What Goes Into an Exterior Painting Estimate?
The main expense when a
professional painting company
is going to paint the exterior of your house is labor. Thus, the more a homeowner can do before starting to gather exterior painting estimates to prepare their home to be painted, the better.
The other expenses are mostly paint and supplies, which you’d have to buy or rent yourself if you were going to do all the labor. Some paint is more expensive than other paint but lasts longer or requires fewer coats. Some siding materials require more coats no matter the paint.
Labor
How can a homeowner prepare the exterior of his house to be painted in a way that will lower the exterior painting estimate? There are at least two big things to do.
First, give your house’s exterior a good powerwash. It’s the first thing the painters were planning to do and can shave a good few hours off the time they take.
Second–and you can do this during the powerwash–is to look out for any problems with your siding. Loose or broken siding pieces will need to be repaired before painting begins. Some painting companies can repair your siding before they start painting.
Paint
The other major expense that gets factored into an exterior painting estimate is the paint. Sometimes cheap paint is alright; often, it’s not.
Some types of siding require higher-end paints and special care, especially wood and stucco. Stucco is particularly sensitive to climate conditions, so the best paint for stucco in one region may not work in another.
Most types of siding require two coats; a better paint will help keep this number down, so what you spend on quality you may save on quantity.
Talk to the painting companies you gather estimates from about what paints are best for your house and compare their answers along with their prices. And don’t be afraid to ask them questions. If they’re not willing to answer, are they really the best choice?
What’s in an Exterior Painting Estimate?
The two main items that get factored into an exterior painting estimate are labor and paint. To reduce the amount of labor that’s needed, a customer can powerwash their house beforehand, which should shave some of the necessary time off the budget. Otherwise, ask the companies you talk to what is included in their labor–see what they’re charging for.
When it comes to paint, it’s not always better to simply opt for whatever’s cheapest. Lower-grade paint may require more coats, touchups, or whole repaints. Consult the companies you talk to about what the best range of paint quality may be for your house. For a free estimate from Fitzpatrick Painting, click here .
