How much should I expect to pay someone to paint the exterior of my house?
Question:I am planning to paint the exterior of my house and I am seeking advise. I have specific questions, which I hope can help
(1) How much should I expect to pay to paint the exterior of a 2 story building (2500 SQ) home
(2) Should I ask the painter to purchase the paid himself/herself or should I buy it myself? (I imagine some of them may have access to wholesale pricing; on the other hand, I cannot vouch for the quality of the product the buy)
(3) Since this is summer and everyone tends to do a lot of home improvement, will it be cheaper to do the painting job later in the year (fall, say).
BTW: I live in Atlanta GA. (we often have extended weather than many northern states :-) )
Thanks
Answers:
About 20 years ago I helped my uncle paint houses. He was a painter by trade. You need to take into consideration the amount of "damage" to the existing paint, will they need to scrape off all the old peeling paint, is there any old peeling paint?; are there a lot of bushes around the base of the house that will get in the way that will need to be plasticized; how many windows does the house have; EVERYONE wants to paint their house during the summer, you should wait until fall or your contractor will not be able to get to you right away AND/OR he will want to be doing multilple jobs at once! Not a good thing, when you get the quote, verify if they will only be working on your project or do they plan on working on more than one project and if they are working on more than one project, do they have multiple crews so only one crew works on one house...unless of course their employees only work one task like scraping the eves and then go onto the next job...which is rare...most paint crews each employee knows how to do almost everything...in regards to paint, you usually want a high gloss oil based paint for the eves and windows and a semi-gloss oil based paint for the rest. You also need to consider what type of wood; some woods/tiles take paint better than others...some wood/tiles will only need primer and then the top coat and some will not need primer and only one coat and some will need primer and two coats...also depending on the quality of the paint!
Now, cost...2500 square feet, 2 stories is going to run you AT LEAST $5000! Remember, it is supposed to last you for about 10-20 years...you do the math...seeing as how I haven't done a painting estimate in 20 years, I would think the price would be closer to $10,000 depending on the amount of work to be done before they even put the primer on.and if you buy the paint or he does...and the quality of the paint...how many different colors do you want...if you wait until fall, he may be willing to knock some money off...is the guy licensed or not...And, most importantly, get several quotes...written quotes...and make sure you don't "add" things between quotes so you're not comparing apples and oranges...
It really depends. Make sure you get 3 estimates. Honestly it can be costly. The cheaper route would to get some college kids to paint it, because a professional outfit will usually rip you off. Could be anywhere from 2,500 - 7,500. Normally a legit outfit will have you purchase the paint and they will just charge for the service. That way if you change your mind about color, texture, ect... it's less hastle for them. My father's business has been independent for 30 yrs and he is far cheaper than say SEARS or professional outfits. GOOD LUCK
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