PHP Commercial Painting today launched its AI-driven Estimating Tool, automating the identification of painting requirements, quantity calculations and pricing from plans supplied by general contractors.
The July 23, 2026 launch gives PHP’s estimators an AI-generated estimate to review before preparing a proposal. Developed by Chief Technology Officer Joshua Herbison, the tool uses PHP’s own labor rates, material costs and estimating rules.
From Plan Review to a Priced Estimate
The new tool analyzes a set of plans provided by a general contractor to identify the project’s painting requirements. It then calculates quantities and applies PHP’s pricing information to prepare the initial estimate.
That takes the AI’s role beyond identifying references to painting in the documents. The output brings the scope, quantities and pricing together for the estimator’s review.
The launch follows PHP’s introduction of PaintWorks Takeoff in March, when the company began using its own PDF takeoff and estimating system. This new tool adds AI-driven plan analysis and estimate preparation to PHP’s estimating capabilities.
About Four Hours Compared With Ten Minutes
For a ground-up project, PHP’s manual estimating process typically takes an estimator about four hours. The AI can produce the initial estimate in approximately 10 minutes.
The approximately 10-minute figure covers the AI’s initial analysis and estimate preparation. Estimator review and manual proposal preparation remain separate steps before anything is sent to the general contractor.
The time savings give estimators a prepared scope and pricing calculation to evaluate, reducing the time spent assembling that information from the plans themselves.
PHP’s Rates, With Estimator Review
Pricing is based on PHP’s own labor rates, material costs and estimating rules. The tool applies those company-specific inputs when calculating the estimate.
Estimators review the AI-generated painting scope, quantities and pricing, make changes where needed and approve the estimate before it is used to prepare a proposal.
At launch, proposal preparation remains a manual step. An estimator still creates the proposal that will go to the general contractor; the AI does not automatically issue it.
With today’s release, PHP is introducing a faster way to prepare the information behind an estimate while keeping its estimating staff responsible for review and the proposal presented to the customer.