Price Check: Canvas Stretching?

Create a Post
Are they to be gallery wrapped or just stapled on the sides?
How much canvas is there to grab a hold of?
Are they Cotton or Polyester fabric?
If they have them framed these ar eth eprices if no frame then add $15.00 to each
I figure about 40 min. @for writing order to handing it back to them
with plenty of extra canvas and are cotton and gallery wrapped 45.00@
with plenty of extra canvas and polyester and gallery wrapped 49.00@

I figure about 50 min. @for writing order to handing it back to them
very little extra canvas and are cotton and gallery wrapped 52.00@
very little extra canvas and polyester and gallery wrapped 59.00@

I figure about 30 min. @for writing order to handing it back to them.
with plenty of extra canvas and are cotton and stapled on sides 30.00@
with plenty of extra canvas and polyester and stapled on sides 39.00@

I figure about 30 min. @for writing order to handing it back to them
very little extra canvas and are cotton and stapled on sides 37.00@
very little extra canvas and polyester and stapled on sides 44.00@
 
Thanks. My regular price for stretching one that size is $74; I gave him 25% off because he brought his own stretchers. He walked. I figured he might; as we were talking about it he kept saying "I could do it myself but I don't have a stapler".

Oh well.
 
You gave him a good excuse to buy a stapler. :kaffeetrinker_2:
Labor charges would be $30-45/each depending on how long they took. Pieces that size should be about 15-20 minutes per of actual labor when hand stretching.
I like the material handling charge Gumby suggests for pieces not being framed.

You did say stretcher bars, right? I'm assuming tensionable stretchers, not strainers.
 
I usually charge $ 1.00 per UI + stretchers or strainers for standard and $ 1.25 per UI for gallery wrap.

As Jim pointed out, sometimes other factors enter into it.
 
Our price would be $36.40 each. That does not include any discount for him providing his own bars, nor does it include any markup if he wants them gallery wrapped.
 
Offer him stapler rental for $50.00? LOL
 
If the stretchers are a home-made invention and the design isn't proved, I wouldn't use them. I've tried making a few stretcher inventions myself and they don't always behave how they should.


If he does decide to buy a stapler and have a go, you can charge him double PITA when he brings it back in. ;)
 
He dosn't have a stapler? Me thinks he probably doesn't have canvas plyers either. Good luck to him.

Knowledge is sometimes worth more than just having the right tools. Just because you have a stapler, doesn't mean that it is heavy duty enough to do the job, and just because you have a heary duty stapler soen't mean you know how to mount a canvas without ripples, or cracking the paint. Don't sell yourselves short. Training is worth paying for.

Also, if he goes out and buys a stapler, then damages the painting, how much will you charge to fix his mistake and then mount it properly?
 
This reminds me of a review I read on Yelp of one of the frame shops in my area. I joined Yelp just so I could review this review.

"So anyways, went in to ask about re framing a large canvas Into to 2 smaller canvases. I can likely do this with some materials from home depot and tools I own for about $10 but figured I would ask then and avoid the time to do it myself. I gave them basic measurements to get a ballpark price. They came up with almost $200 for what would take a skilled person minutes to do.

Now for sure will never walk into this shop owned by some greedy people. I hear there is a shop on Fleet or go to Michael's. Good luck."

How many things can you find wrong with this statement?
 
Susan May said:
Me thinks he probably doesn't have canvas plyers either.
Click to expand...

Gotta put my educator hat on here and step up on the soapbox. Start of rant........

Canvas pliers should not be used to stretch a painting that is already on canvas.

A stretcher bar that is fixed with gussets in the corners is not a stretcher bar. It is a strainer bar and is inappropriate for restretching a painting that is already on canvas.

Using canvas pliers and a fixed strainer means the only way to tension the canvas is to pull it with the pliers over the fixed bar dimension. It is very easy to pull the canvas out from under the gesso and paint on the surface - but you may not see the damage (stress cracks) for a period of time. This is over tensioning.

Sure, it can be done (using canvas pliers and fixed bars) - but works on paper can also be hinged with duct tape. Doesn't mean it is proper or the right way to do it.

The proper way is with a properly size adjustable bar, attaching the canvas while it is lying face down by initially tensioning by hand, and then doing a final tensioning the canvas after it is affixed to the bars with hand tension. The keys or adjusting mechanism should then be fixed (so the upper keys do not dislodge and drop behind the bar) or a mechanical bar using draw tite fasteners should have shims placed in the open miter.

Regardless of what you use, a rigid backer, preferably 4 ply cotton backed with fluted polypropylene (Coroplast) should be affixed to the stretcher.

End of rant.
 
I received a PM with a very good question.

The framer wanted to know why the standard specifies a 4 ply cotton barrier between the polypropylene and the backer when the canvas is stretched on unsealed raw wood stretcher bars.

The new standards (started in Canada and now accepted and promoted in the US) suggests a cotton 4 ply buffer between the polypropylene and the back of the canvas - not for acids but to act as a humidity barrier. The poly does not absorb/buffer changes in humidity/moisture and the cotton in the 4 ply will.
 
Create a Post
Back
Top