Estimating Methods
Estimating Kitchen Cabinets.
About Estimating Kitchen Cabinets
Read below to learn more about how to estimate kitchen cabinets using The Paint Estimator
I have always thought of painting kitchen cabinets as a specialty in this business. Meaning it’s outside the typical scope of the average house painter. Yes, any painter can brush and roll kitchen cabinets, but to get to those factory type finishes, it takes special skills , and experience. As a member of a few cabinet and refinishing groups online, it seems the consensus is that most cabinets painters estimate by the number of boxes, doors, drawer fronts and so on.
Painting kitchen cabinets can be a lucrative job, and it typically brings in more money than just painting walls and trim in a house. Theres a bit more of an upfront investment as well. Your typical cabinet painter has invested in racks, air scrubbers, ventilation systems, spray equipment, sanders and so on.
So, I thought about this program and how I could implement that type of estimating. The first thing that came to mind was using production rates, but it just quite did not cut it for this type of estimating. So, I have introduced a new method for estimating kitchen cabinets where you can estimate by the boxes, number of doors, drawer fronts and so on based off fixed costs. These fixed costs can be adjusted very easily by the user to reflect their pricing.
Cabinet Estimating
To get started with this form of estimating, just click on the cabinet estimating button. Which will bring up the cabinet estimating form
Once the form is open, type in or select the area, enter the materials for this project, select the item, then enter the quantity. Click the blue + button to add the items to the below grid. Once you have added all the items, click the accept & continue button at the bottom. This will add a group to the main estimating area
This is how it would appear in the main estimating grid.
Another cool feature is the ability to adjust the number of days this will take to complete. If you notice in the image, it adds up to over 12 days to complete this kitchen. This is based off the company profit percentage. Let’s say due to our experience, this is something that might take just 5 days to complete. To make this adjustment, let’s edit this group and bring it back to the cabinet form. To do this, right click on the group title and select “Edit this group - Kitchen Cabinets”
Once the form appears, simply click on the menu in the upper right corner and select “Enable Days Options” this will then enable the days option spin button at the bottom of the form. Enter 5 days in this box, then click accept & continue to add the edited group back to the main estimating grid.
After adjusting the days, the first thing you will notice is the company profit percentage will go up. This is how it should be for those who specialize in cabinet painting. There are a few limitations on using the days option as if you are estimating on other things in the house, these item prices will also be affected by the increase in the profit percentage.
You can make changes or add items by clicking the menu button, then selecting "View Pricing" Also, this estimating form does not have to stick to just cabinets, you can use this method for anything you want to price by the item. That about sums up cabinet estimating. Hopefully this form of estimating can be helpful, specially to those who focus on mainly cabinet refinishing.