# Price for blockfill and paint commercial



## Paintlife (Jun 18, 2010)

What is a good rate per square ft for blockfill and paint 2 coats latex eggshell on new cmu walls. Total sq. ft of wall space is 117,000 sq. ft. Wall height is 10 ft. Job is commercial. New dorms for a local college in south MS. I am estimating this project. This is the biggest project we have priced to date. We are currently a small commercial painting company trying to take the next step. Does $1.50 per sqare ft seem about right for labor and material. It will mostly all be pump work.


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## NCPaint1 (Aug 6, 2009)

Whatever you think you can get. Sounds right, but around here I know its much, much less. Closer to .30/ft


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## Paintlife (Jun 18, 2010)

NCPaint1,

When you say .30/ft do you mean material only? That is what I figured close to material cost. this will be a competitive bid, I think maybe only 3 or 4 other guys will attempt this project. I am trying to get out from all the small jobs that are under $50,000 range. Too much competition. When you get over $50,000 dollar range on a project that is funded with government money or $100,000 for private money you have to have a state issued C.O.R. # which I have just received. This will be the 1st job out the shoot after receiving state license. Sorry about the ramble

Thanks for response.


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## aaron61 (Apr 29, 2007)

You are going to take on jobs this size with out knowing your own rates????
Good luck with that!


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## RCP (Apr 18, 2007)

Welcome to the forum, pricing questions are a touchy subject, unless you are willing to provide a lot more detail, such as your overhead, labor burden, material prices, equipment rental, etc, there is just no way to know. 

You might want to read this thread,
http://www.painttalk.com/f4/pricing-estimating-success-2779/

I'll leave this thread open, you may not get help on the price, but there are members who may wish to offer you some helpful advice.

Feel free to post an intro here as well.

Thanks


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## aaron61 (Apr 29, 2007)

RCP said:


> Welcome to the forum, pricing questions are a touchy subject, unless you are willing to provide a lot more detail, such as your overhead, labor burden, material prices, equipment rental, etc, there is just no way to know.
> 
> You might want to read this thread,
> http://www.painttalk.com/f4/pricing-estimating-success-2779/
> ...


If you can provide this plus the sqft of surface to be painted I will provide you with your sqft.price for a nominal fee.:whistling2:


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## NCPaint1 (Aug 6, 2009)

Maybe a better option is ask how much they're willing to pay.


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## aaron61 (Apr 29, 2007)

Paintlife said:


> What is a good rate per square ft for blockfill and paint 2 coats latex eggshell on new cmu walls. Total sq. ft of wall space is 117,000 sq. ft. Wall height is 10 ft. Job is commercial. New dorms for a local college in south MS. I am estimating this project. This is the biggest project we have priced to date. We are currently a small commercial painting company trying to take the next step. Does $1.50 per sqare ft seem about right for labor and material. It will mostly all be pump work.


I'm just razin ya' That sounds perfect:thumbsup:


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## Paintlife (Jun 18, 2010)

RCP
aaron61,


Kinda new I was in for a razin, to a degree. Understood. I understand about profit, overhead and labor. I figured that that price $1.50 would be a quick # to plug in, after cost of material and labor was equated. Just asking for some input. Like this site and hope to learn from some of you guys.


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## RCP (Apr 18, 2007)

Glad you understand, there is a lot of good info here, stick around and you will see!:thumbsup:


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## ewingpainting.net (Jun 2, 2008)

Paintlife,
Nothing wrong with wanting to learn. I have respect for people that want to step out. Takes balls to do so and most don't have any. And the ones that do have a mean bite. :yes:


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## NEPS.US (Feb 6, 2008)

Paintlife said:


> What is a good rate per square ft for blockfill and paint 2 coats latex eggshell on new cmu walls. Total sq. ft of wall space is 117,000 sq. ft. Wall height is 10 ft. Job is commercial. New dorms for a local college in south MS. I am estimating this project. This is the biggest project we have priced to date. We are currently a small commercial painting company trying to take the next step. Does $1.50 per sqare ft seem about right for labor and material. It will mostly all be pump work.


 
sounds great


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## Wallpaper Gypsy (Feb 22, 2010)

I think it's a competitive price myself, after all it's not 117,000 sq ft, it's closer to 355,000 by the time you get three coats on it. I can mos. def say this, "if the specs say no pinholes, block seal it first, it will save you a ton on blockfill. If your blockfill is well matched, you will have no problem applying one seal coat, one fill coat and one final finish coat. Even if the specs say one fill and two finish- what they are wanting is three coats... in my opinion it's always most economical to seal first.

Sam


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## NCPaint1 (Aug 6, 2009)

Around here, I know guys are getting is around .30/ft. So if you figure 1 blockfill and 2 finish.....maybe .90/ft +/-


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## Rcon (Nov 19, 2009)

NCPaint1 said:


> Whatever you think you can get. Sounds right, but around here I know its much, much less. Closer to .30/ft


I just ran the numbers 4 times and I keep getting $0.344/ft for mats alone. 

If guys are doing it for $0.30/ft there's only so many they will be able to pay to do!!


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## NCPaint1 (Aug 6, 2009)

Rcon said:


> I just ran the numbers 4 times and I keep getting $0.344/ft for mats alone.
> 
> If guys are doing it for $0.30/ft there's only so many they will be able to pay to do!!



Tell me about it, pricing is a bit different here south of the border, and materials are cheaper. Cheap exterior latex cost per ft is around .07/ft +/- depending what you get. 

I just helped a buddy do a take off material estimate for a similar job( or so it sounds ). He was at .40/ft and didnt get it.


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## CK_68847 (Apr 17, 2010)

Your price is a decent price. If you go under a 1 a foot like some are saying youre crazy. You wont make much money. The reason to do commerical is to make the big money. There is more risk but also a lot more reward. Block is also physically harder, if you blockfill than most jobs in painting but easier as far as craftsmanship goes. The best thing about block too is you can actually touch it up instead of painting whole walls, especially if you are using egshell.


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## Workaholic (Apr 17, 2007)

NEPS.US said:


> sounds great


Was a thank worthy post before the edit.


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## NEPS.US (Feb 6, 2008)

Workaholic said:


> Was a thank worthy post before the edit.


Thanks but I realized what I was up against and had second thoughts about hanging that one out there.


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## NEPS.US (Feb 6, 2008)

CK_68847 said:


> The reason to do commerical is to make the big money.


:jester:


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## NCPaint1 (Aug 6, 2009)

CK_68847 said:


> Your price is a decent price. If you go under a 1 a foot like some are saying youre crazy. You wont make much money. The reason to do commerical is to make the big money. There is more risk but also a lot more reward.


Im just a store owner. I can tell you that several years ago you would be correct.....nowadays, the commercial jobs are cutthroat. I have absolutely 0 interest in giving product away for nothing, dealing with the BS hassle, paying a huge paint bill, and waiting with crossed fingers to collect my money within 90 days.....NO THANKYOU!! :thumbup:

I know there are guys here doing well with commercial work. Unfortunately in my area I havent seen or heard anything good about commercial stuff in ages. In fact, I have a couple friends who are in sales and management for the corporate stores.....just about every conversation we have, they have a new horror story for me. They would quit selling commercial jobs...unfortunately they're just marionettes.


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## aaron61 (Apr 29, 2007)

samk069 said:


> I think it's a competitive price myself, after all it's not 117,000 sq ft, it's closer to 355,000 by the time you get three coats on it. I can mos. def say this, "if the specs say no pinholes, block seal it first, it will save you a ton on blockfill. If your blockfill is well matched, you will have no problem applying one seal coat, one fill coat and one final finish coat. Even if the specs say one fill and two finish- what they are wanting is three coats... in my opinion it's always most economical to seal first.
> 
> Sam


WTF:blink:


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## CK_68847 (Apr 17, 2010)

I agree it depends where you are at. Where we are located, there is not much competition and there is still a ton of commercial work what we do for the most part. I dont see doing a big job for free or to just make a little bit of money. If that is the case do houses where you aren't tied to a job for very long. If you are getting less than a buck a foot buying your own product, you better look elsewhere for work because it isnt worth it.


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