Question 1:
I pay my painters for 8hr working day, so I changed the production hours to 8hrs. Is that OK?
Answer:
NO! If you are working a standard 8hr day, with no restrictions, you will always loose 1hr. production due to mobile phones, chatting, smoking and toilet breaks.
Leave the production hours field at 7hrs. The reason this field was put into Quick Paint Rate was so that if, like shopfit painters working away, you work a 12hr shift, getting 10.5 production hours, you can change the default 7hrs to 10.5 hrs and Quick Paint Rate will calcualte your rates accordingly. If you are working a project where you are paying your painters for the full 8hr working day, but due to work restrictions, they can on do 4hrs prodcution, again, you can change the default 7hrs production to 4hrs. and Quick Paint Rate will calculate the rates accordingly.
Question 2:
There are a lot of door frame rates: Which one do I use?
Answer:
There are a lot of door frame rates in Quick Paint Rate and it’s all because quantity surveyors in the UK do not all follow the UK Rules of Measurement (NRM2), when measuring door frames so we have tried to cover ‘all bases’.
So, let me run through them:
1. Door Frame (to paint both sides of door frame) n.e. 300mm girth: Use this rate IF the door frame has been measured ‘ONCE, ALL ROUND’. For example as standard single door frame would yield a quantity/measure of 5Lm.
2. Door Frame (to paint one side of door frame only) n.e. 150mm girth: Use this rate IF the door frame has been measured ‘EACH SIDE SEPARATELY’. For example the same standard single door frame would yield a quantity/measure of 2 x 5Lm = 10Lm
3. Where the quantity surveyor has measured the standard door frame/stop and the usual narrow architraves all separately: So the same standard door frame would now show measures of: Door Frame/Stop: 5Lm and Architraves: 10Lm. Here you need to use the separate door frame/stop and architraves rates
(a) Door Frame: (Standard Frame/Stop only) not exceeding 150mm girth
(b) Door Frame: (Standard Architraves only) not exceeding 75mm girth
In 1,2 and 3: It’s the same standard, single door frame, just measured differently!!!!!!!
When pricing a bill of quantities, if you are unsure about the door frame quantity and how the door frame has been measured, first thing to do is call the Contractor QS and ask for clarification: Does he/she know how the door frames have been measured?
Finally, Door Frame girth ex. 300mm (m2 rate) the UK rules of measurement state that if the girth of the door frame exceeds 300mm, it should be measured in m2 (i.e.they are wide frames and bigger archs). You would then use the £/m2 rate shown in Quick Paint Rate.
Question 3:
Will Quick Paint Rate give me competitive commercial painting rates?
Answer:
Yes, Quick Paint Rate is based on ‘realistic/practical’ labour outputs for each spec and item of work. HOWEVER, if you go and put a daily painter charge in of £1,000/day, will you win a project? NO, because your competitors are using £165-£200/day (depending where you are in the UK). The point I’m trying to make, is Quick Paint Rate is an exceptional piece of painting estimating software, but if you enter totally unrealistic/un-competitive daily painter charges, you will never win a project.
If you are paying £1000/5L Dulux Supermatt and your competitors are paying £35/5L, you will not secure a project. The point being, you need to get the best material prices you can from your supplier.
If the specification says, prime, undercoat plus two top coats to woodwork and you ‘rate up’ to this specification, you will not secure the project!! WHY? Because your competitors are excluding primer (and stating this in their tender letter) and only basing their rates on undercoat and two finishing coats. In some cases, on skirting boards, they may even gamble of undercoat and ONE finishing coat!!!! If you are basing you rate for emulsion to plaster/plasterboard on brush/roller applying the mist coat and your competitor is basing their rates on airless spraying the mist coat, you will not secure the project.
The point being, sometimes, securing a project can depend on the level of RISK you are prepared to take.
So when ‘rating up’, there are lot’s of things to think about.
It’s why estimating is both SCIENCE and ART!!!!!
Happy Estimating and remember: IF YOU NEED HELP, WE ARE HERE: CALL US!!!!