How much should I charge per square foot for commercial painting?

Commercial interior repaints typically land between $1.50 and $4.00 per square foot of wall area, depending on prep condition, number of coats, ceiling height, and whether the space is occupied. Build the number from measured surface area, accurate coverage rates, prep labor estimated by task, compliance, equipment, and a 25-40% margin rather than copying a flat per-foot rate.

Why is prep such a big part of a commercial painting bid?

On commercial repaints, prep is routinely 40-60% of total labor: scraping, patching, caulking, rust treatment, masking, and floor protection. Paint material is cheap by comparison. Estimating prep task by task instead of as a flat percentage is the single biggest factor separating profitable bids from money-losers, so document existing surface condition before you price.

When do EPA RRP lead-safe rules affect my pricing?

RRP applies when you disturb painted surfaces in buildings constructed before 1978. It requires a certified renovator, contained work area, HEPA cleanup, and documentation, all of which add containment, cleanup, and disposal hours. Price it as a separate line. Skipping RRP on a pre-1978 building risks fines that start in the five figures, so never bid as if it doesn't apply.

How do I estimate paint quantity for a commercial job?

Use surface area divided by the real coverage rate, times the number of coats. Smooth drywall covers about 350-400 sq ft per gallon per coat, but block, stucco, and rough CMU drop to 250-300 or lower, and block filler can hit 75-125. Most jobs are two coats plus primer where needed. Add 5-10% for waste and price the actual container size you will buy.

What is a healthy profit margin on commercial painting?

Aim for 25-40% gross margin. New-construction spray work trends toward the lower end because it is fast and competitive, while occupied-space repaints and specialty coatings hold the higher end because heavy prep and logistics deter cheap bidders. Always add a separate 12-20% overhead line before applying margin so your profit isn't quietly funding overhead.

How to Price Commercial Painting Jobs Profitably

# How to Price Commercial Painting Jobs So You Actually Keep the Profit

Commercial painting looks simple from the outside: walls, paint, a crew, a number. Then you win the bid, the prep takes three times longer than you guessed, the spec calls for a low-VOC coating that costs double, and the GC holds 10% retainage for 60 days. Pricing commercial work is a different discipline than residential. The square footage is bigger, the prep and compliance are heavier, and the margin lives or dies on labor estimation. Here is how seasoned commercial painters build a bid that survives contact with the job site.

Square Footage and Coatings: Get the Coverage Math Right

Start with measured wall and ceiling area, not floor area. A 5,000 sq ft floorplate with 12-foot walls has far more paintable surface than a 5,000 sq ft floor with 9-foot walls. Measure the actual surfaces: walls, ceilings, soffits, doors, frames, and any specialty substrates.

Then apply real coverage rates. A gallon of commercial wall paint covers roughly 350-400 sq ft per coat on smooth drywall, but only 250-300 sq ft on block, stucco, or rough CMU because the texture drinks it. Most jobs are two coats minimum, and primer is a separate pass on new drywall, repairs, or color changes. Block filler on bare CMU can drop coverage to 75-125 sq ft per gallon. If you estimate 400 sq ft per gallon on a block warehouse, you will be short by half.

Build your paint line as: surface area / coverage rate x number of coats x price per gallon. Add 5-10% for waste, roller loading, and touch-ups. On a large interior repaint you can move into bulk five-gallon pricing, which lowers material cost per square foot meaningfully, so price the actual container size you will buy.

Surface Prep Is the Real Job

Paint is cheap. Prep is where the hours hide. On commercial repaints, prep is routinely 40-60% of the total labor. Walk the site and document the condition before you bid: peeling, efflorescence on masonry, rust on steel, failed caulk joints, drywall damage, mildew, and previous coating type.

Price prep as its own labor category by task:

Pressure washing exterior: per square foot or per hour
Scraping and sanding failed coatings: slow, price generously
Patching and skim-coating drywall: by the repair, not lumped in
Caulking joints and gaps: by linear foot
Rust treatment and spot priming on steel: by the component
Masking, plastic, and floor protection in occupied commercial space: significant on a tenant-occupied job

The single biggest cause of underbid commercial jobs is treating prep as a percentage add-on instead of estimating it task by task. Document the existing surface condition in writing; it protects your bid and becomes a change-order record if the GC's spec understated the damage.

Lead-Safe (RRP) and VOC Compliance Cost Real Money

If the building predates 1978 and you are disturbing painted surfaces, EPA RRP rules apply: certified renovator, contained work area, HEPA cleanup, and documentation. That is not optional and it is not free; it adds setup, containment plastic, HEPA vacuuming, and disposal time to every affected area. Price it as a line item, and never bid a pre-1978 commercial building as if RRP doesn't exist, because the fines start in the five figures.

VOC limits also drive material selection. Many commercial specs, occupied healthcare, schools, and LEED projects in particular, require low- or zero-VOC coatings, which cost more and sometimes cover less per gallon. Read the spec before you price the paint. The Commercial Painting Contracting Ops Kit includes an RRP certification checklist, a surface-prep documentation log, and a VOC-compliant paint selector so the compliance cost lands in your bid instead of your lap on day one.

Labor: Burdened Rates and Production Targets

Labor is the largest and most variable cost on a commercial job. Use a fully burdened crew rate: wage plus payroll taxes, workers' comp, and the non-productive time of mobilizing, setup, and breaks. A painter you pay $25/hr costs you $38-$45/hr loaded once comp and overhead ride along.

Production benchmarks to estimate against (smooth interior, two coats, after prep):

Rolling walls: 150-250 sq ft per painter per hour
Cutting in / brushwork: much slower, 40-80 linear feet per hour
Spraying open areas (warehouse, new construction): 500-1,000+ sq ft per hour but add masking time
Doors and frames: 30-60 minutes each painted properly

Estimate the job in crew-hours by task, then multiply by the burdened rate. Track actual hours against estimate daily; a job that is behind on day two is behind for a reason, and catching it early lets you manage the crew or document a change order before the loss compounds.

Equipment, Mobilization, and Overhead

Sprayers, lifts, scaffolding, and ladders all carry cost. A scissor lift or boom rental for high warehouse ceilings runs $250-$600+ per day and is a hard line item, not a rounding error. Mobilization, the cost of getting crew and gear to a site and setting up, is real on every job and routinely forgotten on smaller bids.

Then overhead: insurance (commercial GL plus the comp already in your labor), office, vehicles, fuel, estimating time, and unbilled bids. Commercial painting shops typically carry 12-20% overhead. Add it as an explicit line so your margin is actual profit, not overhead in disguise.

Building the Bid and Setting Margin

Stack it: material (with correct coverage and coats) + prep labor + production labor + RRP/compliance + equipment + mobilization + overhead = true cost. Apply margin on top. Commercial painting gross margins generally run 25-40%; new-construction spray work trends lower because it is competitive and fast, while occupied-space repaints and specialty coatings hold higher because the prep and logistics scare off cheap bidders.

As a sanity check, installed commercial interior repaints commonly land between $1.50 and $4.00 per square foot of wall area depending on prep, coats, height, and occupancy. If your number is wildly outside that, recheck your prep estimate first; that is almost always where the error lives.

Mistakes That Quietly Drain Commercial Margins

Estimating coverage at 400 sq ft/gal on block or stucco
Treating prep as a flat percentage instead of task-by-task hours
Ignoring RRP on a pre-1978 building until the spec or an inspector forces it
Pricing the wrong VOC tier because nobody read the spec
Using wage instead of burdened labor rate
No line for lift rental, mobilization, or floor protection in occupied space
Not invoicing by phase, so cash lags weeks behind the work

The free buyer's guide and course that ship with the kit walk through phased invoicing and the daily labor log, which is how you bill progress on a long commercial project instead of waiting until the end and financing the GC's job for free.

Price from measured surfaces, estimate prep by task, put compliance and overhead on their own lines, and your commercial bids stop bleeding margin in the prep you forgot to count.