What is included in a painting quote?
A real painting quote names the surfaces, the preparation, the primer, the number of coats, the product and the sheen. A quote that gives you a price per room and nothing else is not cheaper than the others. It has just left out the parts that decide whether the job lasts.
Preparation is most of the labour
Filling nail holes, patching, caulking gaps at trim, sanding between coats, scraping failed paint back to a sound edge, cleaning surfaces that have grease or dust on them. On an exterior it is pressure washing and scraping.
Prep is where the hours are and it is the first thing a low quote quietly removes. Paint over a surface that was not prepped and the failure shows up in a season, not in ten years.
Primer is not the same as a first coat
Primer does a job topcoat cannot. It seals new drywall so it stops drinking paint unevenly. It blocks water stains and tannins from bleeding through. It gives paint something to grip on a glossy surface.
Two coats of finish paint over an unprimed patch is not two coats. It is a patch that will show. A quote should say where primer is going and what type.
Coats, product and sheen
Two coats is standard. One coat over a similar colour is sometimes honest and should be stated as one coat rather than left ambiguous. A dark colour over a light one, or a light one over a dark one, needs more.
The quote should name the actual product and the sheen per surface. Flat or matte on ceilings, something scrubbable on walls in a hallway or a kid bedroom, and a harder sheen on trim and doors. Sheen is not a decoration choice on trim, it is what makes it cleanable.
What is not included, in writing
Who moves the furniture. Whether the closets are painted. Whether ceilings are in or out. Whether the inside of the window sash is included. What happens with wallpaper if any is found. Whether the exterior price covers the trim and the soffits or only the body.
Every argument at the end of a paint job comes from one of those not being written down at the start.
Paint shows what the wall is doing
Paint does not fix a wall. It shows what is wrong with it, especially in any sheen above flat. Walls with cracked seams, nail pops or old patches need the drywall dealt with before the painter arrives, or the fresh paint highlights all of it.
We do both, so the repair and the paint are one scope and nobody has to be scheduled around anyone else.
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