# Quoting a big job



## b00kemdano (Feb 10, 2009)

Hey guys, since some of you do trim work for a living, I wondered if you could give me some tips on quoting a job. 

My priest asked me to give her a quote for installing a beadboard wainscot in our fellowship hall. I normally don't do jobs this size, but she wants to give me the chance to make some money. 

I have no idea how to even begin quoting this job properly, so all I could do is base it on past experience. I measured the perimeter of the room to be 2324 feet, and, without adding any percentage for scrap, the materials alone are well over $14,000.

Now, I put up some of this beadboard with a new baseboard and some trim molding on top of the baseboard and at the top of the beadboard, added aluminum on the outside corners to help prevent damage, caulked and painted the whole thing. The column is about 8 feet, and it took me 2 1/2 hours to do it. Figuring that, it would take me about an hour per four feet on the rest of the room, that's 581 hours based on my math. At my handyman rate of $25 per hour, we're talking $14,525 for labor on this job. 

It seemed really steep to me, and, though I'd love to make that kind of money, I don't really have 581 hours to do a job like this.

I'm inclined to believe that my math is all wrong.

Can someone give me an idea of how you'd quote a job this size? How far off am I?


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## JMC'sLT30 (Oct 26, 2010)

Try materials including tax and delivery or pick-up +10% then add $4.50 square foot for install. Some people may do it for $3.00 that have no overhead. That's what I would do in my area anyhow.


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## b00kemdano (Feb 10, 2009)

Yipe! 

I only measured linear feet, which is 2324, the wainscot is to be 4' high, so square footage would be 9296. At $4.50 per square foot, the job would be $41,832 for labor alone!

Did I do that right?


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## JMC'sLT30 (Oct 26, 2010)

That's a real big church!


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## JMC'sLT30 (Oct 26, 2010)

I geuss that's why they did'nt call me.:huh:


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## b00kemdano (Feb 10, 2009)

The square footage of the fellowship hall is about 1978. The linear footage of the perimeter is 2324; there are some columns and a lot of nooks and corners.

It's a pretty small church, really, but a big room to put wainscot in. :smile:


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## mdntrdr (Dec 22, 2009)

b00kemdano said:


> The square footage of the fellowship hall is about 1978. The linear footage of the perimeter is 2324; there are some columns and a lot of nooks and corners.
> 
> It's a pretty small church, really, but a big room to put wainscot in. :smile:


 
Are you sure your lineal footage is correct? :huh:


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## JMC'sLT30 (Oct 26, 2010)

Not to insult you but if my math is correct 50'x50' is 2500 sq ft, therefore only 200 linear ft.:huh:


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## b00kemdano (Feb 10, 2009)

You might be on to something. No, I'm not sure that's correct!  

This is why I posted. I'm going to remeasure after church and let you know where I screwed up!


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Perimeter?*



b00kemdano said:


> The square footage of the fellowship hall is about 1978. The *linear footage* of the perimeter is* 2324*; there are some columns and a lot of nooks and corners. It's a pretty small church, really, but a big room to put wainscot in. :smile:


let's just say the room is 60 ft wide and 100 ft long. The perimeter would be 60 x 2 = 120 , plus 100 x 2 = 200. That's only 320 lineal ft. 
Your example the room would be:
162 ft wide by 1000 ft long....very large!
162 x 2 = 324 plus 1000 x 2 = 2000 to get 2324 lineal ft
I think there is a mistake in your MATH.

FYI .....Perimeter = length x 2 plus width x 2
 bill


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## b00kemdano (Feb 10, 2009)

:icon_smile: Thanks for the help guys, yes, my math was way off. My measurements were correct, but I forgot to divide by 12. 

So, 2324 *INCHES* / 12 = 194 linear feet for the perimeter. (What a dope! lol)

Ok, using JMC's method, I'm looking at 

$1366.06 (Lowe's prices for the wood I need, including tax) + 10% = $1502.67 for materials

$4.50 / sq ft x 1978 sq ft (of the room) = $8901 labor

[or, since I'm not a professional,

$3.00 / sq ft x 1978 sq ft = $5934]

Total $10403.67 [or $7436.67]

This sounds much better to me, but does it sound correct to you guys? And, JMC, the square footage you mentioned is of the room, not the paneling, correct?

And, thanks for the help, and for not making me feel any dumber than I already feel with such a simple goof. :thumbsup:


***Edit***

I keep thinking that even this labor is pretty high, so I'm recalculating...

If the square footage is of the paneling that I'm installing, that gives me 

194 linear feet x 3 ft (tall) = 582 square feet

582 sq ft x $4.50 / sq ft = $2619 for labor

or 582 sq ft x $3 /sq ft = $1746 for labor

...which sounds more right to me. I always have this idea that labor and materials should be pretty close in number. There are more materials that I have to add, but I don't yet have prices for the paint, caulk, etc.


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## JMC'sLT30 (Oct 26, 2010)

No problem on the dope thing I do it often myself, and yes sq footage is on panel.:thumbsup:


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## JMC'sLT30 (Oct 26, 2010)

I have a job I'm pricing now that my builder is freaking out on, although it seems high to me also I have to stand my ground because I know I suck at guessing how long it takes me to do something. I'll give you my wifes phone # and you can ask her. If I tell her I'll be done in 2 hours, she says I'll see you in 6.:huh: Anyhow I have proven square footage and board footage methods that keep me from losing my tail most of the time. I just tell them if they want a smaller price we have to use smaller timber or cover less area. Good luck on the job.:smile:


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Rule of 3*

What ever you estimate, figure, calculate, think, guess,...
multiply by 3 . You can always give a discount for good behavior.  bill


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## b00kemdano (Feb 10, 2009)

I can't thank you enough, JMC! And everyone else who helped me realize my mistake.

I tried to figure the job based on time, and it feels like it would be a nightmare to stick to. With the installation fee per foot, I haven't restricted myself to finishing in X hours. Not that I'm going to goof off, but it's nice to not have my feet in the fire. :thumbsup:

I learned a ton from this discussion and I'm really glad to be a participant in this community of knowledge and experience. 

Now I can bid this job with confidence. :smile:

Thanks again!


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## JMC'sLT30 (Oct 26, 2010)

Very welcome:thumbsup:


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## KB Services (Nov 28, 2006)

Someone mentioned if it has corners and is all chopped up the price goes up. Don't forget about your set up and tear down time.

Something tells me you won't be able to put it all up in one day.

Take your time, layout your lines, find and mark all your studs for nailing. PL Poly glue for the paneling, TB2 glue all out side joint and cope the inside (miters are not allowed in church) :laughing:


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## Keith Mathewson (Sep 23, 2010)

I don't think you have described the details of the job here in great enough detail to really have a good idea as to how to price this. Is this a 3 piece build-up or an 8 piece build-up, how chopped up is the room. Do you have a place to pre-assemble your panels or are you going to have to carry every piece outside to cut. There are a number of other things to consider as well. 

The MOST important thing is to have a detailed plan of approach. This means drawing out the room and determining panel layout, corners, trim intersections, etc. What do you have for tools? How are you going to determine your level line? Is the floor level or are you going to have to scribe to it? The list goes on. At $9k for labor you could either be dancing in the streets or crying in your coffee.....


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## b00kemdano (Feb 10, 2009)

*Busy busy busy*

Hey guys, we finished this job the last week of February, and I just now have a chance to post some pics. 

The job took WAY more time than I had anticipated, but we still finished it before the deadline. For all the work that we put into it, I feel pretty good about what we charged. I'm quite sure that if the church had a professional do the job, they'd have paid a LOT more. And, dare I say, we did a pretty damn good job for amateurs! :thumbsup:

This room is mostly used as a lunchroom / playroom / nap room for the CDC kids. As you can see, they like to kick holes in the walls, which was the main reason we decided to put up wainscoting and a nice, fat, 8" baseboard. I call the kids my little termites. :laughing:








First section installed and primed.








All done.








This is the largest straight run we had.








Done.


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## b00kemdano (Feb 10, 2009)

Before 








After








There were a bunch of little challenges that came up during this job. One wall that's not pictured here has six doors and two windows that we had to work around, and two outlets that were lower than usual, so we had to cut into the baseboard to make them work. 

Thanks again for all your help, guys. I wouldn't have had the confidence to even bid the job without your advice. 

Everyone at church constantly raves about how good the wainscot looks, and I tell them that my friends on the internet helped. They say thanks, too! :thumbsup:


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## JMC'sLT30 (Oct 26, 2010)

Looks great and congrats. What else are freinds for if they can't help each other out.:thumbsup:


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## mdntrdr (Dec 22, 2009)

You did great... and there will probably be some more work to come because of it. :yes:


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## BWSmith (Aug 24, 2010)

Looks fine..............


Drunks.......children........old people.


Design to handle the above,and you pretty much.."got it cvrd".BW


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

deleted. If I had of read to the end I would have seen this was already covered.

George


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

Looks good, well done. See how easy it was. Now, you can use this job as a reference.












 







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