The Home Ownership Thread

[lefty]

Does anyone know web-based home improvement estimators, where I can plug sq footage and get a paint job estimate?

Figure on $700-800/rm for prep, tinted primer and two coats of a decent paint on the ceiling, walls, trim and doors.

I just had my place painted and that seemed a good average.

lefty

 

[Medwed]



Figure on $700-800/rm for prep, tinted primer and two coats of a decent paint on the ceiling, walls, trim and doors.

I just had my place painted and that seemed a good average.

lefty

When you say 800/room what size room are you talking about?

 

[lefty]

Good-sized bedroom. You can do it for less, but I like my guy who spends a lot of time doing prep.

Walls are spackled, sanded, spackled, sanded.
Caulking is scraped out if it's needed and replaced.
Primer is tinted to final colour if darker than odd white -- I always paint heavy colours.
Two coats on ceiling - primer and final.
One coat primer on walls.
Sand with large circular sanders.
First coat finish on walls. I used Aura paint at $60/gl.
Sand.
Final coat on walls.
Paint trim and doors.

2-3 guys @ 9 days for a 2 bdm with stairwell apt.

lefty

 

[idfnl]



When you say 800/room what size room are you talking about?

Whoa. 800$ a ROOM? No way. I have a guy that does great work for $200 a day. He can easily paint an average sized rooms in a day.

 

[SkinnyGoomba]

$200 seems really low. I did the prep and painted my stairwell and if i were doing it for a living I would have charged a lot more than $200 to paint it.

 

[lefty]

^^You get what you pay for.

lefty

 

[Piobaire]

Well, just think about the cost of putting a coat of paint on a room. Say your room is 14 x 20 x 8 ft. ceiling. That's about 824 sq feet and then subtract some off for windows and doors, let's say take off 60 sq feet for that, so 764 sq feet in that room. You get about 300-400 sq feet from a gallon so let's say 350. You need over two gallons for that one room. That doesn't count a primer or a second coat. What's good paint cost for a five gallon bucket these days? Figure in some disposable materials...

 

[Medwed]

Guys, guys, am I missing something in our conversation? How can we keep using this "$/room" unit of labor if every room is different size??? I want to make it simple what should 1200sq feet apartment cost to prep and paint inside?

 

[Piobaire]



Guys, guys, am I missing something in our conversation? How can we keep using this "$/room" unit of labor if every room is different size??? I want to make it simple what should 1200sq feet apartment cost to prep and paint inside?

Well, as I said, a gallon of paint will cover about 350 sq feet. Figure how many coats you'll need and work out a rough price cost for paint. Add in some materials if there's wood work. Take a guess at what local labour rates are. You should be close enough to get an idea.

 

[Rambo]



^^You get what you pay for.

lefty

Afuckingmen. But, with a caveat. If you're looking for a professionally done place, something that will really hold up, then invest. Heavily. Otherwise, if you're just looking to throw over a few coats, you can get someone for MUCH less.

This being SF and all, I'm sure people are going to rush out and spend $1000 a room now.

 

[lefty]

Guys, guys, am I missing something in our conversation? How can we keep using this "$/room" unit of labor if every room is different size??? I want to make it simple what should 1200sq feet apartment cost to prep and paint inside?

I gave you an average - size up or down as needed. But depending on prep needed, intricacy of the job, quality of paint, colour of the paint, and skill of the painter, figure on 2-3K.

lefty

 

[itsstillmatt]

Painters are the last guys there, they fix every little thing that went wrong. Good ones are expensive.

 

[StephenHero]

I think those stair treads on the last page turned out really nice.

 

[Ataturk]

Too many variables with paint. Are you changing the colors? Lighter than the original paint? Do your walls need a lot of repairs? Flat or eggshell? Etc. Usually if you're painting over flat paint you don't need to prime the walls, just repair and sand them a little. Always sand (or screen, really) to knock down all the irregularities from the last job. Prep is always the key, but you don't have to overdo it.

My suggestion would be to see the guys' work before you hire them or get a recommendation or something--no telling what you're going to get with painters otherwise. And don't skimp on the paint. There's a big difference between cheap paint and the good stuff, at least in my experience.

 

[SkinnyGoomba]

Thanks Stephen.