Many people want to know how much a painter will charge. They feel like , not telling them a price for something we haven’t seen is probably related to scammy behavior. As an outsider, I can see that. Contractor’s are in a unique position, and unfortunately, if you combine that with the fact that almost everyone has had, or knows somebody that has had, a bad experience with a contractor.
But the reality of the situation, and the real reason why it is so hard to give , even a ballpark figure, is that painting might have more variables than any other profession on the planet. Square footage aside, each room has its own set of features, blemishes, past owners, and many more. If I did bids over the phone, or just by looking at picture’s, I would have to ask for more money EVERYTIME. And that is something that customer’s detest. I cant see the 7 hairline cracks in your ceiling from a picture. (I can barely see them when I am standing right under them).
Is there a stain on the ceiling? Is the ceiling gonna be painted? Trim? Doors? windows? crown moulding? Are we talking about a living room with 20 foot vaulted ceilings? Is there wall paint on the side’s of door jamb’s from the previous painters? Are there wide gap’s between your vanity and the wall? What kind of primer am I gonna need? The expensive stuff that bond’s to anything? I mean, the cost of painting a room , although it usually can fit into a $200-$300 margin, has at least 15-20 different variables that directly effect the price.
The best thing to do is, ask the contractor questions like, ‘How much do you charge per square foot, to start?’ or ‘On average, what is your cost for materials, if the room requires the amount of paint as dictated by square footage?’ ‘How much do extra repairs cost?’ If you have higher ceilings, than not only is your square footage higher than normal, but the painter might charge extra for the time it takes to climb up and down a bigger ladder all day.
Below, I will give some basic prices, for some of the common situations involved in painting a room. Hopefully you will get an idea of what pricing looks like in general:
