Hello, I am trying to figure out an effective way to bid on painting the exterior of an apartment complex.

We are trying to break into this sector of the business and I have a few questions.

( 1.) Is there a formula that will assist me in assessing multiple levels (this place is 3 stories high)?

( 2.) When bidding a multi-unit community (this place has 250 units) should the bid be done by assessing the cost per unit? (Like $250 to $350 a unit) Or by the exterior square footage?

( 3.) Any tips on estimating how much paint will be needed?

Thanks in advance for any help on this subject.

Hi, pjc5150!

This sounds like a pretty enormous job!

In order for us to advise you the best here, it would help us to know what kind of material is on the outside of the buildings, (I.e. stucco, clapboard or other), the manner in which you will be applying the paint, whether you will also be painting trim and how you will be applying the paint to the trim.

I'm sure, as you know, painters are going to be charging by the square foot. If any or all the units are the same, then you figure the square footage for one of them and then it would be the same for the others that you could lump together on an estimate for painting the combined units.

In order to get the winning bid, it's important that the contractor qualify on estimates as to why they are charging what they are charging and to be consistent in doing that from job to job. People like to know why they are paying what they are paying, and word gets around as to how painters price their jobs.

How many gallons that will be used will be determined by what the surface area is constructed of and the manner in which the paint is applied as well as how many coats that will be applied.

Thanks!

Exterior painting bids are done virtually the same as interior; by the square ft. Considerations are heights, you must charge extra for 60 ft and up, it takes longer to climb, so is more labor intensive. I've profited by charging $1.50 a square; then I utilize my time and use a sprayer.