How much does it cost to paint the exterior of a house?
This is the million-dollar question we ultimately must answer for all our potential customers. Some folks don’t have a clue, while others do their best to research the pricing of exterior paint jobs by going online.
The one thing everyone tries to avoid is having an actual real person come out and actually “look” at the house. It’s probably because they don’t want to deal with pushy salespeople or feel the obligation of going through with the paint project.
Since most shopping has gone online, why not also house painting? Perhaps that’s why lately there seems to be more websites attempting to address this “burning” question every homeowner wants answered as specifically as possible.
Sites like Homeadvisor, Angies, Homewyse, Forbes, This Old House, and Nerdwallet are all eager to crank out a wide range of figures, but the truth is that these are just insights based on regurgitated information. Basically, they get info from one source and put their spin on it and try to make it work for the entire country.
One thing you have to keep in mind is that these types of websites tend to come up at the top of online searches because they invest a “ton” of money. Why? They are selling your information to painting businesses as leads.
Over time painting companies come and go. Which ones stay? The painting contractors who survive in this business are the ones that understand they must charge enough to operate, pay good wages to keep good workers around, and most importantly, service customers who are in most cases, making one of their largest home improvement investments. They understand that they are not just painting a house, they are building a long term relationship, and so they must price their work accordingly.
WHY DON'T PAINTING COMPANIES PUBLISH THEIR PRICING?
As a consumer there is nothing more frustrating than doing an online search and not finding the price on a product or service. With all the advances in online search technology, finding the price for painting the outside of a house shouldn’t be difficult. The sad truth is that the information isn’t available because painting companies don’t want it known to consumers or competitors. They feel this pricing information will be used against them and they will lose business.
HOW MUCH WILL IT COST TO PAINT THE EXTERIOR OF MY HOUSE?
It all depends on what you want painted; the specific grade of paint you want to use; and what kind of support after the fact you want out of your contractor.
The most common methodologies used in the industry are:
1. Square footage pricing: This method involves calculating the total square footage of the exterior surface to be painted and multiplying it by a per-square-foot-cost.
2. Hourly pricing: This method involves charging a set hourly rate for the labor required to complete the project.
3. Time and materials pricing: This method involves charging for both the labor and materials used on the project, with costs for materials being based on actual costs incurred.
4. Fixed bid pricing: This method involves providing a fixed, lump-sum price for the entire project based on a detailed estimate of the work to be done and the materials required.
5. Cost plus pricing: This method involves adding a markup to the actual cost of materials and labor to arrive at the final price.
Home Pros Painting utilizes the square footage pricing mixed with lump sum pricing and lineal footage.
Our methodology involves calculating the square foot of every surface going to be painted. This means literally putting a tape measure (in our case laser measure) on the entire house exterior.
A lot of people think they can use the interior livable square footage but that would not provide the level of accuracy we require to provide a “no-surprise price” quote to our clients. There are surfaces or items that are not calculated by the square foot. For examples entry doors, shutters, gutters, window trim, and foundations to name some of the common ones.
LET’S CAULCULATE OUR EXAMPLE HOME BELOW
Let’s use the pictured house as an example to calculate the price range for exterior painting. Keep in mind that the range is dictated by the paint grade of paint being used. The better the paint the higher the price. The advantage of paying slightly more now is that your paint will last longer.
How to measure the body of s house for exterior painting
We refer to the body of the house as the majority of the house. It could be clapboard, stucco, brick, LP SmartSide siding, Hardi Board Siding, beveled cedar, etc. It’s what’s going to go through the biggest transformation after being painted and the biggest cost factor on a full exterior paint job.
When we go out to measure a house, we keep things simple. We measure the entire length of the home and the height. We do this all the way around. We do adjust for stone or brick that may not be getting painted. The goal is to get as close as possible to figuring out the square footage of the areas to be painted. We do this for all 4 sides of the house to come up with an aggregate square footage measurement.
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