Ihab Salloum[ad_1]
Nobody Wants to Work for Nothing
Many painting businesses don’t charge for all the things that are part of each job, resulting in working for free. If you intend to do a complete job, and your customer is asking for a complete job, then you should be charging for a complete job.
The Importance of a Complete and Thorough Estimate
Leaving something off of the estimate results in working for nothing. Doing a complete and thorough estimate involves everything that takes time, whether it be screwing that switch plate cover back on or painting the altar in that church. It is inaccurate, lazy and likely to end up poorly if you assume what the customer needs.
The Problem with a Lump Sum Magic
Many painters brag about what they describe as an almost mystical experience, like walking into a room and a price comes into their head. This shouldn’t be the case as it is inaccurate, lazy and likely to end up poorly. It’s better to itemize the job to ensure that everything is covered.
Setup
Regardless of the job, whether it’s driving 100 miles or 2 days setting up scaffolding or 20 minutes unloading drops, ladders and paint, it is part of every job, and it should be included in the cost of the job and estimated as such. Special circumstances should be taken into account or keep a percentage to use as a formula for each job.
Preparation
Lots of times the preparation costs way more than the paint job. Special repairs or problems should be itemized.
Painting
It’s important to consider the amount of time for painting the job properly. An easy formula to use on heights above 25 feet would be 2 times or 2.2 times or whatever the time it takes to paint the same window without a ladder. Most of the time estimating painting costs can be done with a good formula from job to job.
Cleanup
This part of the painting job can take more time that the actual painting, depending on the job. Estimating the time to properly clean up after each job is critical to your estimate. If you underestimate this part, the customer may not view the job as well done.
The Ignorance Created by Home Remodeling Shows
Many home remodeling shows overlook the importance of painting and cleaning up after the job. This creates ignorance amongst homeowners who are tackling paint jobs themselves.
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