Average Cost To Paint An Interior Of A Room

[Amy L.]

I just bought my first house, and would like some of my interior rooms painted. I received my first quote and I am not sure how fair the price is.

Notes: There is no furniture in the house, its empty and will be when the work is performed. Also, the paint will be provided so the contractor does not have to purchase paint, but will be responsible for his own brushes, drop cloths, and masking tape.

For example: (1) Paint ceiling 1301 sqft, two coats $1100. (2) Prime rooms that need it, paint interior , two coats $1500 (3) Paint all door trim, window jams and trim, base, two coats - $1050

Room sizes are

1 - 23x12 2 - 13x9 (Needs Primer) 3 - 13x11 (Needs primer) 4 - 18x11 (Needs Primer) 5 - 19x13 6 - 9x5

Does that seem like fair prices? I am not trying to be cheap, but I have learned the hard way (i.e. paying almost $300 to replace the thermostat in my car).

Thanks Amy!

[Dr. Hardcrab]

Not sure, but I bet the exterior of a room will cost you an arm and a leg!

;-]

[Oceans 2K]

I'm sure there is a good reason for you contracting this work out but between my wife and I it took us all of 3 full days to paint my entire house (interior walls and ceiling) just before move-in. I did not paint any window/door trim. My ranch-style house is 1700 sq ft.

It cost me less than $400 total (paint, primer, brushes, tape, plastic drops clothes, rollers, roller pans...etc, and a 6ft ladder). I bought paint all at once at my local ACE Hardware. I have read many places that Sherwin-Williams makes ACE's paint.

Regardless of cost, covering every sq inch of my new home opened my eyes to minor details and flaws. It was also a good time to replace all receptacles/switches/wall-plates throughout the 35 yr old house. For young newlyweds....the project was actually a lot of fun.

[m Ransley]

The ceiling price may be high , but you are providing the paint , They will figure 2 coats if it isnt the best paint. But we cant see it , it may need 2 . Not knowing your house and location you really need more bids. This is a busy time for painters. Wall prices sound Ok. Trim is impossible to answer without a photo. Is oil on trim now , what is the quality of finish. Is oil to be used, what about trim prep, washing and sanding. Post a photo . Contractors can get up to 70% off on paint , get bids both ways. What brand . Why do you want to supply it. You are responsible for many issues, not a great idea, coverage , color, missmade color, extra charges for problems such as not covering even peeling.

[Curt Martin]

We just got 2 bids for a house. 1600 SF, painting all rooms, ceilings (living room is vaulted), removing wallpaper on 3 walls before prime and paint, and no trim paint. Both bids were just over $2000.00. This was for a house in Alaska if it makes any difference.

[Colbyt]

Amy,

Without knowing the part of the country and the size of the town you are in are in, no one can give an accurate opinion. The other variables are how busy the painters are at the moment and how badly they want to work. A few more local estimates are your best option.

Factors that increase or decrease the cost are: ceilings and walls same color? trim and walls same paint and color? number of windows and number of panes/sashes? number of color changes from room to room?

In the above all one color one paint = the lowest price.

Colbyt

[SteveB]

Paint it yourself, and you could probably take a decent cruise with the difference. Those prices seem a little high to me. But then, you have two kinds of painters...................... professionals and alcoholics. Professionals usually are high, but come to think of it, alcoholic painters are, too . ;-) I mean that you can get a professional job from a contractor, and have recourse, but with unlicensed painters, you might not have as much leverage. WHATEVER YOU DO, if you hire a non-contractor, don't pay in advance.

Steve

Steve

[Edwin Pawlowski]

I don't think it is outrageous, but this is not good circumstances.

Right now, painters are busy with outdoor work. No reason he should cut you a deal because there is plenty of good paying work available. Chances are, you want to move in and have it done in a short time.

If you live in the north, in January, with snow every couple of days, he may be happy to do the job at a better price.

Any reason you don't want to tackle it? Pro painters do a very good job, but for the DIY person, this is about as simple a project as you can imagine. You can buy the equipment for less than $200 to get started. A few brushes, rollers and pans, ladder, drop cloths. You can do the job in about a week. Unless you are making more than $3600 a week, you can take off from work and come out ahead. Consider recruiting a couple of relatives or reliable kids looking for summer work.

BTW, the painter will get a better discount that you will, unless you have some contacts. Also, consider renting a sprayer to do the ceilings. Save a lot of time. Ed [e-mail]

[xrongor]

there is a fairly simple way to find out if this is too much. get more bids.

but as others have said, for an empty house you should do it yourself and save enough for a hot tub. if you must, pay someone to do the trim after you paint everything else. the rest can be done in a couple of long days.

randy

[jeffc]

What makes you think some rooms "need primer"? $.50 per square might give you a rough ballpark figure for painting costs, including the paint. Unless you have good reason for supplying the paint, I wouldn't.

[SteveB]

By "$.50 per square", do you mean square foot, or roofing square, which is more than a square foot. Much more.

I do agree with you that unless the wood or drywall is new and bare that it shouldn't need priming. If there is a drastic color change, it may need two coats, but one may be sufficient if there is not a big color change. Say black to white, or some dark or bright color to a light shade.

On painting the ceiling, what kind of a ceiling is it? I sprayed a popcorn ceiling with an airless, and it was the easiest thing I ever did. Putting two coats on popcorn with heavy rollers would be a PITA that required a lot of paint. Spraying the walls, and then backrolling would allow for one heavy coat instead of two lighter rolled coats.

The project has too many ifs and unknowns in it for us to accurately suggest the exact solution. I do believe that a lot of money could be saved by the homeowner doing it, but if they can't or won't, then just take bids, take the one you like, and pray everything goes okay.

Steve

[xrongor]

guck gets on the walls. guck gets on the ceilings. paint may not stick to it very well. in fact i think you could make a better case that you dont need primer on new drywall or wood for interior use than you do on a repaint job other than the copious amounts of paint it may suck up.

you can not use primer and you may get a good paint job. or you can use it and you will get one. the time/cost of priming in addition to painting is nothing in the greater scope of having a good lasting paint job. ive seen it time and time again. you skimp on the primer and put one thin coat of paint on, two years from now you're fixing it or looking at ugly walls. tint the primer to get it close, put a layer of paint over that and you're good for 5-6 years. two coats and you'll start to approach what it says on the can because you can actually clean it without removing it.

the only case to be made for not using primer is someone who changes the color/paint regularly.

randy

[m Ransley]

Gloss paint , crayon-pen marks, can need primer , but 2 coats may only be necessary on dark colors or yellow, photos are needed

[m Ransley]

I meant 2 coats may be needed painting with dark colors or yellow

[Phisherman]

[Bonehenge]

Labor prices vary worldwide. Location is the most important detail.

Barry

[xrongor]

well normally, considering the time/effort spent getting ready to paint is so much more than time spent actually painting (surface prep, masking the room, moving stuff, etc...) , that i think its just plain foolish not to always use two coats. you've already got the paint out, and a second coat goes on so much faster/better than the first coat..and it looks 10 times better. and it lasts way longer.

i dunno. i had a friend once with an old car (say 200k miles or more) that went to the trouble of dismantling his engine to replace ONE piston. took him two days to do it and his reply was that he saved about 15 bucks per piston. so he spent two days and saved 45 bucks, and has one new piston. thats just not the way i do things... and guess what. he had to do it anyway about 4 months later.

randy

[Chet Hayes]

If the ceiling is in good shape and doesn't need much prep, the price is very high. That job can be done with a roller very quickly. The rest is hard to tell without seeing what needs to be done, but it doesn't sound out of line. You need to get more quotes.

[Amy L.]

Thank you to everyone who has posted thier thoughts. For all the questions that were asked here are some rough answers

[1] Primer is needed because some of the walls have some really deep red colors and the new paint that will cover them will be light colors. The contractor said in order to cover the other paint it will need to be primed. [2] I am unable to do the work myself, because of the short time frame and for what its worth I am not a very good painter. So I was hoping that the job would be professionaly done.

Again thank you very much for your time and input it is appreciated. Amy.

[m Ransley]

Why are you supplying the paint