Labor costs The biggest cost is labor. The painter spends most of his time preparing the surface so that the paint adheres well and the work lasts. Their biggest potential savings come from controlling or reducing the time a professional painter has to spend cleaning, patching, sanding, caulking and painting. Different quality expectations lead to different prices.
Explain to your estimator what your expectations are. Otherwise, you're likely to receive the default “minimum quality” estimate, especially if the painter's estimate is significantly lower than that of other paint companies. This is not always the case, but most of the time, the most important factor why it is so expensive to paint a house is the level of quality that the painter can offer. For half the price, I'll be left with a little less customer service, thank you. That's fine, until you have a problem.
If it's a contractor who's just a man and his friend in a truck, they “are your customer service department.” There is no higher power to appeal to in the event of a disagreement. They may not answer your phone call when they are an hour late and you have to go to work now. And if it's a contractor with a low bid, I assure you they'll hesitate to issue refunds or negotiate free repairs. As they have reduced prices, their margins are already very small, so they can't hire anyone to answer the phone every time you call.
The best companies have people whose only job is to maintain constant communication, provide direct answers and provide clarity, so you don't have to wonder why a painter who goes unnoticed is hiding from you or if you need to take time off work to deal with the last headache. Look, sometimes bad things happen to good projects. When they do, you must ensure that whoever is involved is fully and completely insured, otherwise you'll have big problems. If someone falls off a ladder in or around your house and is seriously injured, that contractor better pay workers' compensation, or you might get a call from one of those TV lawyers to pay for the worker's injuries (and probably “pain and suffering”).
And this is an important reason why you could receive a half-price offer. Insurance is very expensive, as we all know from our personal lives. Accredited companies have several types of insurance to protect you (and themselves) on all fronts. They'll have general liability insurance, workers' compensation, and commercial auto insurance for their trucks. But not having this type of insurance simply isn't an option.
Cheap painters are notorious for using subcontractors, rather than full-time employees. Why? Because it reduces their overhead expenses when they don't have to pay things like social security or payroll tax, as they would with employees. But this is a very unsafe system for painters. Good painters who know their worth are found in companies that commit to them and hire them as employees, instead of occasionally using them as alternates “as needed” (which is the very definition of a subcontractor).
Why should this matter to you? We explain it in depth here, but in a nutshell, subcontractors will go where they're best paid, often leaving you in the middle of the line staked. This is one of the main reasons why your contractor suddenly disappears halfway through the project, claiming that his truck is broken down, that another family member is dead or that he has become suspiciously ill (he looked great yesterday). Chances are, you've realized that you can't make enough money with your project at the low price you quoted, or that you were offered a much more lucrative project elsewhere, and now you'll be just a side project that happens sporadically on evenings and weekends. Subcontractors are also encouraged to finish a project as soon as possible, so that they can move on to the next job they pay for.
Working too fast and taking shortcuts doesn't bode well for your project. If you decide to hire professionals, remember that not everyone willing to do the job is an experienced painter, so be sure to ask around and get some painting quotes before choosing a contractor. As soon as you start buying home paint, you'll notice a wide range of prices, even within the same brand. However, if you're a longtime homeowner and you want to paint your house once and have it last the rest of the time in your house, you'll have to pay more for your project.
We've all seen memes on the Internet of a painter standing on piles of paint cans to reach a high ceiling, or nailing wooden boards to set up a makeshift scaffold that looks like it would collapse if you sneezed near it. If you are looking to paint your house once and paint it well, then choosing high-quality paint will be the best option for you. As with any home improvement project, painting the inside of a house has its advantages and disadvantages.
