If you’ve hired a contractor for your home, you know that there are many options with whom to choose to work with. This is especially true in the painting industry. In Colorado, painting contractors are not required to have any specific training or carry a “painters license.” In other words, anyone can start a painting business and call themselves a painter.
The main question when it comes to painting a house is: How much does it cost to paint a house? Specifically, for purposes of this article, I’m going to talk about the price to paint the exterior of a home.
Naturally, the answer to this question isn’t cut and dry. Houses vary in size, age and design. With each of these considerations, the prices can vary. Let’s start with the home, pictured above. Some of the specs of this house: 3,262 SF 4 bedroom, 3 bath and built in 2003.
It has composite siding, trim around all the vinyl windows. It had some minor hail damage and normal wear and tear. We didn’t need to replace and siding or trim. This could be considered a very average home repaint. We used a lifetime warranty paint from Sherwin-Williams with a satin sheen – which is standard for homes in Northern Colorado.
We pressure washed the home first and then had to re-caulk seams and cracks, but there wasn’t excessive re-caulking and priming required. With the cost of paint, labor and materials, this home cost $3,550.00 to repaint and it has our standard 5 year warranty. We applied two coats, as typically required when there is a color change. There is a good range of prices for which this home could have been painted. Probably a solid $500 swing in both directions. Why is there such a difference in the price? That is the magic question and I’ll attempt to answer it as best as I can.
LESS: -not using the same quality paint (could be cheaper); putting on less paint or possibly watering it down; not as much painting experience and/or they are slow so they are keeping their prices low to get the job; practice of bidding the job low only to ask for more money later; a one-man show or father-son type duo that may take a lot longer to complete – also means they likely have less overhead, maybe not insurance, iffy warranty
MORE – there are seemingly more and more painting franchises popping up every year; they are generally known for higher prices because more people have to make money and there are more overhead costs involved; sometimes the owners don’t have painting experience and are looking for a way to invest some money; on the other hand, sometimes they are painters without the business savvy or skills to own their own business so they buy into a franchise; higher materials and/or labor costs
This next home is nearly identical in size, at 3,236 SF and was built in 2001. This home included a higher-level lifetime warranty paint from Sherwin-Williams and included our Ultra Caulk Upgrade. This means that we re-caulk the entire home regardless of existing caulking failures and we use a lifetime warranty caulk. With these options, our warranty jumps to 10 Years, which is nearly unheard of in the painting industry, especially in Colorado. All the typical prep was required, including power washing, scraping loose paint, priming bare substrates and masking areas we wanted to protect. It included a color change along with much more trim to paint compared to the aforementioned house. This paint job was $5,375.00
This home has a few more decorative elements in the design that can drive up the costs a bit. We used a lifetime warranty paint from Sherwin-Williams and the home was built in 2003, just like the first (green) house. It is smaller in overall size, at 2,196 SF. This home is also a good representative of an average home. Again, the standard preparation was included with taking care of paint failures and cracking, like most homes experience. The siding was in overall good shape but just needed to be rinsed off. We supplied the paint, labor and materials for a price of $4,225.00 for this home.
We are typically priced in the overall middle of our competitors. Our painters are experienced, friendly, reliable, respectful and care about doing a good job. They like working for my company because they are fairly compensated and are treated with respect. We don’t hire inexperienced painters and we always stand behind our workmanship. We don’t ask for more money if we make an estimating mistake. If concerns or problems arise, I address them as quickly, professionally and honestly as I can. I’ve owned my company since 2008 and I take it seriously and want my customers to be happy with our services.
We would love an opportunity to provide a free estimate for your house so you know the answer to your question: How much will it cost to paint my house?
