Costs of Painting

[American Patriot]

Wondering if anyone else has had to have the exterior of their house painted before by professionals?

What are the approximate costs to have this done?

How long does it generally take a contractor to do the job?

For general information my house is roughly 2300 to 2800 square feet (foot print) and is a single story ranch house with one end exposed (two stories really).

Any ideas? Clues?

(I've been doing some internet research myself and it is looking like about 2500 - 3200 for a house my size).

[American Patriot]

I don't deal in Euros unless I am in Ireland lol

That's a lot of money though. You had more done than just painting though it sounds like.

I need new gutters, some repair around a couple of windows and basic painting done.

I'm sure the gutters will add a lot to the base price of just painting and minor repairs.

[American Patriot]

Using online converters for the right now price, €2500 euros = $3286.66

So a bit less than the dollar as of this moment.

When I visited Ireland last time it was pretty close to euro=dollar but that was... oh 2004 I think now. I haven't been back to Europe since then, closest being the British Virgin Islands - but they typically use US dollars there, though they do convert to British Pounds on occasion.

Bahamas uses USD. Puerto Rico uses USD. Hmmm Canada uses Canadian Dollars... where else have I been lately?

[American Patriot]

I have to use converters. I don't know how much gas or ice cream I can buy with Euros.

I can't buy anything here in the US with a Euro, except dollars at an exchange or bank.

[American Patriot]

I have a feeling no one will be "certified climbers" lol - they have "insurance" in case they fall down.

My feeling about insurance is dislike. Forced to buy car insurance in case I'm in an accident.

There are those trying to force me to buy boat insurance too, when I get my bigger boat. But I won't.

My insurance money will be spent on anchors and ground tackle to keep me stuck to the ground in bad weather.

[American Patriot]

Well... here the contractors are required to have insurance to cover their workers and on-the-job injuries. That's not up to me as the home owner. However, I do have homeowners insurance and it will cover injuries on my property. I'll leave that up to the common sense of any contractors not to get hurt, and my insurance company lawyers.

[AGEUSAF]

I have no idea...I know the wife got the paint and I have to paint mine this summer.

Sucks I hate painting and I bought an old beater so it needs a lot of scraping and priming. I thought about seeing what it would take to contract it out but I am going to just be cheap and do the labor myself.

[Luke]

Gutters and "minor window repairs" may come at a higher than exspected price. I never had the money to pay someone to paint my houses. Preparation is 90% of the pain with painting, scrapping, and calking.

[Malsua]

Do it yourself, save the money.

I painted my house in 97 and again in 99. It's not hard, it's just time consuming.

Get an airless sprayer, some tape and some scrapers. It takes a weekend to scrape and tape, and a weekend to spray.

[MinutemanCO]

I think your estimate is pretty close, Rick. Houses in my neighborhood with roughly the same footprint were going for about $3,000.

Hey Malsua... did you have to spray primer first? Gotta paint my house this year.

[American Patriot]

OMG... I'm a do-it-yourselfer onalmost anything except exterior painting. Sorry, that ain't happening.

I am not climbing up a ladder to put paint on the house. I'll hire someone. lol

I've got enough to do with the deck I'm working on right now (3 days into and another three days of work flipping and replacing boards, then GOD knows how long to seal and paint it.)

I have a bathroom I'm working on too. Then carpet, then interior paint- not in that order and a basement floor to finish grouting... so I don't have time to paint the outside.

Thanks for the input though

[Malsua]

I think your estimate is pretty close, Rick. Houses in my neighborhood with roughly the same footprint were going for about $3,000.

Hey Malsua... did you have to spray primer first? Gotta paint my house this year.

Yes. Primer with Kilz. Don't fall for the "Oh, this brand(insert X) is the best primer". The best primer is Kilz. It covers 100%, every time. The first painting in 97, we didn't use Kilz. The paint started peeling in about 6 years. Benjamin Moore paint and primer. At the time we had painted our shed with the Kilz primer and the same house paint. The house peeled, the shed didn't.

Now there is Kilz 2. I understand it works as well.

[MinutemanCO]

Cool. Thanks.

[Ryan Ruck]

Meh, just throw some vinyl siding up and call it a day.

[Malsua]

Meh, just throw some vinyl siding up and call it a day.

And look like every other cookie cutter house around?

I dislike homes with no character. I can't imagine who can stand to live in tract homes.

[Luke]

Whatever you do, DO NOT ALLOW the Ms. to watch home improvement shows. Regardless of what is protrayed, you cannot redo your abode in 30 minutes!

Of course this may come with a slight disruption of your love life.

[Malsua]

Whatever you do, DO NOT ALLOW the Ms. to watch home improvement shows. Regardless of what is protrayed, you cannot redo your abode in 30 minutes!

Of course this may come with a slight disruption of your love life.

We're 9 months into an addition. 30 minutes will get you one decision on one small facet of the process.

[American Patriot]

Yes. Primer with Kilz. Don't fall for the "Oh, this brand(insert X) is the best primer". The best primer is Kilz. It covers 100%, every time. The first painting in 97, we didn't use Kilz. The paint started peeling in about 6 years. Benjamin Moore paint and primer. At the time we had painted our shed with the Kilz primer and the same house paint. The house peeled, the shed didn't.

Now there is Kilz 2. I understand it works as well.

me I dont care as long as I sell the house and am gone lol

[Malsua]

me I dont care as long as I sell the house and am gone lol

In your case, they should use the cheapest paint they can find that will stick until the ink on the sales agreement is dried.

[American Patriot]

hahaha maybe.

I don't like doing a half-assed job though.

Even on the deck, I started replacing boards that were borderline good/bad.

Some are useable (just flip them over) but I replaced them anyway.

I replaced roughly 1/3rd (perhaps a bit more) on the 20X20 portion of the deck. The upper deck was fine, I just flipped boards, put in new screws (galvanized and painted this time) and still need to re mount railings, sand the deck and seal it....

So a few more days of work to do.

Then I tackle that damned bathroom inthe basement that needs a remodel