Square feet in. Gallons out.
One living room repaint, start to finish: the walls and ceiling off the tape, paint and supplies priced from your book, an estimate the client signs and a deposit paid. An example job with the app’s own math.
A living room repaint, start to finish
An example job for a made-up client, Dana Whitfield: an 18′ × 14′ living room, walls and ceiling, two coats. Every quantity and total below is what StudSheet worked out; the prices are the app’s typical US prices, the ones a new price book starts with.
StudSheet vs a notebook and a spreadsheet
| A notebook and a spreadsheet | StudSheet | |
|---|---|---|
| The sizes | Room by room on the pad | Each room on the paint Sheet, or walls and ceilings on a sketch |
| Gallons | Square feet ÷ coverage, worked by hand | Off the wall area, per coat, rounded up to whole gallons, with the math on the line |
| Labor | Hours or a rate per square foot, in your head | A line from your price book, by the hour or by the square foot |
| What’s not included | Often left out | A signed list: drywall repair beyond small patches, lead paint, moving heavy furniture |
| The signature and deposit | Printed, signed, a check in the mail | Signed on your phone or their link; Zelle, check or card recorded on the job |
| What it costs | A notebook and a spreadsheet you already have | $49 a month after 14 days free |
| No signal | Always works | The web app needs a connection to open; the phone apps are coming |
What’s in it for painters
- Ready-made Sheets. Paint a room, paint the outside of a house, paint kitchen cabinets, and stain or seal a deck or fence: type the sizes and get the gallons, primer, caulk, tape and steps, with the math.
- Wall area from the tape. A run with a height is wall area; an area is a ceiling or a floor. Price lines read either, so a bigger room is a bigger estimate.
- A price book that starts filled. Wall, ceiling and trim paint, primer, caulk, spackle, tape, drop cloths, sundries, exterior paint and primer, masking, house wash, ladder or scaffold rental, painter and helper hours, at typical US prices to change to yours.
- Lists for paint jobs. On a job with the paint Sheet, the estimate suggests included: covering floors and furniture, patching small nail holes; not included: drywall repair beyond small patches, lead paint abatement, moving heavy furniture, closets unless listed.
- The paint colors, kept. Each job keeps a record of the brand, color, sheen and formula for each room, for the touch-up two years later.
Questions
How do you estimate a painting job?
Measure the wall area (the room’s length around times its height) and the ceilings, divide by the paint’s coverage per coat, add primer and supplies, then price your labor by the hour or the square foot. StudSheet does the division and rounding on each line and adds markup and tax on the estimate.
How many gallons of paint for a 12 by 14 room?
With 8′ walls, a 12′ × 14′ room has 52′ around and about 416 sq ft of wall before doors and windows. At about 350 sq ft a gallon, two coats take 3 gallons for the walls, and the 168 sq ft ceiling 1 gallon. The paint Sheet works this out for your room, taking off doors and windows.
Is there a painting estimate template?
Yes. The paint Sheets fill an estimate from their own counts at your prices, and any price sheet you make can be saved to My Sheets to start the next job from.
Should a painting estimate charge sales tax?
It depends on your state and the kind of work. StudSheet sets the tax from the job site’s ZIP code with the choices that state has (New Jersey: tax on labor for repairs and installation, none for a capital improvement with the client’s certificate). Check with your accountant.
Can my client sign a painting estimate on their phone?
Yes. Hand them your phone to sign, as in the example, or, with an account, send a link where they sign and pay the deposit by card into your own Stripe account.