# How does a person figure a bid for sheetrock finish and painting?



## jamespaul

My brother has been doing sheetrock and painting work, mostly residential and bids the jobs by going in and measuring each wall space that he has to do. He has the chance to do 4 commercial jobs, finish the sheetrock and paint, each between 20,000 to 40,000 sq ft but can't figure out if he's supposed to bid on the floor space sq footage or the wall space sq footage. This could be his chance to really get going on his own and he's afraid of not bidding right, but we already know that a bid of 1.00 a sq foot is expected, just not if that means the sq footage of floor space or wall space. I hope this makes sense and someone can help really soon.


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## boman47k

I would want somewhere around that just to paint per square ft residential wall space. Talking 3 coats right? 1 primer, 2 paint. Then you have trim? Height?


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## timhag

jamespaul said:


> My brother has been doing sheetrock and painting work, but can't figure out if he's supposed to bid on the floor space sq footage or the wall space sq footage. This could be his chance to really get going on his own .


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## vermontpainter

Floor footages are for floor finishes. This could be a great opportunity or a living hell.


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## timhag

vermontpainter said:


> Floor footages are for floor finishes. This could be a great opportunity or a living hell.


:yes::thumbsup:


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## bikerboy

What good does square footage do other than give you an idea on how much paint you need? You need to at least know how long (how many hours) it will take your "crew" and what your cost plus profit per man hour is. Don't forget to add overhead. 
It may sound like a great opportunity, but if you commit to it and screw up, it may cost you dearly. Why don't you sub the paint out, and add you take on top?


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## HomeGuardPaints

dry wall is usually bid by the board..... i would think $8.75 per board is reasonable.


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## NEPS.US

If your a drywaller dont you know that?


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## fauxhall

$1.00 a sq. Ft sounds wayyyyy too low. So the board is hung, taped and blocked? He just has to do point-up and paint? Sounds to me like they gave you a ballpark based on floor area and not actual substrate. It's hard enough to try to get paint at a $1.00/sq. Ft let alone drywall included


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## Harry

jamespaul said:


> My brother has been doing sheetrock and painting work, mostly residential and bids the jobs by going in and measuring each wall space that he has to do. He has the chance to do 4 commercial jobs, finish the sheetrock and paint, each between 20,000 to 40,000 sq ft but can't figure out if he's supposed to bid on the floor space sq footage or the wall space sq footage. This could be his chance to really get going on his own and he's afraid of not bidding right, but we already know that a bid of 1.00 a sq foot is expected, just not if that means the sq footage of floor space or wall space. I hope this makes sense and someone can help really soon.


There is an awful lot of unknowns here. For instance, I could give you 20,000 sf of work but the kicker is that it's all bathrooms!

What type of walls and/or ceilings are there? 
Any fire taping involved?
Straight runs or cut up or mechanical work above?
Open concept or ceilings and at what height?

So many variables...

I'll tell you though that commercial guys here in New England are bidding around .45 for a level 4 finish (3 coats tape and sand). But these guys tape 900 sf per day (3 coats and sand). This based on a 20% overhead and 10% net profit.

I've got a guy in VA who works some DC areas and he's bidding closer to .50 cents for same. This is all based on work up to 12' high. Higher work equals higher labor.

Take these numbers as simple info only...

Thanks,
Harry


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## HomeGuardPaints

ninja character


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## daren

If your brother has been bidding drywall and painting jobs all ready then he knows how much he can produce and how much $$ he needs/wants to do it. The difference between residential and commercial is the time frame. Residential work you can do with 1 or 2 men. Commercial has to get done now. You need a crew of 4 or 5 on jobs of this size. He is going to manage more than he works. If the $$ and cash flow isn't there he is going to loose his ass on this. Slow, steady and on purpose is the way to succeed. Too much too fast is just as bad as not enough. Been there done that.


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## scpainting

9.75/sft lets bring these prices back up.


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## Wing 54

Is this Severson Drywall?



:whistling2:


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## scpainting

Wing 54 said:


> Is this Severson Drywall?
> 
> 
> 
> :whistling2:


 
lmao...no but its hard to make a living. so thats what i quote on Tuesdays.


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## slapiton

Drywall is about $18.00 a board for hanging,taping, and mudding in Kentucky


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## mseay33

i am not a drywaller that is why i asked


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