Paint Question

I live on the East Coast of the U.S. -- New Jersey.

The estimates that I got were for a 2 1/2 story detached single family home with old-style aluminum siding and an open wood "overhang"(?) of about 20 inches on all 4 sides; and a detached 1-car garage with wood siding. I had everything painted white -- walls, trim, etc. -- so no complicated cutting or multiple colors etc. Plus, no shrubs, plantings, etc. around the house to worry about. They spray painted most of it. And, I picked the $3,500 estimate and they did it in 2 or 3 days at the most.

Shortly before that paint job, I had another 2 story, 4 BR, 2 bath, colonial style home with attached 2-car garage painted. That one had asbestos siding and was painted one main color and separate colors for trim (white) and doors (green). The company that painted that one did it for $3,000 (including the paint). They mostly spray painted it and did it in 2 days. That house was bigger and more complex than the job on the other house above that I described. But, the company that did the colonial for $3,000 gave me an estimate of something like $4,800 for the smaller 1-color house, so I didn't use them.

Reply to
TomR
Loading thread data ...

I agree. The book that I read that I mentioned earlier spent a lot of time explaining how the "guarantee" worked. He was on the guarantee crew that had to go out a fix bad paint jobs. He said most were not fixable because they had to do with poor prep before painting. So, all they did was scrap some and slap some more paint on to try to placate the customer, but never fixed the problem.

Reply to
TomR

Sounds like a good plan.

Any chance that you could post what range of estimates you are getting, what style house it is (to give an idea of the size and scope of the job), and where in general the house is located?

Reply to
TomR

is stucco. One estimate was from a man who uses Sherwin Williams but the other two were from men who uses Behr. One offers pressure washing with mo ld/mildew remover, a sealer and two coats of Behr Premium Plus. The other pressure washing with mold/mildew remover, one coat of Behr Marquee. (The Marquee is said to include a sealer). It was not on the market when Consum er Reports tested paints last year -- and named Premium Plus the best paint . I am a little reluctant to rely on Marquee -- it costs more and hasn't b een around long enough to know how well it will hold up. The painter using it thinks I'm being silly. He and the other painter (Prem.Plus fan) have both been in business about 25 years.

to screw up. Thanks.

The house (according to property appraiser) is 1664 sq.ft. Estimates rang e from $2,500 to $2,085. The lower estimate includes a discount for using Angie's List. There was another one for $2400 which includes a $200 discou nt for Angie's List and one from a man who uses PPG Paints. He painted the house behind me and it looks good. He is not licensed or insured in my co unty though ... and his price was $2,200.

Reply to
Dottie

Surely you will drop that one first!

Reply to
Bill

Sounds like you have the process of getting prices etc. under control, and the prices are all falling within a reasonable range of each other.

For a relatively small job like this that shouldn't take long to do -- maybe

2 days (+/-) -- the only other suggestion that I would have is to not pay any money up front. No deposit, no money for materials, etc. Just tell the contractor that you will pay him/her in full as soon as the job is completely done.

Once you pay a contractor any money or deposit up front, he/she already has most or all of his "profit" in his pocket before doing any work. So, there is little incentive to show up and get your job completed. If you pay in full when the job is done, with no money down, the incentive is to show up to your job, complete the job, and get paid.

Reply to
TomR

In the south, construction is often stucco over concrete block and it seems to get painted.

In the north, construction is stucco over wood frame and all the recommendations I have heard are to "redash" the stucco - basically a thin coat of stucco (done by a stucco contractor). (Fog must be similar.) Stucco is a pretty maintenance free product and paint turns it into a much higher maintenance surface. If you have a house that does not have a good vapor barrier (older houses) the paint has to 'breathe', or water vapor that is migrating to the outside will be stopped at the stucco. That can rust out the metal lath.

As clare wrote, you don't redash over paint. (Sand-blast the paint off first.)

You could try asking a stucco contractor for recommendations.

I would ask manufacturers for paint recommendations for stucco. Not obvious to me that a good paint for wood would be good for stucco.

Reply to
bud--

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.