How pricing works
Painting prices depend on your house. These are the questions I answer, so you know what you're comparing.
What decides the price
Five things move the number more than anything else. I explain each at the visit.
Surfaces and how many: rooms, ceilings, trim, doors, siding
Prep and repairs: how much scraping, patching and priming
Coats and paint grade: dark colors and bare spots need more
Height and access: a three-story house on a hill takes more time
Number of colors: each one is another set of edges
What the estimate includes, and what it doesn't
It's a written list, not a number on a card. It states the work, the paint and the schedule.
Included: surfaces and areas, prep, coats, paint and sheen, colors, cleanup
Included: schedule, payment terms and your written warranty
Not included: repairs found after work starts
Not included: colors you add later
What happens at the visit
About an hour with me, walking inside and out. If there is a visit fee, I tell you before I come, and I tell you if it's credited toward the work.
I measure and look at the surfaces
We look at colors in the room
I tell you when the written estimate will reach you
How and when you pay
Payment terms are on the written estimate: what's due before work starts, and when the rest is due. I'll go through them with you before you sign.
If the job changes
If I find rot or another repair after we start, I stop, show you and write the cost. I only go on once you've said yes.
When you get the number
The written estimate comes before any work starts, and I don't start until you've signed it. What's listed on it is what I do for that figure.
Price questions
What's on a written estimate?
Every surface and room, the repairs I'll make, how many coats, which paint and sheen, how many colors, cleanup, the schedule, how payments work and what the warranty covers. Anything I leave out, I say I'm leaving out.
What isn't in the estimate?
Repairs I can't see until work starts, like soft wood under old paint, and colors you add later. If either comes up, I stop, show you and write the cost before going on.
What prep is included?
Washing, scraping loose paint, patching small holes and cracks, caulking gaps and priming bare spots are part of the work I list. Larger repairs, like replacing rotted trim, are priced on their own line.
What are the payment terms?
They're on the written estimate: what's due before work starts, and when the rest is due. I'll go through them with you at the visit.
What does your warranty cover?
It covers my workmanship, in writing. Terms, limits and exclusions are in your written warranty, and I'll go through it with you before you sign.
Ready for a number?
It starts with the first visit. Text me a photo or call.