cotiza.EXAMPLE, NOT A MARKET RATE
Worked example: one room, walls only
For this fictional room, allow 8 working hours at $45.00 per hour: $360.00 in labor. Add $65.00 for materials and $15.00 for travel. The $440.00 subtotal plus a 10% contingency ($44.00) produces a $484.00 USD estimate. These are invented inputs, not local market prices.
Labor = hours × your rate. Subtotal = labor + materials + travel. Total = subtotal + contingency.
Labor and contingency are rounded separately to cents; half cents round up. Contingency applies to the entire subtotal.
Before setting the price
Define the surfaces
List the rooms, walls, ceilings, trim and doors separately. Measure the actual job before deciding how many hours or how much paint to allow. This tool does not infer paint coverage from floor area.
Include the preparation
Allow time for moving or protecting furniture, masking, surface preparation and cleanup. Describe repairs and primer separately when needed. Waiting between coats may affect the schedule without being billable working time.
Agree on the finish
Name the paint, number of coats and who supplies it. State what happens if the surface requires extra preparation or coverage. Confirm any added work and revised price before starting it.
When the hours change
If the same room needs 10 working hours instead of 8, labor becomes $450.00. With materials and travel unchanged, the subtotal is $530.00, contingency is $53.00 and the estimate becomes $583.00. Compare completed jobs with your original assumptions before changing the next estimate.
From shared text to a saved job
The web calculator creates text in this page’s language. The iPhone and iPad app adds itemized estimates, English or Spanish PDFs and bilingual text. Free includes 3 new saved jobs per calendar month. Premium adds no monthly save limit, templates and trends. Enter your numbers in the app separately: this page does not transfer them.