[seasterwood]

We have recently started our own home based painting business. I usually just bid a price that sounds fair to me, but have come up short on a lot of jobs doing it that way.
Would like to learn how to bid on a big job that has several rooms of different sizes..
such as 14 x 18, 120 x 26, etc. including some hallways and such. I am bidding on painting all the walls and the ceilings in each room and hallways. The rooms are about 8 feet in height.
Do you count the height when figuring out the square footage?
Because to paint walls in an 8 foot room would be different than painting them in a 10 foot tall room.
What do you all think?
Is it still just figuring out by multiplying 18 x 14 etc for the square footage of the room no matter how tall the walls are? And would that include the ceilings? Seems like it would have to be different somehow and I am not sure how to figure it out.
What is the average rate that painting contractors are charging by the square foot these days?
thanks for your help

[Clough]

The average price that painters will charge by the square foot depends on what painters are charging in the vicinity where you will be working.

Around where I live, the going rate is about .70 cents a square foot for two coats. This would not include the cost of the paint nor a primer coat if it is necessary. It would be helpful in knowing where you will be doing the work in order to provide the best answer for you. It could be that the going rates for painting around where you will be working may be available online. Although, maybe not also.

Yes. You do count the height in figuring the square footage. How else would you arrive at the square footage if you did not include the height?

You would measure the dimensions of the ceiling to arrive at the square feet that are involved. For instance, a 10' x 12' ceiling would be 120 square feet.

Other factors to be figured in would be the amount of repair and/or patching that might need to be done. Also, whether the surfaces of the walls and/or ceilings are textured or not. If they are textured, then the price will be more.

[Clough]

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