Three painters will give you three numbers, and the spread is almost never about profit. It is about what each one assumed.
Ask what preparation is included
This is where the money goes and where a low bid gets low. Washing, scraping, filling, caulking, sanding, priming — ask which of those are in the number and which are extra.
A quote that does not mention preparation has not priced it.
Ask what happens when something is found
On any house that has been painted a few times, something turns up: rot at a trim end, a patch that was never bonded, siding that has been wet. Ask what happens then.
The answer you want is: we stop, photograph it, tell you what it changes, and you decide.
Ask who is actually doing the work
Some companies quote and then subcontract. The person who walked your house is not the person who paints it, and everything discussed at the door has to survive a handover that usually does not happen.
The paint is the small part
People compare brands and finishes because those are easy to compare. The material difference between a mid-range and a premium line across a whole house is a few hundred dollars — small next to labour.
We use Sherwin-Williams, Benjamin Moore and Behr from the trade counter, and we say which one is going on and why.
Interior painting and exterior painting cover the work. Finished work is on our Facebook page.
