# Commercial railings? Please help



## timkickler

I have been asked by one of my commercial clients to re-paint their railing around the building. I don't do painting full time and I never did any painting of this size especially a railing. Its obvious that this railing takes longer to paint then a wall would. The tricky thing about this job is the railing will be painted in red, white and blue. I used an online estimating tool to get some pricing figures and was kind of shocked to realize how long the job may take and how much to charge. Keep in mind, they are buying all the paint. If anyone can give me any ideas on pricing and how to make the job run smoothly, I would greatly appreciate it.

*How long would it take? *_I was thinking 1 day prep and 4 days painting with 3 guys._
*How much to charge?* _is $2,060 (1 coat) and $3,591 (2 coats) too much?_

_The railing is 41" tall and stretches around 540 feet long. painting on both side sit consists of the following boards on only one side. (1) 2x12 board laying horizontal on top, which will be blue, (1) 2x10 board laying vertical, which will be white, and about (4) 2x4 boards laying vertical, which will be painted red. The 4x4 posts will be painted same color accordingly. _

_Please also note, the current color of the railing is a light brown and green._

_I have uploaded 2 photos of the railing, one of which I did some photoshop on just so show you all what we will be painting what._

http://joespainting.homestead.com/index.html

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for all your time.


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## TooledUp

How many green bottles can you fit on those railings?


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## clammer

looks like some sort of bar.Are the offering free beer with the job?


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## wje

how big is the railing? $3500 sounds steep, but until I know the size of the railing its tough to tell.


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## timkickler

wje said:


> how big is the railing? $3500 sounds steep, but until I know the size of the railing its tough to tell.


 
the railing lines the restaurant's patio, playground, front entry and handicapp ramps. the total length of the railing is *540 feet and 3 and half* feet tall. *total sf 1890*

keep in mind this, the railing has landscaping around it and in some places you have to climb over and under landscaping to get everything.

please send all of your ideas. whether it be sf prices or how long you think it would take to paint the much railing.

thank you


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## GMack

Go there and realistically figure out how long it will take you to complete a section of that railing. Include time for any access issues. Include time to set up drop clothes, prep, prime, paint, 2nd coat (whatever your process is going to be) and multiply by the number of sections to get your time estimate. Then just plug in your hourly rate.

Don't get the number and then start chipping away at it because you think it "seems" to big. It's your job to make the owner understand that even though "it's just a fence" (I imagine that could be the reaction to a realistic number), it's a long fence with a lot of surface area and corners. I.E. It takes time.

Perfect example of "It is what it is."


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## streamlinepainting

For a job like that, I'd do the classic, figure out how long it will take, figure out your material costs... If you a real painter you 'SHOULD' be able to figure that out within a couple hours and a gallon of paint. Plug in your hourly. Come up with your cost and 'DOUBLE IT' Three colours, two coats on what looks to be unpainted wood. I wouldn't bat an eye at $3500. Your giving it a warrenty right


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## deach

what is the Prep going to consist of? Are you power washing it or anything to get the dirt and such off? I'm pretty sure with that color change it will take two coats, I don't honestly think you are too high.

Also what product are they "providing"? I don't think I'd warranty anything that you're not familiar with. Just me. Usually if the customer provides anything other than what I'd normally use there is no warranty.


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## DavidNTexas

timkickler said:


> I have been asked by one of my commercial clients to re-paint their railing around the building. I don't do painting full time and I never did any painting of this size especially a railing. Its obvious that this railing takes longer to paint then a wall would. The tricky thing about this job is the railing will be painted in red, white and blue. I used an online estimating tool to get some pricing figures and was kind of shocked to realize how long the job may take and how much to charge. Keep in mind, they are buying all the paint. If anyone can give me any ideas on pricing and how to make the job run smoothly, I would greatly appreciate it.
> 
> *How long would it take? *_I was thinking 1 day prep and 4 days painting with 3 guys._
> *How much to charge?* _is $2,060 (1 coat) and $3,591 (2 coats) too much?_
> 
> _The railing is 41" tall and stretches around 540 feet long. painting on both side sit consists of the following boards on only one side. (1) 2x12 board laying horizontal on top, which will be blue, (1) 2x10 board laying vertical, which will be white, and about (4) 2x4 boards laying vertical, which will be painted red. The 4x4 posts will be painted same color accordingly. _
> 
> _Please also note, the current color of the railing is a light brown and green._
> 
> _I have uploaded 2 photos of the railing, one of which I did some photoshop on just so show you all what we will be painting what._
> 
> http://joespainting.homestead.com/index.html
> 
> Any help would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> Thank you for all your time.


Is the 4 days for 3 guys for 1 or 2 coats?


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## DavidNTexas

Without knowing what you pay your labor or what your overhead and profit markups are, I used some of my own to see what kind of price I got. You aren't too far off from what I came up with. For 2 coats with prep I came up to $3,401.00. This does not include any sandpaper, waterblaster rental or sales tax on the labor and I figured a labor rate of $15.00 per man hour. The markups I used are a 75% labor overhead and a 33% labor profit markup. 

For the 2 X 12 I figured a painter painting 80 LF per manhour for the red paint which is 1.33 LF per minute per coat. Very doable. 80 LF per manour was also used for the 2 X 10, again, not out of line. For the red paint (the 2 X 4s) I figured 40 LF of railing per manhour (2.66 LF of 2 X 4 per man per minute per coat) for those and for the posts, I couldn't tell but they appear to be on 6' centers and I figured a man can put a coat of paint on a post in 10 minutes. For prep I figured 23 LF of railing per manhour to get the total of 1 day 3 men for prep. I tried to keep the time close to what you calculated. It all seemed in line with what I would use.

For this I show a total of109 manhours including prep. That is 3 men, 4.5. days. Not far off from your calculations.

It looks like a good doable price to me.

If you get the job tell the owners to purchase a red paint with ground in pigment. Do the same with the blue. These paints in these colors with ground in pigment are usually the safety colors that the paint stores sell. ICI has a good acrylic available in safety colors. The reason for this is that with the red, if it is mixed probably won't cover in 2 coats, especially a bright red. Using something with ground in pigments will cover a whole lot better. Colors like bright reds and blues also tend to fade fast in the sunlight. Paints with ground in pigments simply don't fade like that. Be sure he gets something with a gloss also.

If needed those boards could be painted much faster than the figure that I used. Spraying isn't really an option with what appears to be an open establishment and the 3 different colors. You might spray the top board but by the time you protect everything it could have been brushed. I would use a short nap roller to apply the paint with a man right behind leveling the paint out with a brush before it starts to dry. The top 2 boards could be painted this way about as fast as the guys can walk. The red boards might be a little slower but could still be done faster than 40 LF of rail per manhour. I would bet you could cut the time down from 3 days for 3 men for painting only to 2 days for 3 men.

Could be a nice. Take some before and after pictures.


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## Estimatorofpaint

*Help on Estimating Commecial Projecys*

*My fees can be between 5 and 10%.*

_Advertising your services to members here is not allowed. Please read the rules on posting, or buy an ad. _

*TIA*


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