5 Tips to Save on House Painting

The cost to paint your home can be burdensome both mentally and financially. An average paint job for a two-story, 2,500 square feet is in the neighborhood of $4,000. If you’re looking at interior, that’s roughly $5,500. For those homeowners on a budget, here are 5 tips to save on house painting.

Large financially decisions can cost you your sanity. Fresh paint looks great and creates a protective barrier between your family and the outside. If you put off a new paint job for too long, you could be looking at higher costs due to deterioration of your house. These repairs can be cumbersome and costly.

By planning for a project like this and pitching in some elbow grease yourself, the costs can be much more manageable. Going into an estimate appointment, knowledge will help you.

Costs

The costs included on a painting estimate will fall into one of two categories. Your estimator will be able to provide details on each of them.

Labor

Hiring a crew to handle the preparations before your project will be a hefty chunk of costs. Most professional painters will tell you that ⅔ of the job is done before a gallon of paint is ever cracked open. Repairs and preparation must be done to ensure a good finished product. Sealing, sanding, caulking and taping takes a lot of manpower.

Materials

Professional painters will tell you paint can come in varying costs. They will recommend a mid-price option typically. These are manufacturers that the painters have used and trust. Their products produce good results that the painting company will guarantee. Expect to pay $20-$70 per gallon depending on brands and finishes. Speciality paints for mold resistance or washable options can cost toward the higher side.

Estimates will also include all of the materials for the job. This includes peripheries like drop cloths, tape, rollers, cleansers and brushes.

How to save

Estimates

You should always get more than one estimate for a project. Referrals can help narrow the options down, follow up with full estimate appointments. Use caution with any overly high or low estimates. Make sure you get the full estimate, in writing with breakdown into supplies and labor.

Pitch in

The preparation area of work can add up really quickly. If you’re comfortable cleaning or sanding, why not jump in. Caulking, spackling and sanding are relatively inexpensive repairs to take on yourself and could save you in manpower for your job. Do it yourselfers will find it’s fairly simple to spackle a ding or repair a window frame. Keep in mind some painters will not want to warranty work they didn’t complete from top to bottom.

At your estimate, check with the pro about doing preparation work yourself. This includes:

Trimming shrubs
Moving furniture
Removing and reinstalling the outlet covers, switch plates and doorknobs
Prep work like patching, sanding and scraping, if you have the skills

Don’t procrastinate

If you wait too long between paint jobs, the price can increase significantly. It’s easy to let an exterior job go an extra couple of years but damage can be mounting driving repair costs up. Reducing damage will reduce work time and in turn bring the price down.

Trim the scope

Once you pick a painter, you may need to consider removing some items from your list. Are there ceilings that aren’t necessary to the outcome? Can you break the project up into separate rooms? This will offer options in the costs of the work.

Think color

When changing colors from vibrant to pastel or otherwise, the work is very time consuming. Achieving good results with drastic color changes normally requires extra coats and priming. This translates to more man hours on the job. Deep, vivid colors outside tend to fade more quickly. This means more often updates. If you are on a budget, consider a similar color to what’s on the walls now. Your wallet will thank you.

If you’re ready for a new paint job at your home, call our estimators for a free, in-home estimate at no obligation to you.