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Making $350 - $500 a day as a house painter is not as
easy as some would have you believe in the residential/commercial realm -
even if you are a larger contractor with a crew. But if you know a few
drywall/plaster repair secrets, making this kind of money is very
possible. I know. I have done it. Let me explain.
As a
painting business
owner over the years, I have found a niche in my business where
people will have problems with their drywall or plaster and they are
totally clueless on how to fix it themselves. Sure, you will come across
those who tried, but the end results always turned out to be butt-ugly!
A lot of the drywall in homes built from the
1980?s and all the way up to today have issues. Things like water damage,
loose tape seams, nail pops, etc. One common reason for water damage is
because of a leaky upstairs shower.
Also, it is not uncommon for a new home to have a
problem leak somewhere on the roof that is maybe letting water in. The
water travels down the wall and wrecks part of the ceiling and wall in a
lower room in a short period of time.
Maybe the customer wants to sell their house. They
get the roof leak fixed and now this is where you and I come in. You have
done some free advertising like word-of-mouth, you get referrals, you have
a small ad in the phone book or from online advertising, etc. and you get
a call.
Next you go over and look at the problem. In their
front foyer you see a couple of minor tape seams that are loose and a
small section of textured ceiling that needs to be fixed and re-duplicated
using a common crows foot texture. The customer has touch up paint left
over for it. They are motivated to get it fixed so they can sell the house
and buy another one.
You eyeball it as about a days labor. You offer to
repair it for say around $335.00. They say yes and you schedule it for the
next day or whenever.
You come the first day for about an hour and tear
out the bad, do a quick deep-fill and put a fan on it overnight to help it
dry. Then you go back the next day and you spend 6 hours re-coating, and
drying it with a heat gun or hairdryer etc. You do the job in 7 hours
total and your net profit is $320 out of $335 because materials needed was
basically just some drywall compound, gas to get back and forth and they
had leftover paint.
Other scenarios may be older homes that have
broken plaster. These can be surprisingly easy and fun to repair. Again,
they call you, you go over and look at it. You count up the time (8 maybe
10 hrs. or so) and materials (usually dirt-cheap) and you give them a
figure of $500 - $600 because of the size of the repair.
They give you the go ahead and you pencil them
into your schedule. You finish the job in 9 hours and you make 95% profit.
Other common plaster repairs may be large cracks in plaster ceilings. A
common problem that can be easy to repair if you know how.
Other common drywall jobs may be texturing walls
and ceilings. Two guys working together can make some good money at this.
There are also small jobs hanging and finishing sheet rock in basements or
garages. They may want you to paint it afterwards as well.
People do not know anything about drywall/plaster
repair. They expect it to be somewhat costly. Jobs look more complicated
than they are but since you know how to do them its duck soup for you!
You go in and spend 1-3 hours tearing out the old
part like a surgeon, patching and doing a deep fill. You go back the next
day for a few more hours, maybe back again a third day to finish, paint,
etc. and get paid.
If you look in your phone book you will see small
display ads under drywall or plaster repair that say "We Love Small Jobs"
or "No Job Too Small". Sure they like small jobs - this is where the easy
money is. Small, 7 - 10 hour repair jobs that command $30 - $70 per hour.
If this type of business interests you, you can do
it as a profitable sideline, or full-time business. You can have a buddy
or your wife or one of your kids be your partner as well.
____________________________
Lee Cusano has owned and operated his own
successful
painting business
(and drywall repair) since 1991. He has also helped many others to
start their own painting business with his "Paint Like a Pro Estimating
and Advertising System" and bonus Drywall Repair manual.
Lee shows you how to do many of the common
drywall/plaster repairs that command big profits. To find out more plus
get a free report titled "How To Quit Your Day Job...", go to
http://www.Painting-Business.com |