QuoteIron › Painting price book › Paint Baseboards
Painting baseboards is 2.5 hours and $30 for up to 50 feet in one room, including prep and caulk. It is labor-heavy and unglamorous, which is why it is so often under-priced: per foot, it is slow, detailed work.
Price breakdown: labor, parts, markup
Here is paint baseboards, one room as a contractor would build it at the book’s sample rate of $95 an hour and a 30% parts markup.
| Labor hours | 2.5 h |
| Labor at $95/hr | $237.50 |
| Parts at your cost | $30.00 |
| Parts markup (30%) | $9.00 |
| Subtotal before rounding | $276.50 |
| Typical flat rate (rounded up to $5) | $280 |
| Effective rate per labor hour | $112/h |
| Markup as a share of the price | 3% |
The range: each version of the job at three labor rates
One search, several jobs. The book separates them by size or method, so quote the one that matches the site. All at a 30% parts markup, rounded up to $5:
| Job | Hours / parts | At $75/hr | At $95/hr | At $125/hr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paint baseboards, one room | 2.5h / $30 | $230 | $280 | $355 |
| Paint all trim in one room | 3.5h / $45 | $325 | $395 | $500 |
| Paint crown molding, one room | 3h / $40 | $280 | $340 | $430 |
What the flat rate covers
- Paint baseboards, one room. Prep, caulk, and paint up to 50 feet of baseboard trim in one room.
- Paint all trim in one room. Paint every door casing, window trim, and baseboard in one room in two coats.
- Paint crown molding, one room. Cut in and brush two coats on crown molding around one room.
What moves the price
- Prep. Caulk gaps, fill nail holes, sand glossy trim. Paint over a bad surface and the customer sees the flaws.
- Protecting floors. Taping or shielding takes time. Include it.
- Scope drift. "Just the baseboards" often becomes doors and casings. The book has rows for each; add them instead of absorbing them.
Add-ons to put on the quote
These are separate rows in the same book, priced at the $95 sample rate. Put the ones that apply on the quote so they are lines, not arguments.
| Add-on | Hours / parts | Price at $95/hr |
|---|---|---|
| Paint window trim & sill, per window | 1h / $15 | $115 |
| Paint interior door, frame & casing | 1.5h / $25 | $175 |
| Paint crown molding, one room | 3h / $40 | $340 |
| Patch & prime wall repairs before paint | 2h / $20 | $220 |
| Sand & deglaze trim and doors before repaint, whole house | 6h / $40 | $625 |
How to present it: Good, Better, Best
Offer three options on one quote and let the customer choose. Each is a sum of real book rows at the $95 sample rate. Better adds one door, frame and casing; Best paints all trim in the room plus a door.
- Paint baseboards, one room
- Paint baseboards, one room
- Paint interior door, frame & casing
- Paint all trim in one room
- Paint interior door, frame & casing
How these numbers are built
QuoteIron’s price book stores structure: typical labor hours and a mid-grade parts cost for each job (book priced 2026-09). Your rates do the pricing: hours × your hourly rate, plus parts at cost with your markup, rounded up to the next $5. The low, typical and high figures use $75, $95 and $125 an hour at the book’s default 30% markup. They are formula outputs, not a survey of what your market pays, so replace them with your own rate and markup before you send anything. Prices checked October 8, 2026.
Related job pages
Hours and parts are typical starting points for a straightforward site; your market, supplier and the specific conditions decide the real number. Licensing, permits and local rules stay yours to handle. General information, not tax or legal advice.