4 Variables That Drive Up Commercial Painting Cost

Commercial painting can be an incredible investment. For the sake of this article, I’m going to discuss commercial painting from the perspective of the property owner, not from the perspective of the painter.

With that being said, commercial painting can be incredibly important. Similar to residential real estate, having a fresh coat of paint can increase the property’s value and increase curb appeal. But in order to put the benefits in perspective, it’s also important to understand commercial painting costs.

However, when it comes to painting, commercial real estate derives additional benefits that residential real estate cannot. 

Benefits of Fresh Commercial Painting 

• Branding 

Unlike residential real estate, commercial real estate can benefit greatly from having paint that matches the company’s brand. For example, if your brand’s colors are red and black, then having accents on your building painted in red can help the building stand out, and can create an impression of higher brand value if customers visit your storefront. 

• Attracts More Foot-traffic

The first step to getting the most value out of your property is to make sure it’s appealing to the eyes. It’s simple, the more modern and more “Fresh” your property looks, the more likely you are to attract potential customers to stop by. 

With the benefits in mind, the next most important question to ask, which is why you ended up on this page anyways, is “how much does commercial painting cost? 

Well, according to industry standards, here are the numbers:

Biggest Cost-deciding Factors for Commercial Painting

When it comes to pricing your commercial painting project, these are the 5 largest variables you should account for.

1. Surface Area
2. Quality and Type of paint/coatings
3. The complexity of the project
4. Commercial requirements (hours we can work etc.)
5. Condition of the surfaces 

6. Surface Area

The most obvious factor when calculating the cost of your commercial project is the surface area that needs to be worked on. This is pretty straightforward and can be calculated by multiplying the length of the walls, or the area being painted, by the height of that same area.

Don’t worry, you don’t have to calculate this yourself, but just know that your painting estimator will take this into account when creating his final bid. 

The more work there is to do, obviously the more expensive it will be to get it done. 

2. Quality and Type of Paint/Coating

This can be a huge determining factor when it comes to cost. 

If you’re interested in just a superficial painting job and don’t care about longevity and quality, then your project can be much cheaper than someone who needs a long-lasting job. 

For the sake of this comparison, I’m going to use Sherwin Williams paints for reference, as that’s our preferred paint supplier. 

You’re looking at a difference of 15-20 dollars per gallon of paint, comparing their cheapest paint to their most expensive paint. 

However, what you also need to consider is how much that more expensive paint is going to cost you in the long run, especially when it comes to its resistance to elements, wear, and it’s washability. 

Cheaper paint will save you money in the short term but will cost you more in the long term. 

This cost difference is even more noticeable in industrial applications, where special coatings are required to achieve higher levels of durability. 

For example, boat paint, Pre-Catalyzed epoxy, metal painters, special surface primers, anti-rust coating, etc. These types of paints are going to be much more expensive than typical interior/exterior coatings but can be incredibly beneficial and even money-saving in the right circumstances. 

3. The Complexity Of The Project

Not all commercial jobs are the same. Some projects are commercial in nature, solely because of their purpose of business, but the actual complexity of work is similar to residential painting. 

However, some commercial properties, especially industrial ones, can be incredibly complicated to work on. 

For example, we recently finished a job for a local concrete mixing plant, and the tanks that they use to store the concrete base are very difficult to work on. 

As you can see, not only does this particular job require special equipment (boom lift), but it also requires much great caution in order to get done correctly and safely. Not to mention, that the treatment, preparation, and primer we had to use on this tank was significantly more expensive than anything we would have to use on any building.

Industrial painting solutions are not only more complicated, require more knowledge, but they’re also much more expensive.

4. Commercial Requirements 

This is fairly straightforward, but if your commercial center gets a ton of foot traffic, or if you need the painting company to comply with any kind of specific requests (like working during the night), then some additional costs can come associated with this. 

5. Condition of The Surfaces

Some buildings age with more grace than others. 

Properties that have been getting blasted by the sun for years have a tendency to have many surface cracks. 

All of these cracks need to be repaired, primed, and painted. 

Depending on the condition of the property, the cost of painting can go up. This is also one of the biggest benefits of hiring a truly professional, experienced painting crew. They will identify all areas that need to be repaired and include that in the price.

Otherwise, you’ll be left with a mediocre painting job, and eventually, you’ll be footing the bill for all the additional maintenance necessary to compensate for the improper sealing and painting job. 

Thankfully, at Picazzo painting and pressure washing, we have a standard practice of including pressure washing, caulking of all windows and doors, and sealing of cracks in all of our estimates. 

We know how big of a headache it can be if you have any water leaking inside, so we go ahead and take care of that right from the beginning- before the problem becomes a problem.