There are many factors that go into estimating the price to paint a home. The homeowner’s costs can vary greatly, and even houses with the same or similar square footage can vary in price by thousands of dollars. There are specific, concrete reasons for these price variations. Let’s take a look at each factor to see what it takes to have your home painted.

Hopefully by the end of this article, the mystery of what the painting estimator takes into account when pricing your home will be a little clearer. Once you understand what an experienced paint estimator is looking for when doing your estimate, you’ll be more confident moving forward to get a painting bid for your home.

If you are curious to see some of the variations in job pricing, check out our Pricing Page where we give examples of houses we’ve done in the past, their cost, and what we did on them.

Your Painting Estimate

First, our estimators will measure your home and use that to determine a base cost for your paint job. They will then look at other factors that may add or detract cost from your estimate.

Unique Features

Every house is a little bit different and there are factors we can’t predict until we see your house. Some of the features that cause price variations include decks, doors, fences, and rails.

Unknowns are a constant struggle for contractors.  We can bid what we know but we are experienced enough to also know what we don’t know.  This is why we spend so much time trying to clarify what we call the ‘scope’ of the job.  For us, every home and every customer is unique.  Though we see hundreds of homes every year, we try to see each customer and their home through fresh eyes.

Color

We use high quality paint and estimate the number of coats needed based on your color choice. It makes a difference whether you are putting several different colors on your home, or just one. If you are repainting your house the same color(s) as the existing color(s), we may only need to do one coat, but if we’re painting your home a different color – especially if the new color is lighter than the previous one – it will require more coats.

Preparation

Preparation is the foundation of a quality paint job.  That is why we take extra care when we scrape loose paint, prime bare wood, and remove and re-caulk broken caulking.  Preparation varies from house to house.

Houses with south and/or west exposure will probably need extra preparation and possibly even additional coats of paint because they are more exposed to the elements. Pro Tip: Have us match your trim color for guaranteed coverage.

Access

Accessibility to get to every part of the house is a big deal when painting. We may need to factor in the extra time it will take to get onto the roof or work around bushes or fences that are right up against the house.

Repairs

Rot and damage on trim or siding must be repaired before we paint.  We always look for this at the time of the estimate, but sometimes do not find it until we are scraping or painting.

Siding

The type of siding you have is also considered when we are doing your home assessment and painting estimate. Different kinds of siding require different treatments during the painting process and may require more or less coats of paint.

Protection

If there are bushes, trees, or flower beds right up next to your home, we will need to take the time and equipment to properly and carefully cover them so they don’t end up the same color as your house. HINT – have us paint in early spring before landscaping is in full bloom and before you have your windows washed.

We hope this gives you a better understanding of the factors we consider when pricing your paint job. Please call or send us an email if you have any further questions about this process or would like to schedule a Flying Colors Painting Home Assessment and Estimate.