I'm painting an indoor parking garage - concrete walls?

I have a few questions on this...





1 - 75% of the wall space is in excellent condition but there are parts that are flaking with whatever was on there previously...how do I smooth that flaking surface? ...sanding or otherwise?





2 - There is another part of the concrete wall that looks like pieces of the concrete have chipped away in chunks, maybe a little bit less than an inch deep on the wall. How do I refinish/smooth that concrete surface to be smooth?





3 - I have to price the job itself. The area is about 21,000 square feet..maybe a 60-70 car indoor parking garage. There are 24 structure columns to paint as well but they are all in good shape and can be painted easily. How do I price this job?





Thanks!I'm painting an indoor parking garage - concrete walls?
Here is what you do:


#1. Figure up the exact square footage of the wall surfaces you need to paint. Go to a professional paint store such as Porter Paints, Sherwin Williams and tell them what you are painting, which is concrete. Have them figure up the gallons of paint you will need. Buy in 5 gallon pails. Ask for a contractors discount on all materials.


#2. For a good job I would powerwash the walls and columns. Ask the same paint store for a good cleaning solution to power wash these items with. You also could possibly rent a power washer off of them.


#3. Price the paint for the steel columns also.


#4. Check the garage (job site) to make sure you have water source to power wash, and electrical outlet to run compressor if you plan to spray on the paint on the concrete/steel.


#5. Are there going to be cars in the garage, or is the owner of the garage going to give notice to those parking there that the garage is to be closed during this painting? This is a big deal for you. You can't make good time if cars are close to the walls and columns. I can guarantee you someone is going to complain about dirt and or paint on their car - so check this out first before you give them a price.


#6. Is there a place to store your materials on the job?


#7. You can fill the concrete spalls with mortar mix but first prime the holes with a bonding agent such as *thorobond. Let it dry than take a small margin trowel and apply mortar mix to the hole-smooth out let dry - do this after you powerwash the walls.


#8. To price the job figure how long it will take you to round up all the materials and equipment and transport it to the job. Then estimate how long it will take to set up powerwasher and wash all the walls and columns/rinse also. Now figure the hours it will take to patch the spalls or impressions in the concrete walls. Now figure how long it would take you to spray or roll paint on all the walls. *Include time to put dropcloths over any cars close by.


#9. Now you have to paint 24 columns. Can you paint one column in 2hrs? Picture yourself painting one column - how long will it take you. Now just multiply that x 24 to get man hours. Each day you must pick up and clean up the jobsite - add 1 hour each day just for getting stuff ready and putting it away at the end of the day.


#10. Now take the total cost of your materials with tax. Multiply that by 20% then add the 20%. You have to make money on materials.


Then take your total man hours you already figured x $25 per hour. Now add 15% to cover overhead such as gas,taxes,fidc,medicare,workmens comp,*even if you don't pay these things most of your competitors do so add it in.


Now after you add your 15% to your labor take that total x 10%, this is your profit for the job.


Now add your materials with markup, to your total labor cost to get a grand total. This is the price you write on your proposal.


*State everything that you are going to do on this job. The more items you list, the more detailed your proposal looks = a more professional image.


* check out if the cars are going to be in the garage , this is a big thing.


Good LuckI'm painting an indoor parking garage - concrete walls?
ted ruski got it right but dont patch with mortar, use portland cement and masons sand and mix it stiff and force into the spalls...
Extremely obvious you have no (zero) experience in this. Get someone that knows what they are doing to assist with this one or else you are going to lose your shirt. Surface prep is the most important part of the job. The two problems you mentioned are just a couple of the dozen or more you will run into getting the surface ready for paint. HINT: parking garages walls and ceilings get greasy dirty from car exhaust, you have to clean all this off or the paint will not stay on. Actual painting is probably less than 1/3 to 1/4 of the actual job. You need an adviser to help choose the different ways of cleaning that you will need to do.