Friday, February 19, 2016

The value of a great painter

I once had to evaluate a bunch of paint quotes for a new, 3,500 square foot home.  They ranged from $15k to $18k including paint and materials... then I got referred a paint crew from a "friend".  They came over and gave me a quote on the house for $4000 including materials.  They said they had 5 guys and it would take 4 days.  Crazy.  Turns out, my friend hadn't used them yet and when they did, they regretted it and had to get the whole house done again.  Obviously I did not choose the low-ball quote...crazy.


I do get the question a lot on why painting is so expensive for a new home.  The simple answer is, it takes a lot of time and effort to get the trim and doors from their bare, rough, newly installed state to the beautiful, smooth finish that you see here.


My painter spends perhaps 70% of his job on doing the trim and doors.  The effort you need to Dap (caulk) small cracks, fill any holes the carpenter may have missed, sand, prime, sand, paint and paint again is tremendous.  Not to mention that if you use good paint that will last a while, the materials can end up costing 25 to 30% of the job.

Watching the progress of a newly renovated room, addition or house during the painting process can be a little like... well... watching paint dry.  Oh well, it's worth the time and expense when you have a great painter!






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