What a painting estimate should tell you, and usually doesn’t

Painting is the trade where quotes diverge most and explain themselves least. Three painters look at the same four rooms and come back with three numbers and no detail, and the only thing you can compare is the total.

The total is the least useful part. Almost all of the difference is in two things neither quote mentions.

Prep is the job

Rolling paint on a wall is the fast part. What takes the time is everything before it: filling, sanding, caulking gaps, spot-priming bare patches and repairs, washing anything greasy, masking and covering.

A cheaper quote is usually a quote with less of that in it, and the result looks fine for about a fortnight. Filler that wasn’t sanded shows up under a low winter sun. Caulk that was skipped opens as a hairline crack the first time the house dries out.

Ask what prep is included, in words. A quote that says "prep as required" has promised nothing.

Two coats isn’t the default

One coat over a similar colour can be perfectly correct. One coat over a strong colour, or on new filler, isn’t, and it will haunt the room in certain light.

Get the number of coats written down. If a painter is quoting one coat because the walls will take one coat, they’ll say so and explain why.

What "the walls" actually means

The word does a lot of hidden work in a quote. Any of these can be in or out:

• ceilings
• trim, baseboards and door casings
• the doors themselves, and both sides of them
• inside closets
• window frames

Two quotes can be a thousand dollars apart because one of them is painting the trim and the other isn’t. Nothing on either page says so.

The paint itself

"Premium paint" means nothing. Brand and product line mean something, because the same brand sells a builder-grade line and a much better one, and the difference in coverage and durability is real.

Ask which product, and who’s buying it. If you’re supplying it, the quantity is your risk. The same question decides the price of a built-in, where spraying and brushing are different jobs.

If one quote is much cheaper, the honest question isn’t "why are they cheap" but "what are they not doing".

Six lines a good estimate has

• the prep, described rather than implied
• number of coats
• exactly which surfaces, including ceilings and trim
• the paint brand and product line
• who supplies the paint
• a walk-through at the end to mark anything needing touching up

Before you call anyone

Ask all three for the same six lines and the cheap quote will usually explain itself. Then check which painters near you have a track record rather than a brochure.