Estimating Your Paint Job - High Time Difficulty With Your Excel Spreadsheet
If you are using the Excel formula that I created to compile square footages for your painting estimate, then you might want to add a column or two for high time factors.
You ask what high time difficulty factors are.
Answer me this, if you have a wall that is eight foot tall, can you paint it faster than the section of wall above eight feet, as in a family room with a two story wall or a foyer with a two story wall? Some modern homes have eighteen feet walls or higher.
Can you paint the wall from nine feet to eighteen feet as fast as you paint the wall from zero feet to eight feet.
Think about it, if you are rolling an eight foot wall you can do it all from the ground.
, if you are rolling an eighteen foot wall from a ladder or scaffold, you can only roll so much before moving the ladder or scaffold.
So you have to add to the price or you are cheating yourself.
Do you charge the same amount per square foot for an eight foot wall as you do for an eighteen foot wall? If you do then you are giving your work away.
So, how much do you charge per square foot of wall at eighteen foot high down to fifteen foot? And how much do you charge from fifteen foot down to eight foot? The best way to calculate this number is to time everything on the job.
How long does t take for you or one of your crew to paint the section from eighteen foot down to fifteen foot? Do you have scaffolding? Or do you use an extension ladder? If you use an extension ladder and you are doing a room with a very slippery floor, does someone have to hold the ladder to keep it from slipping? If so then the very least you need to charge extra for is double the hourly rate for that section of wall where a helper needs to hold the ladder, but it is actually higher because the one who is painting has to come down ever six foot that is painted horizontally, because that is probably the extent of the painter's reach.
So for this example you will need to multiply the square footage by more than a factor of two.
I make an extra column or two in my Excel spreadsheet, and use it as an additional multiplier.
I will have one column for an eight foot wall with no high time factor at all.
Then I will have a column for eight foot to fifteen foot, with a multiplier of 1.
3, then another column for fifteen foot to eighteen foot with a multiplier of 1.
6 to 1.
9.
A formula for an eight foot wall height might be length x height, with no multiplier.
A formula for a wall that is eight foot tall up to fifteen might be length x seven foot(fifteen minus eight is seven)x1.
3.
And the formula for a wall that is eighteen foot would be length x 3(eighteen minus fifteen is three foot) x1.
6.
You can then create a column in your Excel spreadsheet, with a formula that adds the three totals together.
Just remember to figure the straight square footage when calculating the cost of the paint itself, because the paint itself does not increase; only the time spent painting.
You ask what high time difficulty factors are.
Answer me this, if you have a wall that is eight foot tall, can you paint it faster than the section of wall above eight feet, as in a family room with a two story wall or a foyer with a two story wall? Some modern homes have eighteen feet walls or higher.
Can you paint the wall from nine feet to eighteen feet as fast as you paint the wall from zero feet to eight feet.
Think about it, if you are rolling an eight foot wall you can do it all from the ground.
, if you are rolling an eighteen foot wall from a ladder or scaffold, you can only roll so much before moving the ladder or scaffold.
So you have to add to the price or you are cheating yourself.
Do you charge the same amount per square foot for an eight foot wall as you do for an eighteen foot wall? If you do then you are giving your work away.
So, how much do you charge per square foot of wall at eighteen foot high down to fifteen foot? And how much do you charge from fifteen foot down to eight foot? The best way to calculate this number is to time everything on the job.
How long does t take for you or one of your crew to paint the section from eighteen foot down to fifteen foot? Do you have scaffolding? Or do you use an extension ladder? If you use an extension ladder and you are doing a room with a very slippery floor, does someone have to hold the ladder to keep it from slipping? If so then the very least you need to charge extra for is double the hourly rate for that section of wall where a helper needs to hold the ladder, but it is actually higher because the one who is painting has to come down ever six foot that is painted horizontally, because that is probably the extent of the painter's reach.
So for this example you will need to multiply the square footage by more than a factor of two.
I make an extra column or two in my Excel spreadsheet, and use it as an additional multiplier.
I will have one column for an eight foot wall with no high time factor at all.
Then I will have a column for eight foot to fifteen foot, with a multiplier of 1.
3, then another column for fifteen foot to eighteen foot with a multiplier of 1.
6 to 1.
9.
A formula for an eight foot wall height might be length x height, with no multiplier.
A formula for a wall that is eight foot tall up to fifteen might be length x seven foot(fifteen minus eight is seven)x1.
3.
And the formula for a wall that is eighteen foot would be length x 3(eighteen minus fifteen is three foot) x1.
6.
You can then create a column in your Excel spreadsheet, with a formula that adds the three totals together.
Just remember to figure the straight square footage when calculating the cost of the paint itself, because the paint itself does not increase; only the time spent painting.
Source...