How to Estimate Interior Commercial Painting Services in the Winter
The new year has still barely gotten off the ground, which means it might be time to consider freshening up your business’ location inside and out. With winter weather still hanging on, however, you may be limited to interior painting projects for the time being. On the plus side, taking care of interior painting early in the year will give you more time and space to tackle exterior projects down the road. Before hiring just any contractor, however, you’ll want to make sure you’re getting the most bang for your buck without compromising on quality. Here’s how to estimate interior commercial painting services this winter and beyond.
How to Estimate a Commercial Interior Paint Job
First, Decide What Needs a Fresh Coat
The first step to planning any interior painting project is determining its scope – that is, how many surfaces do you plan on painting? In some cases, a complete interior overhaul might be desirable, where every wall and ceiling in every room receives fresh coatings. Other times, however, you’ll decide that new paint is only warranted in key areas. Whatever the case, once you’ve decided which surfaces you plan on painting, you’ll want to measure the total square footage. These measurements will be necessary to get a rough estimate on material costs (i.e., how much paint you’ll need to fully coat every surface).
Pick Your Paint
The amount of paint you’ll need is only part of the material cost equation. Paint quality also plays a role here. Indeed, different paint types and brands can significantly differ in cost, and some commercial painting applications will require premium, specialty coatings. The cheapest paints might be tempting to consider, but these low-cost options often lack in durability, longevity, and thickness, so it’s usually more prudent to go with a higher-quality paint despite its higher cost. Once you’ve chosen your paint(s) and figured out the average cost per gallon, you can use your measurements to determine what the entire job will roughly cost in terms of materials alone.
Factor in Labor Costs
Next, you have to factor in labor costs. Even if you plan on doing all the painting yourself, the time and energy it takes to get the job done represents an opportunity cost. Put simply, any time spent on painting your business is time that can’t be spent on conducting other important matters. Hiring interior painters will allow you to focus on your own business, but you’ll have to shell out for whatever the contractor charges per hour or per project size. These rates can range significantly, too, depending on the company’s level of experience, reputation, location, and so on.
Consider How Much the Project May Interfere with Your Operations
Commercial interior painting projects come with some hidden costs, too. Namely, painting your business’ interior takes up space and may force you to temporarily close your doors during the project. If you have to shut down during your typical hours of operation, your business will incur losses. Of course, these potential losses must be weighed against the long-term benefits of enhancing your location’s interior atmosphere and maintaining its surfaces. Ideally, you’ll schedule your painting services so they don’t interfere with your standard operations in order to protect your bottom line.
Compare and Contrast with Online Resources
If you want a general overview of commercial painting costs in your area, you can take advantage of various websites that compare, contrast, and aggregate average painting costs around the country. Many of these resources allow you to input specific information to help you generate a reasonably accurate estimate with minimal effort.
Receive Estimates from Multiple Commercial Interior Painting Services
Crunching your own numbers is a useful exercise that can help you budget from the very beginning. That said, you won’t really know what your commercial interior painting project will cost you until you’ve gotten some quotes from actual painting contractors in your area. If you don’t already have a strong rapport with a particular painting service, it’s worth receiving estimates from at least a few candidates before making your final decision. Nash Painting is always happy to provide estimates for potential clients across Nashville, Brentwood, and Franklin, TN.
To learn more about us and our values, call us at 615-829-6858 today!