Pricing graffiti removal

[Jeff Robison]

How do you guys price. Materials plus labor? Price per square foot. I have done two jobs in the last week and both thought the price was unbelievable, way below the other bids. But I felt I was very high with the little bit of costs that were involved.

Just curious how others handle it.

Jeff Robison
Titan Exterior
678-360-2518

[Scott Stone]

Depends on the customer. Usually by the square foot, but it depends on what kind of chemical it takes.

[Tom DeFrancesco]

Jeff in NY I charge by the sq/ft. You should also have a minimum charge. Regardless of how small the job is. Think about it, not worth driving 10-20 miles for $50.

[James]

You can get 1.25 to 3.50 sqft depending how bad it is. I have a min charge of 225

[Jeff Robison]

Yes, I think by the square foot is the way to go. Last night a neighborhood had been tagged in five areas. A community mailbox, the side of one building, the entry sign, a telephone box, a cul de sac, and a driveway. Small graffiti fortunately. Took me a little over an hour, about $8.00 in Tag Away and I charged them $350.00. They were overly pleased!!!

Jeff Robison
Titan Exterior
678-360-2518

[Tom DeFrancesco]

Nice... I am doing about 700 sq/ft next week for $1200. Probably will only take a couple of hours.

[REHAB]

the going minimum rate is $250, to cover gas, equipment, labor, setup, and cleanup costs.

base your figures on your personal labor ($50/hr); equip maint; spill cleanup labor; material costs per 5 gallons; and haggle time promoting your business, not only with the customer, but signs, posters, business cards and production of dvd or commercial. You're not doing charity work. you're working to pay your bills and feed your family.

besides the setup minimum cost of $250-$350, figure out a ratio for additional tag removals based on 1 hour each, and offer a discount when multiple tags are involved at one location. if there are other tags at variable locations, either use the ratio above for having to move and re-setup, or if the employer is a regular, offer them a rebate, discount, or slack on the total bill- AFTER you collect the money in full.

if you're painting with an airless, figure $250 minimum up to 300 sq ft (2 coats), and 25-50 cents a sq ft after that. either you can buy the paint at a discount and resell it to the customer at list, or they can furnish the paint, provided it's new and unused. if they want you to use their paint, used or full of co-ags, hit them for another $100-$150, for having to filter out the debris and mess with it.

Plain concrete block, concrete, or flat cinder block usually takes 2 coats for a professional job, painting the entire side of the building or wall up to a break point for best visuall uniformity. Stucco, stone, split face block takes 3 coats, because one has to hit it from various angles to get full coverage and minimal sight flaws.

With latex paint, it works best to outline the surface then do a vertical fill, following with a left to right horizontal 2nd coat. by changing spray directions from one coat to the next, your work minimizes visual flaws that are most noticeable after the work is fully dry. try to stay away from blockouts and squares.

Graffiti damages property values. your plan should be to paint or blast a surface in such a way that the property damages suffered by blight and graffiti are restored by your efforts. If that is not possible, sometimes the graffiti is less detrimental to the property than shoddy workmanship. in other words, stay away from the bandaid approach and work towards overall sight value, as everyone- the owner, you, and people driving by, will appreciate your professional work and effort. Bear in mind that your work is your signature, and that reputation will bring you more work once people figure out how to contact you.