My old neighbor is a really nice guy, and he used to be a painter of early days. How much should I pay him to paint my house, excluding all the costs of paint and equipment? My house is a contemporary, 3300 sq feet, wooden panelling in good condition. I've never had a house painted before and don't know what to offer, on a per-day basis or for the whole job.
If I ask him, he's going to undercharge me way too much. Normally I would not mind, but we are buddies, so I want a fair price. He was a painter decades ago.
You just tell him you won't let him do it if he doesn't give you an honest price. If you think it's too low, just add what you think is fair at the end of the deal, which he will no doubt refuse, and then go buy him something you know he can use. He can turn down money, but not something already bought. That's what friends are for.
I would think twice before getting your neighbor to paint your house. If something goes wrong either on his part or on yours it is bound to cause a problem between you two. What is more important, keeping good relations with him or taking a chance on destroying it because of a business arrangement?
Examples of things that are likely to go wrong are:
How long it takes to finish the job.
Hidden damage that he will have to repair.
Disagreement over the finished product.
Him falling off a ladder and getting hurt.
Types and shades of paint used.
etc.
With a stranger there are no emotional ties and there is a contract to abide by. With friends many things can go wrong where money is involved.
Another option is opt to do the work yourself and have him supervise you. If he has the experience of painting houses he can give you much information to make it easier and faster. He'll also feel useful and your friendship bond will become stronger.
Don't know -- is this a for hire arrangement or has he volunteered to just do it or has he asked if you would like for him to do it (as in fishing for some work)? Are you going to be working side by side w/ him or are you off at your day job and he's painting for you? If you are helping, are you help or hindrance? I'd want to know the circumstances far more thoroughly before positing a response, methinks.
If you're basically hiring him, I'd think he ought to get going rate in your area and then he can refuse it. If he's volunteered, you might cause more hard feelings by trying to tie payment to the work level of effort than just letting him do the work w/ you supplying material. In that case, of course, you treat him royally w/ a sizable gift of whatever seems appropriate for his interests, etc., probably helped along w/ a nice little check to go with it.
Anywhere in between starts w/ the going rate in your area and I've no way on knowing that (nor anyone else here since I don't believe it was mentioned).
"badgolferman" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@news.readfreenews.net:
etc. such as: 6a. He damages something by accident like ladder falls and breaks something. Spilled gal of paint trashes something. 6b. Ladder falls and someone's head gets remodeled.
Talk about a couple of "stick-in-the-mud" types... :)
The guy was a profesional painter, for Pete's sake---give him at least a little slack.
My only real concern other than that of the "how do you treat a neighbor/friend" question and what the actual relationship is between the two might be from the original question that the old fella' might be getting a little too long in years to be up to the task physically
-- don't know that, obviously, but is a consideration I think...
If he is retired, he probably no longer has insurance coverage, which could expose you to a lot of liability if you are paying him. Also, I've never seen a solo painter; they always seem to work in crews, so I'm thinking that, he no doubt being older, he would need at least one helper.
Around here, we all just work together, with experienced pe> My old neighbor is a really nice guy, and he used to be a painter of
As difficult as it is, you MUST come to a fixed price for the job and let him make all the decisions about how to do the job you have spelled out in your written contract.
That makes him an independent contractor and thus releaves you of virtually all liability issues.
Get him to bid the job and you either reject or accept his bid.
In other words, keep it an arms length transaction.
Never pay anyone an hourly or daily price for working on your 'stuff', ever!.
dpb wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@p47g2000hsd.googlegroups.com:
If he was a real pro then he's got more skills and tips than I've come across in decades. And I'm sure he'll tell ya shit happens to everybody, good shit & bad shit, and it's not necessairly anyone's fault.
Although maybe not commonplace, when it comes to money in some form or other, immediate family members have been at opposite tables in court.
I really hope it goes uneventful and the words of Al Bundy once again fall into the "asshole" category :-)
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