroom is about 60 lf so maybe 180 lf @ $9 per lf = about $1,700 x 40% = $680 = $2,300 for trim materials. Paint is another $1000 or so.

Total cost without change orders = $15,400 + $2300 + $1000 = $18,700 before taxes and permits. I could be off on the materials because they have been going up weekly and you might have something more than middle of the road materials in mind.

Bill

 

[am1]

$600 a day? materials cost plus %40?

 

[Brett]

The range of estimates is interesting
Depends on local labor rates and materials.
In my area .... I would take a wild guess at $4,000

 

[dioxide45]

I think this is more like taking bets as to what the estimate will be vs guessing what it should be. I say $12,000. I want to know the actual answer once the estimate comes in...

 

[cissy]

A few years ago I priced ceilings and walls for two smallish rooms. Estimate came in at $3000. I live in Massachusetts.

 

[joestein]

The cost is $9,000. He told me that material costs are $4K.

I figures that 8 rooms X 3 gallon a room = 24 gallons. Lets say a 30 gallons with trim and doors. $45 (price of a BEHR Marquee gallon) X 30 = $1,350.

I am not sure of the linear feet of the rooms to trim. one is 48lf and the other is probably the same. Lets say the bedroom is 100 LF. Plus 50 LF of base trim in the office. So - lets say 250LF of trim. Crown molding of the style his is buying is $3/LF at Lowes. Lets say $4 - he buys better stuff. That is $1000.

So, I calculate the cost is around $2,350. A 70% markup or maybe his molding is from a more expensive place that home depot/lowes.

I was expecting $5K - $6K, so I was a bit shocked to hear $9K. We are not painting any hallways or anything downstairs- except for Angela's office.

And this painter is busy... we were trying to schedule the rest of the house (before I got his price) and isn't open until September.

Joe

 

[Big Matt]

9k is very fair. He will need to use his better painters for all of the trim and molding work. I was going to guess 10k.

 

[klpca]

Everyone (trades) is super busy. They can charge whatever they want right now. There are no bargains out there.

 

[HitchHiker71]

Pricing is very much subject to local area demand and materials costs. I own a few rental properties and routinely have them painted as part of turnover services - which means that the property is vacant when it is painted. Last November I turned over a 2500 square foot finished space townhome property and had it patched and painted top to bottom using Lowe’s Valspar paint (I keep the color codes handy as we keep using the same colors during turnover). This is a three bedroom 2.5 bath luxury townhome with a partially finished basement. My all in cost was $3650 with all labor and materials. If I had gone with a single color for the whole gig - the cost was $2700. I’m on the east coast in Delaware. These guys are commercial pros though - high volume decent quality work and his crew works both weekdays and often weekends. We’ve used them several times on our properties over the years so I imagine we get preferential pricing. Just one example of course.

If I wanted them to do my own home I’d ask for another coat of paint and for a bit more attention to detail - and a bit higher quality paint - I’d guess he would come in around $4500-5000 for the same job. If you are in an area where labor/demand/materials costs are higher - I’d imagine the price could easily double. Contractors are in very high demand right now IME.


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[Brett]

The cost is $9,000. He told me that material costs are $4K.

I figures that 8 rooms X 3 gallon a room = 24 gallons. Lets say a 30 gallons with trim and doors. $45 (price of a BEHR Marquee gallon) X 30 = $1,350.

I am not sure of the linear feet of the rooms to trim. one is 48lf and the other is probably the same. Lets say the bedroom is 100 LF. Plus 50 LF of base trim in the office. So - lets say 250LF of trim. Crown molding of the style his is buying is $3/LF at Lowes. Lets say $4 - he buys better stuff. That is $1000.

So, I calculate the cost is around $2,350. A 70% markup or maybe his molding is from a more expensive place that home depot/lowes.

I was expecting $5K - $6K, so I was a bit shocked to hear $9K. We are not painting any hallways or anything downstairs- except for Angela's office.

And this painter is busy... we were trying to schedule the rest of the house (before I got his price) and isn't open until September.

Joe

yes, labor costs and materials have gone up. Contractors are in demand
I'm getting quotes on renovating a porch and the earliest the work can be done is August/ Sept

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

The way Contractors are in demand today I would think you would be thankful to even have someone willing to do your job and provide you a quote. Some Contractors are now only working for those whom they have worked for in the past and are no longer taking on new customers.... There's plenty of work out there!



.

 

[VacationForever]

The cost is $9,000. He told me that material costs are $4K.

I figures that 8 rooms X 3 gallon a room = 24 gallons. Lets say a 30 gallons with trim and doors. $45 (price of a BEHR Marquee gallon) X 30 = $1,350.

I am not sure of the linear feet of the rooms to trim. one is 48lf and the other is probably the same. Lets say the bedroom is 100 LF. Plus 50 LF of base trim in the office. So - lets say 250LF of trim. Crown molding of the style his is buying is $3/LF at Lowes. Lets say $4 - he buys better stuff. That is $1000.

So, I calculate the cost is around $2,350. A 70% markup or maybe his molding is from a more expensive place that home depot/lowes.

I was expecting $5K - $6K, so I was a bit shocked to hear $9K. We are not painting any hallways or anything downstairs- except for Angela's office.

And this painter is busy... we were trying to schedule the rest of the house (before I got his price) and isn't open until September.

Joe

I feel that $9K is very reasonable. Our friends and us sold our homes in January and they did a full repaint of external and internal walls in their 3200 sq ft home. They used one of the best, if not the best, painting contractors in town. Their full repaint cost $11K. I assume that the price included paints. No additional carpentry was done.

We did minor touch-ups to cover up the nail holes on the walls after we removed hung objects like paintings. 3 guys who were referred by our realtor, took an hour and did a terrible job with patchy walls and mismatch of colors because they did not stir the touch-up paints. It cost $400. We asked the realtor to look at the job and she agreed that we needed to fix the poorly done job. She then asked us to use the same painting company as our friends', and his crew fixed the problem for $500.

We also live in a lower cost state compared to yours.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

I feel that $9K is very reasonable. Our friends and us sold our homes in January and they did a full repaint of external and internal walls in their 3200 sq ft home. They used one of the best, if not the best, painting contractors in town. Their full repaint cost $11K. I assume that the price included paints. No additional carpentry was done.

We did minor touch-ups to cover up the nail holes on the walls after we removed hung objects like paintings. 3 guys who were referred by our realtor, took an hour and did a terrible job with patchy walls and mismatch of colors because they did not stir the touch-up paints. It cost $400. We asked the realtor to look at the job and she agreed that we needed to fix the poorly done job. She then asked us to use the same painting company as our friends', and his crew fixed the problem for $500.

We also live in a lower cost state compared to yours.

IMO $11k for inside AND exterior for a 3200 Sq foot home is a very good price!

We live in the pricey SF Bay Area and are painting the exteriors of our primary home and our vacation rental home in Lake Tahoe. Main home exterior quotes were $13k - $15.500k (ouch!); Vacation home = $7,800k + $1100 for refinishing/staining the decks).

We use only top quality paint (Sherwin Duration) and ensured that they paint 2 coats so it lasts longer. We also use lighter colors because when the paint fades in the sun, it is not as apparent as darker colors which can show the fading rather quickly.

We always get several bids so these are the going rates. I agree that getting trades scheduled is difficult. I have some minor repairs before painting and having difficult time finding someone willing to quote. In one case we fixed it ourselves.

 

[elaine]

I think you're in NJ? In metro areas DC-NY, $9K is very fair., esp. in light of housing boom. Crown molding is $ and also time consuming getting mitre cuts/fitting, etc. We had it done in our house.

 

[Beachclubmum]

I would have expected 10k minimum.

 

[TravelTime]

The cost is $9,000. He told me that material costs are $4K.

I figures that 8 rooms X 3 gallon a room = 24 gallons. Lets say a 30 gallons with trim and doors. $45 (price of a BEHR Marquee gallon) X 30 = $1,350.

I am not sure of the linear feet of the rooms to trim. one is 48lf and the other is probably the same. Lets say the bedroom is 100 LF. Plus 50 LF of base trim in the office. So - lets say 250LF of trim. Crown molding of the style his is buying is $3/LF at Lowes. Lets say $4 - he buys better stuff. That is $1000.

So, I calculate the cost is around $2,350. A 70% markup or maybe his molding is from a more expensive place that home depot/lowes.

I was expecting $5K - $6K, so I was a bit shocked to hear $9K. We are not painting any hallways or anything downstairs- except for Angela's office.

And this painter is busy... we were trying to schedule the rest of the house (before I got his price) and isn't open until September.

Joe

I was close with my guess at $8,000. Painting has gotten very expensive.

 

[easyrider]

The cost is $9,000. He told me that material costs are $4K.

I figures that 8 rooms X 3 gallon a room = 24 gallons. Lets say a 30 gallons with trim and doors. $45 (price of a BEHR Marquee gallon) X 30 = $1,350.

I am not sure of the linear feet of the rooms to trim. one is 48lf and the other is probably the same. Lets say the bedroom is 100 LF. Plus 50 LF of base trim in the office. So - lets say 250LF of trim. Crown molding of the style his is buying is $3/LF at Lowes. Lets say $4 - he buys better stuff. That is $1000.

So, I calculate the cost is around $2,350. A 70% markup or maybe his molding is from a more expensive place that home depot/lowes.

I was expecting $5K - $6K, so I was a bit shocked to hear $9K. We are not painting any hallways or anything downstairs- except for Angela's office.

And this painter is busy... we were trying to schedule the rest of the house (before I got his price) and isn't open until September.

Joe

If the costs of materials are $4000 and the estimate is $9000 total this is a low estimate. Usually the estimate should be at least materials x 3. In this case the materials are $4000 so the estimate should be $12,000. If the total is $9000 then I'm thinking the materials are under but near $3000.

Bill

 

[joestein]

Thanks for all your responses. Makes me feel a bit better.

I would like to point out that the job is not the whole house as some responses were referring to. It is all 4 bedrooms (one of which, the master, is very large with a sitting room), hallway bathroom and downstairs office. None of hallways or common areas downstairs or basement are included.

 

[easyrider]

$600 a day? materials cost plus %40?

The $600 a day per worker and material costs both have a 40% markup. The cost is actually more in line with $100 per hour per worker. This cost reflects the worker pay, taxes, benefits and the cost of the construction company's other employees, the owner and tools. This rate is a minimum for established construction company's. Usually the work is bid work and bid work includes profit margins which are not included in minimum bid work. Most company's do not work for minimum bid or they would go out of business. Many company's will work large projects for a negotiated bid which ensures the company will make money.

Bill

 

[am1]

The $600 a day per worker and material costs both have a 40% markup. The cost is actually more in line with $100 per hour per worker. This cost reflects the worker pay, taxes, benefits and the cost of the construction company's other employees, the owner and tools. This rate is a minimum for established construction company's. Usually the work is bid work and bid work includes profit margins which are not included in minimum bid work. Most company's do not work for minimum bid or they would go out of business. Many company's will work large projects for a negotiated bid which ensures the company will make money.

Bill

Just bloated inflated wages and costs. But people are happy working minimum wage with their liberal arts degrees. Something is broken.

 

[jmhpsu93]

I was close with my guess at $8,000. Painting has gotten very expensive.

That was going to be my rough guess as well. Quality of paint would matter...I can't believe how expensive that has become in the last 20 years.