The cost of labor, as a rule, is from two-thirds to three-fourths the total cost of the work, and will sometimes, as in the case of painting a greenhouse or other building where there are large numbers of sash, or in penciling the lines upon a brick wall, far exceed this. Sometimes in a special job of this kind, a man may work for a whole day and use up only a pound or two of paint, costing not to exceed the tenth part of his wages. In other cases, where the surface is plain and flat, such as a broad expanse of brick wall or a long fence of tongued-and-grooved boards, the work will be done so rapidly that the cost of the labor will drop almost to that of the material. These, however, are exceptions. Again, a man standing upon the ground will cover much more surface in the course of an hour than he can when working from a ladder, since the time spent in moving ladders must be taken into account. High buildings, where a swing staging must be lowered down a tall blank wall, such as one meets in painting party walls and light walls in large office buildings and flat buildings in cities, make an entirely different problem. Experience is the only safe guide in cases that demand unusual labor conditions.
When the uncertainties mentioned above are taken into consideration, together with the varying cost of labor in different sections of the country, it will be seen that any book of prices or tables for computing the cost of painters' work would be utterly valueless to the contrac tor, since they could not be depended upon, ex cept in the roughest way. If such tables were
made high enough to cover all possible contin gencies, the results obtained by their use would be too high to enable the contractor to figure successfully; while, on the other hand, if based on too low prices, the contractor who would estimate by means of such a table would soon find the sheriff at his doors. On the whole, then, there is no safe guide but experience upon which to base a price per square yard for plain paint ing, varnishing, calcimining, or what not. This is something which the individual contractor must determine for himself, after having found out the average quantity of work which the mechanics in his locality are capable of doing in an hour; and it must be based upon the cur rent rate of wages.
In beginning his career as a business man, the contracting painter should carefully note the time that it takes to do certain jobs where the surface is plain, and should by this means ob tain an average cost per square yard for such surfaces. Upon this price, or cost, when once obtained, it is possible to base an estimate for all other classes of work.