Painters Wages?

[Travilinggal]

Does anyone know the going rate for painters here. My son is considering coming here from St. Louis were the going rate is $3.00/square foot. He has been a union painter for 18 years and would like to go into business for himself but wants to make sure he can earn a living wage. What other things should he consider? Thank you in advance for your thoughts and advice.

[Papa_lecki]

Don’t know what the rate is. If he is a good tradesman, and he follows through with customers, i think he would make a GREAT living.

Also consider the lower cost of living, no state income tax (vs 4% in MO; lower property taxes, etc).

[bob47]

Does anyone know the going rate for painters here. My son is considering coming here from St. Louis were the going rate is $3.00/square foot. He has been a union painter for 18 years and would like to go into business for himself but wants to make sure he can earn a living wage. What other things should he consider? Thank you in advance for your thoughts and advice.

I must be out of touch. $3/ft2? $300 for one 8' x 12' wall? Over $1000 for the 4 walls of one room?

[LAFwUs]

Op,
your son needs to consider the sheer number of painting companies near/around this area.
Google results show somewhere in the range of 500 separate painting companies operating here.

That level of saturation is going to drive prices down and it wouldn't surprise me if some of the larger ones have a lock on certain areas, contracts with builders or other means of pushing away competition.

We were quoted $3800 to paint the entire inside of our 1300sq ft, north end house.

[retiredguy123]

Does anyone know the going rate for painters here. My son is considering coming here from St. Louis were the going rate is $3.00/square foot. He has been a union painter for 18 years and would like to go into business for himself but wants to make sure he can earn a living wage. What other things should he consider? Thank you in advance for your thoughts and advice.
He will never make a living charging $3 per square foot. I have heard of charging $300 to $400 per room for the walls only (no trim and ceiling), but not by the square foot. He would need to visit the area and talk to some painters to get a feel for what they make, but he will not make union wages in The Villages. Comparing starting a competitive business to expecting union wages is like comparing apples to oranges.

[villagetinker]

IMHO, he would probably be best to use Indeed or equal to find a job in this area, get his feet wet, and then make his plans for opening his own company. I have no idea of painting costs, and I currently still do my own, at over 70 years old. Also, there is a difference between inside and outside painting. 2 neighbors had 3000 sq ft to 4000 sq ft houses painted OUTSIDE, and as I recall the cost was around $3000, this was 2 coats of paint, one primer, and one final, as well as the second color for the trim and accent areas. I believe this works out to well below $3/sq ft.

[CZN715]

A jack all trades kind of guy told me the exterior of my stucco courtyard villa would be between $1 and $2 per square ft. One coat/ Baer Paint. No power washing first. This was 18 months ago. I did not hire him.

[Two Bills]

Does anyone know the going rate for painters here. My son is considering coming here from St. Louis were the going rate is $3.00/square foot. He has been a union painter for 18 years and would like to go into business for himself but wants to make sure he can earn a living wage. What other things should he consider? Thank you in advance for your thoughts and advice.

Why not start up in the area he knows?
$2.75 a square foot to start, then when established and in demand (if he is good!) $3+.
If the going rate for contractors is $3 a foot, he can easy undercut, as he will not have the overheads of bigger contractors.
A school mate of mine started as a P&D taking on the small jobs the big contractors didn't want.
In 10/15 years he had a load of guys working for him, and he was the big boy in the area.

[jparsoneau@aol.com]

I’m a retired contractor. And just currently got a new house here and looking to have the interior repainted the entire inside of the house which is 2008 ft.² will be repainted with two colors. This does not include any ceilings or trim or doors or cabinets, which are already painted by the contractor just flat walls. Price is $3100 which I personally felt was a little high since I could paint the house myself but I’m not here full-time and I’m trying to be retired lol. my suggestion if he wants to come down here is to get a job first know the area first , even if he makes a living here he may hate the area of ViceVersa.
This quote was as recent as last week

[Shish]

Is that $3 per "square foot room" or "square feet of wall?"

[larcha]

Op,
your son needs to consider the sheer number of painting companies near/around this area.
Google results show somewhere in the range of 500 separate painting companies operating here.

That level of saturation is going to drive prices down and it wouldn't surprise me if some of the larger ones have a lock on certain areas, contracts with builders or other means of pushing away competition.

We were quoted $3800 to paint the entire inside of our 1300sq ft, north end house.

I think that works out to just over $3 per Sq Ft.

[Causey]

This week I had the master bath, master bedroom, and foyer painted. Walls only, no trim or ceilings. 2 coats Benjamin Moore paint, included 2 gallons @ $72 per gallon.
2 Guys, started at 9:00 done by 3:00. Moved the furniture, covered with plastic, nice job, all cleaned up in the end, furniture back in place. $900 included everything.
Not even going to get my ladder out for $900.

[Glowfromminnesota]

I had mine done by finding a contractor on this site last year looking for top reviews. Beautiful job by a husband and wife. Did the entire house walls only (except closets and one room that I did) for slightly over $1,000. They used top of the line SW paint and the walls were already a light creamy color. Paint has gone up significantly from a little over one year ago.

[JGibson]

He should stay at his union job and then retire here.
It's very hard to make good money in Florida as a painter. They’re a dime a dozen and it's really not a highly skilled trade.

The reason folks are getting quoted so high to paint is that TV residents pay almost double for contractors because they think we’re all rich.

[defrey12]

I must be out of touch. $3/ft2? $300 for one 8' x 12' wall? Over $1000 for the 4 walls of one room?

It’s per sq Ft if house, not the walls

[retiredguy123]

Comparing a union painter to a self-employed painter is apples and oranges. A union painter cannot expect to earn anywhere near union wages in The Villages, unless he has other painters working for him. And he will get no work benefits. One problem with painting work is that almost anyone can paint their house if they don't want to hire a painter. And, the houses in The Villages are mostly one story with few high ceilings. Very easy to paint.

[Altavia]

He should stay at his union job and then retire here.
It's very hard to make good money in Florida as a painter. They’re a dime a dozen and it's really not a highly skilled trade.

The reason folks are getting quoted so high to paint is that TV residents pay almost double for contractors because they think we’re all rich.

It does seem like almost any full day job is $3,XXX...

[JSR22]

It’s per sq Ft if house, not the walls

My house is approximately 2500 sq feet. I would not pay 7,500 to have the interior painted.

[golfing eagles]

My house is approximately 2500 sq feet. I would not pay 7,500 to have the interior painted.

Same size, ditto. Looks like $1.50 is more the going rate.

[doreedoc]

Does the $3.00 sq ft include the paint?

[JSR22]

Same size, ditto. Looks like $1.50 is more the going rate.

Totally agree.

[Deckboat234]

I think he must be thinking around 30 cents a square foot. A 10x10 room at $3 per sf would be $960 in labor and that would be real high. If 30 cents a sf it would be $96 which would be more in line with what the going rate is. A painter could probably paint that size room in 2 to 3 hrs.

[gwen walker]

Who did you use

[NotGolfer]

We got an estimate a couple of years ago from a business in T.V. We wanted two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a hallway of our 1400 sq. ft. house painted. The estimator told us $800.00 for the job so we hired them. We were also told a crew would come and do it in short order. The day came and when I opened the door only one person was there. I said to him, "you're the only one??" He looked at me with a questioning look and responded with a yes and asked which room. I said "NOT a room but what I got the estimate on" and showed him. He immediately went outside and spoke on the phone in Spanish and then started the job. Soon the owner of the business came and said "your contract said ONE room". I don't know what happened but we had a conversation and said your estimator gave us this quote and we're not happy! So we ended up paying maybe $50.00 more but got the job we were expecting. I won't name the company but will tell you "IF" you PM me. We're happy with the results but next time would definitely be more careful. We used to do the painting ourselves but are no longer interested in doing that.

[Papa_lecki]

Pretty sure it’s not the square footage of the room, but the square footage of the area of the walls to be painted.

A 10x10 room, he’s not painting 100 sq ft, he’s paint 4 eight foot walls that are 10’x8’ = 80 sq ft x 4 = 320 sq ft. (Less stuff like windows, doors, openings, etc).

What would someone charge to paint a room?
$250? $500? $1000? I have no idea.

[MrFlorida]

My brother is a painting contractor in Virginia, he charges less than the going rate of others in the area. He is usually booked up for at least 4 months. Good quality work, and quality products will create a good customer base. He has so much work, that he only does repeat customers .... If your son is willing to work for a little less than the other guy, and treat customers fairly , he will prosper.

[carlsondg]

I must be out of touch. $3/ft2? $300 for one 8' x 12' wall? Over $1000 for the 4 walls of one room?
union - say no more

[wamley]

Union wages are ALWAYS higher than Non Union wages. Benefits and such that unions price into along with all local & federal taxes are higher than here. In addition Union work in my experience is not performed on individual residential houses. Perhaps contactiong the Villages Construction Dept might be a better approach to relocating to Florida. Charging $3 sf in TV is out of order.

[regas56]

Does anyone know the going rate for painters here. My son is considering coming here from St. Louis were the going rate is $3.00/square foot. He has been a union painter for 18 years and would like to go into business for himself but wants to make sure he can earn a living wage. What other things should he consider? Thank you in advance for your thoughts and advice. I painted houses 30 years in St Louis and never made anywhere near that. I personally could/do paint 2000 SF houses in the Villages in around 4 days but would NEVER charge 6000 dollars for the job.Materials should run between 400-500 dollars with labor running about 2000 including bathrooms and closets. Exteriors ie. a Gardenia should never run over 1800-2000 NOT including paint and that would include the trim with 2 coats. Also never pay a deposit up front except for paint get as many bids as you need to find a painter you feel you can trust..

[jacRI]

That's pretty close to the $3 as ft he charges.

[LAFwUs]

Does the $3.00 sq ft include the paint?
In our case, it included all supplies needed.
That maybe why there seems to be a disparity in pricing quotes.
Perhaps some are labor cost only, others include everything for the job from texture/knockdown to Paint, which by itself can vary from $20- $140 a gallon depending. Its not hard to rack up $700-$800 in custom paint cost alone.

Thus far I'm only a few hundred $$ and a few weeks into my self paced (turtle speed) DIY complete interior repaint. I wasn't about to pay $3800 ($2.90 a sq ft.) :shocked:

[Spsmith444]

St Louis union wages vs The Villages - r u kidding?

[Djean1981]

I'm painting right now. I didn't realize how valuable I am. :)

[Radio guy]

I had mine done by finding a contractor on this site last year looking for top reviews. Beautiful job by a husband and wife. Did the entire house walls only (except closets and one room that I did) for slightly over $1,000. They used top of the line SW paint and the walls were already a light creamy color. Paint has gone up significantly from a little over one year ago.

My I have their contact information?

[GNXGuy]

So it’s the same price per square foot of house even if the ceilings are 8, 10 or 14 feet tall?.
I’m thinking not. Those are the ceiling heights of most new houses in the villages

I just had one of my houses painted here in Saint Catherine (walls only) that is 1951 ft.² and it was $2650 including the Sherwin Williams paint, that comes to about $1.36 a square foot



It’s per sq Ft if house, not the walls

[villageuser]

I hired my painter because of a recommendation from Sherwin-Williams. The gentleman and his wife were amazing. They did great work, and the price was very reasonable (we ended up having them paint 2 extra rooms). He’s retiring this year, but he had been kept very busy due to recommendations by customers and Sherwin-Williams. If your son is good, he should not be concerned about competition. I feel quality craftsman in this area is sadly lacking.

[Papa_lecki]

If your son is good, he should not be concerned about competition. I feel quality craftsman in this area is sadly lacking.

I agree on this, if he is a talented tradesman, responds to phone calls, shows up when he says he will show up, and keeps the workplace neat and clean - he will be busy beyond his wildest dreams.

[Lil GTO]

Based on work I’ve had done I’d say between 2 and 3 per sq Ft.

Just got a quote last week to do my whole house same color without ceilings for $1,800.00 including paint and materials that’s $1.55 per sq Ft but also had other quotes for 25-3500.00.

The guy I’m using has done a lot of work for us over the years and does quality work for less than anyone that has quoted the jobs he’s done like whole house flooring etc.



Does anyone know the going rate for painters here. My son is considering coming here from St. Louis were the going rate is $3.00/square foot. He has been a union painter for 18 years and would like to go into business for himself but wants to make sure he can earn a living wage. What other things should he consider? Thank you in advance for your thoughts and advice.

[CoachKandSportsguy]

Great information for how to set a rate / quote for work.

Now, for the expense part of his living here,

how much is his rent and transportation costs and food costs per day. .
figure profit per day when working. . .

the downside is that you won't get a full 8 hour job every day, if you get a 12 hour job,
that means 1/2 day for a small job located nearby or less income to cover expenses.

So then figure starting out, 60-70% of days per month are full income days. .
and in there is quoting time with potential customers, and finishing jobs on weekends,
or doing jobs on weekends, or quoting jobs on weekends.. .

So planning this move and how to support living expense cash flow might require working for an existing company to get more immediate cash flow, or start with a good 6 months or more of living expense savings to cover the start up and advertising costs

This is my corporate finance modeling for a successful execution view on not if the move will or won't be profitable, but about the MVP, minimum viable plan, to make it work. Whether the individual can execute is up to them and their skill set.

[ronwinger]

I can't help but to have gotten more and more confused as the post went on. Sq ft of walls, floors or home? With or with out paint? Inside or outside? Alot of numbers. Did not seem to have comparisons with a basis.

[pauld315]

Does anyone know the going rate for painters here. My son is considering coming here from St. Louis were the going rate is $3.00/square foot. He has been a union painter for 18 years and would like to go into business for himself but wants to make sure he can earn a living wage. What other things should he consider? Thank you in advance for your thoughts and advice.

He will never get that here.

[retiredguy123]

I agree on this, if he is a talented tradesman, responds to phone calls, shows up when he says he will show up, and keeps the workplace neat and clean - he will be busy beyond his wildest dreams.
If he does all that, and he charges union wages, he won't be busy.

[retiredguy123]

I can't help but to have gotten more and more confused as the post went on. Sq ft of walls, floors or home? With or with out paint? Inside or outside? Alot of numbers. Did not seem to have comparisons with a basis.
That is because painters, and other contractors, will vary wildly in their price quotes. There are a lot of factors, other than square footage, that will affect the price. For large jobs, you need to get multiple quotes for comparison.

[wamley]

I don't think so. A 1,200sf house interior painted for $3600.