How to price a painting job without losing money

1. Measure, do not guess

Get the wall area in square feet or metres: perimeter × ceiling height, minus windows and doors (roughly 20 sq ft or 2 m² each). Note ceilings separately, because they cost more time per unit area than walls. If you prefer per-room pricing, still measure first — the measurement is how you know whether your room rate is making money on this particular room.

2. Price prep as its own line

Prep is where the hours hide: filling, sanding, caulking, masking, covering, moving furniture, and dealing with whatever is under the old paint. Put it on the quote as its own line with its own time. Customers accept it because they can read it — and when the customer later asks why the price is what it is, the answer is on the page.

A quote that reads "prep, patch and sand" followed by "walls, two coats, per room" is far easier to justify than a single number, and it lets the customer drop something if the total is too high.

3. Count the coats, and say which

"Two coats" is a number, so it belongs on the quote. If a colour change needs three, say three. If ceilings get one coat, say one. Anything you leave vague becomes free labour later, because the customer will assume the better version.

4. Materials: price them, do not absorb them

Paint, primer, filler, tape, sheeting and rollers are a real cost and they are easy to under-count. Either bill them at cost plus a stated markup or as a single materials line — just never leave them implied. On a large job, materials can be the difference between a good week and a break-even one.

5. Access, height and awkwardness

• Stairwells, vaulted ceilings and anything needing a tower or scaffold: quote separately.
• Occupied homes: add time for moving and protecting furniture.
• Colour changes beyond a stated number: say they are quoted separately.
• Wallpaper removal, gloss over gloss, or repairs after a leak: never include these silently.

6. Now check the number against your day rate

Add your parts up and divide by the hours you expect to spend. If the result is below the hourly figure you need to cover your costs and pay yourself, the quote is wrong — not the market. Adjust the labour line, not your standards, and be honest with yourself about how many hours prep will really take.

The same cost-floor method is written out in more detail for cleaning: what to charge for house cleaning.

Worked sketch

A living room, walls only, two coats: prep and patch as one line, walls at a per-square-foot rate, ceilings as a separate line, materials as its own line. Four lines, each defensible on its own, and the customer can see exactly where the money goes. The figures are yours to set — the structure is what stops the argument.