Square metres
Wall and ceiling painting currently costs 1500.-ft/ square meter plus material costs. This means that minimal wall repairs, i.e., repairing cracks, dents, and painting the walls twice, are included in the price. A common problem is that the home owners do not know exactly how many square metres their flat or the surface area that needs to be painted, so they often get confused by the total floor area of the room or their flat. This is partial information and is far from the total area.
How do we calculate the price?
In simplest terms : Multiply the length and width together to get the ceiling area. So, if you have a room that is 4m long and 3.50m wide, its floor space is 14 square metres.
For walls, you multiply the height by the length to get the square metres. The height should now be 3 metres. A wall 4m long and 3m high totals 12 square meters, multiply the 3.50m long wall by 3 meters to get 10.5 square meters. Multiply this by 2, since most rooms have 4 walls. 2 x 12+ 10.5×2 = 45 sqm. 45 sqm wall area and 14 sqm ceiling = 59 sqm. Of course, the room has a door (0.90m x2.10m =1.89 sqm) and a window (1.50m x1.20m =1.80 sqm) and these can be subtracted from the calculation at the end. Total wall area: 55.31 nm2 However, I would like to add that not everyone subtracts these from the painted area because it takes much more time to paint around them than if they were full walls.
So in total, the 14 square metre room has a total wall surface of 55.31nm2. Multiply this by the labour cost of 1500ft/ sqm and you get a labour cost of 82.965.-ft (224 Euro).
Material procurement
During a major renovation, different materials will be needed, so they can be sourced by the client or by the contractor. Materials can be bought from DIY stores (Praktiker, OBI, Bauhaus) or paint shops. I recommend paint shops, as you can get things at a bigger discount. When buying, aim for mid-range quality paints and materials such as Polifarbe Intaller, Héra(premium),Dulux ,Jupol next. Rigips, or Baumit plaster.
Sometimes paint buckets, plasters, masking stuff etc. have to be carried upstairs as there is no lift. When a customer does not want to deal with this, I charge a fee for the material purchase. The cost of this is charged at between 10.000.- ft ( 27 Euro) and 25.000.- ft (67.5 Euro). However, for smaller jobs, there is no material procurement fee.
Moving furniture
It’s best to plan this in advance, like the day before painting, because it gives you a chance to think about where to put your stuff. Find the best place for fragile or valuable items. There is no extra charge for minor furniture moving but if rearranging the furniture takes longer, there is a charge of 4500 ft/ hour (12 Euro/ hour)
Renovation waste removal
The floor is protected with paper and furniture is protected with plastic drop cloth during painting. When the work is finished, they are removed and put it in the bin properly. I do not charge extra for the removal of the paper or plastic, but it is important to note that I cannot remove large amounts of construction waste.
Parking
In Budapest there are different parking rates (in some area you are able to park free of charge ) and in many cases parking is a nightmare. Parking costs are not included in the painting price.
Unexpected costs
I might have to work more than planned and have to buy additional materials as the work progresses. For example, suppose the wall behind the cupboard is completely mouldy, but you only find out after it has been removed. Now,we are not just talking about painting, but also about mould removal.
The above should help you to prepare your painting budget.
Of course it is possible to request a quote by phone or even email, but an on-site inspection and measure up is the best.