# Going rate for painters



## frazil (Jun 22, 2009)

I just got an estimate to paint the interior of our house this summer. Our house is about 1800 sq ft and they will be painting walls, ceilings and trim. The total cost came to $6800, which is a little more than I expected. I worked out their hourly rate which is about $29/hour.

That seems kind of high to me, but I've never had any painting done before. Has anyone else had painting done that wouldn't mind sharing the cost they paid?

I know I should get more estimates, but we're currently living 2 1/2 hours away and renting the place out. So I'd have to make arrangements with the tenant, drive up there and back. This guy came highly recommended, so if other people paid similar amounts, I'll probably just go with him.


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## MA_PE (Jun 22, 2009)

Fraz: you give plan area but don't provide "painted area".

What kind of prep is involved? is it going over paint or does wall paper need to be removed first? primer? how many finish coats? Are the windows getting painted too?

Does your labor hourly cost include paint and materials?

Depending on the answers to the above questions it may be high. Of course the "highly recommended" is worth something too.

good luck.


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## snickerd3 (Jun 22, 2009)

Our old neighboor was a Prof painter. That sounds about right with what he charged...its the insurance they have to carry that makes them expensive. Painting is one of those thngs you get what you paid for. He also uses the best paints around...maybe that's where part of the cost lies.

While they tend to be rather expensive paints, Benjamin Moore paint is probably the best paint I've used. It doesn't smell too bad, there is virtually no splatter, and it coats perfectly, no second coat needed unless you want it...I only needed to touch up areas I missed.


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## frazil (Jun 22, 2009)

MA: I don't know what the painted area is. Basically its the kitchen, dining room, 2 small bedrooms, 2 large bedrooms, 1 1/2 bathrooms and the hallways/stairs.

The cost does include paint and materials, but that was only $600. Actually that seemed low to me because we requested that they only use Benjamin Moore low-VOC paints, which I know are more expensive. He did put down the insurance they carry, so maybe that's where some of the cost is.


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## MA_PE (Jun 22, 2009)

Fraz: did he specify how many coats? 1-primer, 1 (or 2) finish? It really not sounding too bad for the entire house.


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## Capt Worley PE (Jun 22, 2009)

I'm a lazy dude, but I'd rather do it myself over a few months than pony out 6800 bucks.


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## frazil (Jun 22, 2009)

^ I would rather do it myself too! I don't mind painting. But we've had the house for 3 years and painted exactly 1 room so far - and that's when I took a week off of work to do it. Twenty years will go by before I have time to do the whole thing! The house will be empty for 3 weeks in July and it seems like the perfect time to do it all at once.


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## Fluvial (Jun 22, 2009)

I think you have the right idea since you're so far away. You gotta figure, if you took off those 3 weeks and painted, how many billable hours' time would you lose? It wouldn't take long to rack up $6800.


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## Guest (Jun 22, 2009)

Frazil,

FMJR's mom is a professional painter and that estimate doesn't sound too far off from some of the work she has done. While it makes you cringe to see it in writing ... others said it best: you get what you paid for and you want something like that done RIGHT.



Fluvial said:


> You gotta figure, if you took off those 3 weeks and painted, how many billable hours' time would you lose? It wouldn't take long to rack up $6800.


I have applied that logic to many projects that seem like they would be 'simple' but would take me A LOT of time relative to the professional who has the right tools and the time to get it right the first time. The other factor is the cost of your aggrevation: that factors HUGE for me since I seem to lose my patience too fast with projects that don't seem to many a twist.

JR


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## jeb6294 (Jun 22, 2009)

The old people who I got my house from must have hired every bad salesman that showed up on their doorstep. We had to repaint the whole house...and by "we" I mean my wife and her mom and aunt (I don't paint and they love that stuff, works out for everybody). First of all they picked the most horrendous colors ever. Second, whoever they hired to paint painted everything, and I mean everything...walls, trim, switch/outlet covers, over nails, etc. They basically started at the ceiling and didn't stop until they hit the floor.


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## snickerd3 (Jun 22, 2009)

jeb6294 said:


> The old people who I got my house from must have hired every bad salesman that showed up on their doorstep. We had to repaint the whole house...and by "we" I mean my wife and her mom and aunt (I don't paint and they love that stuff, works out for everybody). First of all they picked the most horrendous colors ever. Second, whoever they hired to paint painted everything, and I mean everything...walls, trim, switch/outlet covers, over nails, etc. They basically started at the ceiling and didn't stop until they hit the floor.


I can so relate. when we bought the house, the kitchen was pink with brown/green faux finish. ceilings were all a shade of pink. the master bedroom was gray with a sand texture mixed in (it scratched your skin if you brushed against it). the rest of the house was various shades of brown acrylic.


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## Wolverine (Jun 22, 2009)

Fraz;

Don't forget to always negotiate. Tell him he can have the job only if he can knock it down to $N. An estimate is an estimate and worst he can say is no, and then you can still choose to hire him anyway.


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## frazil (Jul 12, 2009)

So I decided to take Wolverine's advice and see if he would lower the price. I told him we budgeted $6000 for the project (he quoted us $6800), and asked if the price was negotiable at all.

That's not that much of a drop, especially if we met in the middle. But my plan was, if he said "no", I was going to ask what it would cost if we left off the upstairs closet and bathroom.

I never got that far because as soon as I said the word "negotiate" he went cold on the phone. He said he would have to look it over and call me back. That was 2 weeks ago. I think he was insulted! Guess he doesn't need the work.

Oh well. I'm a little bummed. I guess I could still try to find someone else, but I really don't have time. We've decided just to try to do it ourselves over this next year(s).


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## maryannette (Jul 13, 2009)

Call him back and tell him you'll pay the $6800. Get it done. How much money will you lose if you have to schedule the house not to be rented for that long?


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## frazil (Jul 13, 2009)

We're not renting it again. We're moving back into it. We were hoping to have it all painted before we moved back in, but we can just do it slowly while we're there.

I suppose I could call the guy back, but I don't know if I want to work with this guy anymore.


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## IlPadrino (Jul 13, 2009)

frazil said:


> I suppose I could call the guy back, but I don't know if I want to work with this guy anymore.


I wouldn't... he's supposed to be doing you a service - you're not doing him a favor by hiring him. Anyone that's "offended" by a counter-offer on an estimate is too impressed with themselves for my taste.


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## Capt Worley PE (Jul 13, 2009)

IlPadrino crystallized my thoughts perfectly.


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## TouchDown (Jul 13, 2009)

Just to make sure that there wasn't some "miscommunication", I usually give a contractor 1 more option to get it right.

I've also been bitten doing this...

You could go back, re-state your offer and see what his response is, agree tho, if he doesn't respond with "I'm sorry I xxxx. " then you just might as well move onto another painter. I'm sure there are other good painters who are hungry, but you'd better get on someone's schedule if you want it to happen the way you want it and before you move in...


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## squishles10 (Jul 14, 2009)

we had our whole house painted for $3500! we forgot to include trim in the estimate so take that out of the price but still- wow!


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## frazil (Jul 14, 2009)

well after bad-mouthing this guy to everyone I know...

He called my husband today and said he lost my number and had to track down my husbands number from the flooring guys who recommended him to us and he'll do it all for $6K.

So we agreed. That still feels high (compared to Squishles price (with 4 bathrooms!)), but it will be so nice to have it done, and honestly it would have taken us years.


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## squishles10 (Jul 14, 2009)

it depends on the size of the rooms, the quality of the paint, the number of colors of paint, etc. i imagine the trim would have added a lot- its very labor intensive. im not looking forward too it.

i agree though- we never would have done it! better to do it all in 5 days


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## Road Guy (Jul 15, 2009)

I think we paid $250 a room a few years ago, they didnt price per SF but they had a rate per room and a rate per hallway, I just remember I have a very odd shaped master bathroom and I think I paid $150 for the bathroom and thought it was much better than me wasting a weekend doing it!


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## Wolverine (Jul 16, 2009)

frazil said:


> I never got that far because as soon as I said the word "negotiate" he went cold on the phone. He said he would have to look it over and call me back. That was 2 weeks ago. I think he was insulted! Guess he doesn't need the work.





frazil said:


> He called my husband today and said he lost my number and had to track down my husbands number from the flooring guys who recommended him to us and he'll do it all for $6K.


So, I was juuust about to apologize for ruining your day.....

But now I am cool again... B)


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## frazil (Jul 16, 2009)

:thumbs:


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## csb (Jul 16, 2009)

I'm so glad this thread exists! Since every home improvement show and website and magazine talks about, "Oh, just paint and it's a cheap upgrade," and I've now painted two tiny areas and thought that it wasn't worth it...and now I see other people agree! It takes so freakin' long to get it all right and it eats up so much time. I've been wanting to paint an accent wall, but was overwhelmed at the thought. Now I can see that hiring someone might be great.


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## TouchDown (Jul 16, 2009)

csb said:


> I'm so glad this thread exists! Since every home improvement show and website and magazine talks about, "Oh, just paint and it's a cheap upgrade," and I've now painted two tiny areas and thought that it wasn't worth it...and now I see other people agree! It takes so freakin' long to get it all right and it eats up so much time. I've been wanting to paint an accent wall, but was overwhelmed at the thought. Now I can see that hiring someone might be great.


There are 2 versions of paint jobs. It really depends on how you want it to look when it's finished.

#1 - Home / do it yourself, if you're like us, your standards go down significantly if it's a do it yourself project. i will allow some paint marks on the ceiling/trim and poor cut lines so it only costs me $100 to paint the whole upstairs, even if it takes for freaking ever and is a huge pain in the ass. You might say I'm cheap. If we were to show our house for a sale, I would have to go back and correct some areas, because it just looks bad if you look closely. If you are picky about what the outcome will look like, this is NOT for you. Again, if you can lower your standards, should be good to go.

#2 - You get what you pay for with professionals - it's done quick, and looks much better than do it yourself in my opinion. Most every professional job I've seen has great cut lines, no extra paint on the ceiling or trim, and looks like it got it's full 2 coats with good coverage. I think they use better than wal-mart paint and if you can afford it - well worth the money spent.

With my wife and I - we tire of paint colors fairly quickly, so about once every 2-3 years, we will paint a room to update / change it. If we were to have it professionally painted, we'd never be able to afford doing that.


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## Capt Worley PE (Jul 16, 2009)

House hasn't been painted since we bought it in '98. Bathroom needs to be redone, though. Wallpaper needs replacing as does the mirror, which is de-silvering. Might go with tile instead of carpet, too.


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## snickerd3 (Jul 16, 2009)

Capt Worley PE said:


> House hasn't been painted since we bought it in '98. Bathroom needs to be redone, though. Wallpaper needs replacing as does the mirror, which is de-silvering. Might go with tile instead of carpet, too.


you have carpet in the bathroom?


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## Capt Worley PE (Jul 16, 2009)

snickerd3 said:


> you have carpet in the bathroom?


Yeah. The PO had to replace the floor in their because of water damage done by the owner before that. They just put wall-to-wall over the plywood.

The hall and bedrooms have carpet over heart of pine floors. We're debating about replacing the carpet or removing it and refinishing as needed. I think we're both tending towards the wood floor, but are afraid of what we'll find under the carpet.


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## csb (Jul 16, 2009)

We replaced a carpet bathroom with vinyl. We also have carpet in the kitchen, which is just stupid.


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## snickerd3 (Jul 16, 2009)

csb said:


> We replaced a carpet bathroom with vinyl. We also have carpet in the kitchen, which is just stupid.


my sister had that in her apartment. She dropped a hot pot and it burned a ring in the carpet. she left a kitchen rug over it when she moved out. landlord didn't say anything about it.


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## Parks and Rec (Jul 16, 2009)

Did we ever figure out the going rate for painters?

By the hour, by the room, or by the house?

I have some trim to paint and areas that I painted that need to be "finished" I expect trim to be more time consuming since it requires extra carefulness, something I don't have the patience for.


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## TouchDown (Jul 16, 2009)

snickerd3 said:


> my sister had that in her apartment. She dropped a hot pot and it burned a ring in the carpet. she left a kitchen rug over it when she moved out. landlord didn't say anything about it.


After college we attempted to "repair" a section of carpet where my dumb ass roomate tried to bring the grill INSIDE during a rain shower and burnt holes in the kitchen carpet. Moved the stove out, cut matching patterns and superglued in place.

We didn't get our deposit back. It's amazing how carpet will fade / change colors!!!


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## frazil (Jul 16, 2009)

Parks and Rec said:


> Did we ever figure out the going rate for painters?By the hour, by the room, or by the house?


Well with my new negotiated price, the hourly rate will be about $25/hour, not including supplies.

I think the trim will be a lot of work, plus in our house the trim is an oil-based paint, which is an added PITA.


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## Guest (Jul 16, 2009)

frazil said:


> I think the trim will be a lot of work ...


That's what HE said!! 

:rotflmao:

Sorry .. couldn't resist!

JR


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## CivE Bricky (Jul 24, 2009)

TouchDown said:


> There are 2 versions of paint jobs. It really depends on how you want it to look when it's finished.
> #1 - Home / do it yourself, if you're like us, your standards go down significantly if it's a do it yourself project. i will allow some paint marks on the ceiling/trim and poor cut lines so it only costs me $100 to paint the whole upstairs, even if it takes for freaking ever and is a huge pain in the ass. You might say I'm cheap. If we were to show our house for a sale, I would have to go back and correct some areas, because it just looks bad if you look closely. If you are picky about what the outcome will look like, this is NOT for you. Again, if you can lower your standards, should be good to go.
> 
> #2 - You get what you pay for with professionals - it's done quick, and looks much better than do it yourself in my opinion. Most every professional job I've seen has great cut lines, no extra paint on the ceiling or trim, and looks like it got it's full 2 coats with good coverage. I think they use better than wal-mart paint and if you can afford it - well worth the money spent.


I have three versions - quite different than yours:

#1 - Do yourself to very high standards that no one else will ever know about. It takes forever, but there's satisfaction in knowing the trim ABOVE the window is neatly cut in. There's also satisfaction in knowing you didn't get taken, even though the project took about 4 times longer than you estimated.

&lt;---once lived in a tent in the backyard for nearly a month while refinishing wood floors in the entire house. When my 3 year old asked, "Mommy will we ever live inside again?," I felt a bit guilty, but at least it was July!

#2 - Do a quite decent job yourself, that isn't quite up to the quality a top professional could do. Usually done for convenience or scheduling not to save $....that was the case with wood floors -- we wanted to get the house on the market. Our contractor friend said we did a fairly good job, but I could tell someone who does it all the time would have done a better one.

#3 - Hire the pro who you've learned can do a better job than you can....either due to high skill through repetition or vast knowlege you don't want to trudge through researching on your own. For me that might be a landscape design -- I could do it, but I'd need to spend endless hours reading up and someone else who does it all the time could dash it off in no time.

We only had one project that took as long as expected -- Pergo floor install in the kitchen

and only one project that was shorter and easier than expected -- installing commercial vinyl tile in the basement laundry room (that mastic stayed sticky for 24 hours, and tile could be cut with a box cutter and straight edge....easy!)


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## CivE Bricky (Jul 24, 2009)

on painting rates:

My brother paints on the side. He says a little room like a bathroom takes just as much time as a bedroom because all the time is in cutting in and trim. He just quotes a flat rate based on number of windows and doors to work around and the amount of paint needed. Room size is almost irrelevant.

Make certain you know if wall prep and caulking trim etc. is included in the price quoted and ask what paint will be used.

If you do your own painting, quality paint and tools are well worth the investment.


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## frazil (Oct 6, 2009)

Just to follow up... hiring this painter was totally worth it! My house looks beautiful, like brand new. He did a fantastic job, on time and I'm really glad we did it. Maybe we could have found someone cheaper, but who knows if they would have done as nice a job?


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## snickerd3 (Oct 6, 2009)

frazil said:


> Just to follow up... hiring this painter was totally worth it! My house looks beautiful, like brand new. He did a fantastic job, on time and I'm really glad we did it. Maybe we could have found someone cheaper, but who knows if they would have done as nice a job?


glad you liked the final outcome!!


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## csb (Oct 6, 2009)

frazil said:


> Just to follow up... hiring this painter was totally worth it! My house looks beautiful, like brand new. He did a fantastic job, on time and I'm really glad we did it. Maybe we could have found someone cheaper, but who knows if they would have done as nice a job?


This is so wonderful to hear! I'm now totally tempted to hire someone to paint my house. We've accomplished a lot of do-it-yourself and sometimes it would be nice to come home to done-by-someone else


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## FLBuff PE (Oct 6, 2009)

^It is nice. We had our house (exterior) painted by a pro 2 falls ago. It cost a lot, but was TOTALLY worth it. I tried staining my 2,300 s.f. fence on my own last weekend, and had to bag it and call in reinforcements when I got into the actual staining on Sunday. I was thisclose to calling in a pro. My FIL is helping me next weekend (he has a pro painter's sprayer). You just have to evaluate the cost to your wallet vs. the cost to your happiness.


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