House paint/stain bid - price check? $13,400

[ua_guy]

I'm looking at getting our house re-stained. It has cedar siding and it's in need of being done. I know bids will vary by locale, but I'm trying to establish a baseline and keep costs low where I can, but still have a well-regarded contractor who's licensed and bonded to do the work. I believe the phrase here is "you get what you pay for." What's an appropriate-ish price?

Total building square footage is approx 4,000. The house is nowhere near that big. House is two stories. The additional sqft is a detached shop and a detached storage building that have matching siding. Surface prep includes application of mold/mildew remover, pressure washing, and remove/recaulk around all the windows and major seams. Mask as needed, and that includes repainting garage doors, gutters, downspouts, and trim.

The contractor is asking for $13,400 plus tax. This is in the Seattle, WA area. Is this reasonable? Insane?

My concern is with the other bids we got - right around $8,000 but one of the guys really had no staining experience (this seems common) and couldn't explain the process well, and the other had an expired license when I looked him up. The most expensive guy seems to know his stuff and has a lot of experience. Does his premium seem worth it?

[bigdaddybus]

I live in the Midwest in a 4800 sq ft brick and cedar sided home.

From my experience you are getting $1200 worth of material and $12,200 in labor. Should be a 90-100 hour job( lets call it 100) so you are paying $122 a hour for painters.

Around here a job like that would be around $30 an hour plus materials.

[LuckyRobin]

I'm in NW WA and I just had my 1600 square foot house and a small shed painted for $5000. Staining is more labor intensive than painting. Add that you are in the Seattle area so it would be a bit more and that is probably about right for staining work on 4000 square feet. I would not go with someone who has not done staining work before.

[cypher1]

My friend just got a quote for painting his whole house, 2 story, I think 3000sq ft. He was quoted 4000 for sanding, prime/paint, which I thought was very reasonable for the labor involved. That includes Sherwin Williams Resilience exterior paint. I realize staining is a different beast, but gives you an idea for range.

[ua_guy]

Seems like some good info posted here. Breaking it down, I believe the job was estimated at 150 hours, and the guy said that was a bit more than normal because there was more surface prep involved.

Materials are estimated at $2,000 even. That doesn't seem outrageous to me. The buildings are entirely cedar-sided, and they're extra tall, so i can see a bit more material cost going in.

That leaves $11,400 for labor, and the painter said it's him and another guy that will be doing the work, both of them on the job for approx 2 weeks. Between the two of them, that's $38/hr gross pay.

Unreasonable? It seems more reasonable than when I first saw the bid, but I'm still not sold. The upsell here is that it's a crew of 2 that have been in business with each other for 20 years. No day laborers or summer paint crews.

The question now becomes, do I defer to a typical crew that can slam it through for cheap and deal with typical contractor BS, where the paint company vaporizes at the end of the year and I have to help supervise the crews and call out bad work, or do I pay through the nose, but know it's done right by people that stand by their work? (This company comes highly recommended by some coworkers).

[snafu]

You are asking for more than just staining a 2 story, 4K sf building in high COLA Seattle. I'd call Lowe's, Sherwin William to estimate how much stain would be needed. Are you personally buying supplies or will the contractor purchase and deliver? I presume scaffolding would be required. What process? Will they spray or brush stain? What warranty is offered? I'd ask for a breakdown estimate of prep, remove & replace caulking of 'X' window, painting gutters & downspouts, mildew/mold retardant and staining.

Have you checked with Better Business Bureau for any unresolved complaints? Have you seen his work and talked to the three references he supplied? you are free to negotiate the price if you feel it is out of line with other bids. Tell the contractor the others are bidding $ 8,000. and ask for $ 12,400. if it feels more realistic to you.

[MonkeyMama]

I'd probably just get it done right.

I suppose one thing to consider is if you will stay in the home and to consider resale. I'd personally pay for the more expensive job for *myself*, but a lot of times people would choose the cheaper job unless they were planning to resell - then curb appeal would be more important. (I think kind of opposite - I'd like my home nice, but not sure I'd shell out the money if I were prepping the house for some future owner). I also wonder if the better job would last longer. For that, it could be worth paying more (& maybe why I'd care less if I would sell in the nearer future). Finally, do you have to do it all at once, or is this a job that can be done one half now and one half later? It might make the higher price more palatable, is all.

I think the labor costs sound beyond reasonable. But, we live in a higher cost region. There is no doubt that all that sanding and finishing is a lot of work compared to a basic paint job.

[MonkeyMama]

Have you checked with Better Business Bureau for any unresolved complaints? Have you seen his work and talked to the three references he supplied? you are free to negotiate the price if you feel it is out of line with other bids. Tell the contractor the others are bidding $ 8,000. and ask for $ 12,400. if it feels more realistic to you.

Good point snafu. There is always room for negotiation with these things. You can ask; the worst is he says no.

[Wino]

The painter is not getting paid $38 per hour. He has transportation costs (truck, gas, maintenance, insurance, etc.), insurance costs, consumables cost, equipment costs (ladders, brushes, scrapers), and finally, profit.

He also has to account for downtime when he's not working. I think the costs are probably in line with the amount of work and type of work you're having done. If you want Jose's Paint and Car Repair to do your house because it's less, I think you'll be disappointed.

I'm paying $5000 for a much smaller house, and I'm paying for the paint. My house is not really in need of painting, and I could do it myself if I were back in the US. I could have it done cheaper if I allowed them to spray, but I am paying for brush and roller, which is costing me at least 30% more.

[ua_guy]

The painter is not getting paid $38 per hour. He has transportation costs (truck, gas, maintenance, insurance, etc.), insurance costs, consumables cost, equipment costs (ladders, brushes, scrapers), and finally, profit.

He also has to account for downtime when he's not working. I think the costs are probably in line with the amount of work and type of work you're having done. If you want Jose's Paint and Car Repair to do your house because it's less, I think you'll be disappointed.

I'm paying $5000 for a much smaller house, and I'm paying for the paint. My house is not really in need of painting, and I could do it myself if I were back in the US. I could have it done cheaper if I allowed them to spray, but I am paying for brush and roller, which is costing me at least 30% more.

That's a good point, and I do understand. $38/hour in this scenario is gross pay, before he covers any expenses for his business including taxes, insurance, license/bonding, transportation costs, equipment overhead, plus a guy has to eat and provide for his family for a job that really only provides steady/predictable work between May and October. Not glamorous at all.

The guy is recommended, fully licensed, no outstanding complaints within the last 6 years. No questions that he's a professional and I can reasonably expect good results.

I think my only quip is that it feels like a lot of money. I think about what $13,400 really is and what else it could do, how much I bill for my time. The home is one that we love and intend to stay in for a very long time, so that's why we called him versus the typical "college pro" summer crew of temporary workers. There's good value in those types of contractors, but for other reasons. I also thought about taking a few weeks off of work and doing it myself, but I feel I've reached an age and experience level with my own career to understand that sometimes it's a better strategy to "outsource" when there's specific skill required that I don't necessarily have.

We'll probably end up going with this guy, but wanted to get a general sense if the guy was hallucinating with regards to pricing. Sounds like he might be on the fair-to-high side, but I'm getting the sense that it might be worth it for good work.

[Wino]

Sounds like he might be on the fair-to-high side, but I'm getting the sense that it might be worth it for good work.

I'm in full agreement that the bid is probably fair to high on the overall house painting scale. I'm paying my "fair-to-high" guy, too. By the way, they're actually personal friends, and they stated that they had just quoted a house similar to the one you described. Their quote was $11K. It was paint, not stain, but otherwise very similar in all other regards including significant preparation work.

I don't get a discount because they're friends. And I wouldn't ask for one. You want professional work? You get to pay for professional workers.