How Much Do Painters Charge

mijmu

Hi

I am building a new house and I have a painter calling round this evening to give me price for painting the interior of the house.

Can anyone give me an idea of how much it costs. I just want an idea that I can maybe see if he is giving me good price or is trying it on.

He will be doing the sitting room, Kitchen, living room, sunroom, utility, hallway and 4 bedrooms. All doors and skirting etc.

I will be providing the paint and varnish.

Thanks

Michael

Borzoi

Are all the walls & ceiling bare fresh plaster?

In which cse they'll all need three coats of paint - primer, 1st and 2nd coat

Doors, architraves, skirting - do you ant them painted or varnished?

VArnishing will be cheaper - 3 coats usually. Painting would be more as there's alot of work in knotting and flush-filling surfaces.


As for rates - your milage may vary, but professional painters are trades men, similar to plumbers, electricians and the like, and are entitled to charge similar prices!

mijmu

Hi Borzoi

Thanks for the reply

Fresh Plaster

All wood to be varnished.

Rgds
Michael

mad m

You dont need a primer coat on new plaster but this is text book stuff in theory it depends on the wall colour if it will need 3 coats.Also depends on the state of the woodwork if there is alot of cleaning down before sealing woodwork before varnishing.It normally takes two weeks to fully do a 4 bedroomed house(Depends on how many painters working in house though) so expect a price over 3000euro if your supplying materials.

Meant to say also seeing as its a new house and the painters have no covering up to do then this can be to your advantage plus the painters as well.

pollyantic

Whatever a painter charges you it will be outrageously over priced.
Better off doing it yourself or giving the job to a relative.

mijmu

Hi

Just to let you know 4K for the house.

4 beds including ceilings. 2 walls in a kitchen and ceiling and 3 walls in living room and ceiling. Sunroom just the the 2 foot walls. Sitting room 4 walls and no ceiling. Hallway including ceiling.

All doors and timber is new. Skirting etc will not be in place.

What do you think of this price

mad m

Well get another quote if you think its a bit too much.Only thing i find consuming is the varnishing,some say its quicker than painting it white and sometimes it is but you can roll undercoat/gloss onto doors which is quicker if doing a white gloss finish.

Varnishing its all hand work and if you have 6 panels doors and plenty of them if giving 3 coats it can take a bit of time.

@pollyantic

Dont tarnish all painters if you had a bad experience...

How long did thes say it would take?

pollyantic

I'm not trying to tarnish painters.
All i'm saying is that painting as a trade is over valued. It is one of the best examples of the way rip-off ireland has vastly over-inflated prices. Painting is not exactly a hard job. Therefore a person could save a lot of money by spending a few days doing it themselves.

True, but they are professionals at the same time.
I just finished a job two weeks ago. Most of it was hand, not brush. Really difficult. We were doing the people a favour so we charged a ridiculously low fee, and they loved it! Quelle suprise (as Del Boy would say!)

mad m

pollyantic wrote:

I'm not trying to tarnish painters.
All i'm saying is that painting as a trade is over valued. It is one of the best examples of the way rip-off ireland has vastly over-inflated prices. Painting is not exactly a hard job. Therefore a person could save a lot of money by spending a few days doing it themselves.

So what training in painting do you have?You can notice the difference between a painter and a DIYer.But i suppose if your happy with your paint job then so be it..As far as painting being hard each trade to his own.As a plaster said to me on a site one time "if you can piss you can paint" then he asked me to paint his house as he was useless at it. As being over valued you havent a clue what your on about.

Are you a painter mad m?

mad m

Papa Smut wrote:

Are you a painter mad m?

I am indeed Papa Smut

pollyantic

mad m wrote:

So what training in painting do you have?You can notice the difference between a painter and a DIYer.But i suppose if your happy with your paint job then so be it..As far as painting being hard each trade to his own.As a plaster said to me on a site one time "if you can piss you can paint" then he asked me to paint his house as he was useless at it. As being over valued you havent a clue what your on about.

Where did you study painting then ?

Up to about 5 years ago i was a painter myself. My training as anyone else i know in the trade was gained form just picking up a brush the day you start and painting. And the guy was right. If you can piss you can paint.
Do you honestly think that €4k for the work here is fair? How many days would it take you?

By the way. I don't mean to sound anti painter. Some of my best friends are painters and i always laugh with them bout their charges. I just wanted to point out that painting quotes are way too high. You are right though. Each trade is needed. If people pay a lot for it then why not charge them a lot for it.

Dr. Loon

Jaysus!! 4 grand for a bit of painting? Unbelievable. Take the time and do it yourself I'd say. There's no way I'd hand 4 grand over for my house to be painted. It's like paying someone to mow your grass.

magpie

Just as a matter of interest, I'm wondering how many days / how many painters do you get for your 4 grand?

mad m

pollyantic wrote:

Where did you study painting then ?
And the guy was right. If you can piss you can paint.

He is not right!

I went to bolton st for one day during my training(4years) like most of the qualified painters i know.Did your employer not send you on a block release like its done today?

To be honest i didnt just pick up a brush and slob and dob it cash and leggit,i had a good employer and when i qualified i wandered from employer to employer like painters do when work dries up.I have to say i like painting.Ive never done anyone out of money i always gave a fair price but some have disagreed in my time.

Painting as a whole is the bottom end of the trades as some people like Dr loon might think this,there is no problem in painting a house yourself and saving money and fair play if they do it.But from experience they can get bogged down doing it.Most people ive come across hate painting.There is a technique/routine to painting a house from start to finish some painters do it differently and some are disasters.

As to charging €4000 grand for painting a 4 bedroomed house i think some painters on price(on sites) get around €1800 before tax(not 100%) and it takes them 7 to 8days to complete with one colour throughout house but that is with a contractor telling them the price.They actually get more if its varnished as its meant to be per showhouse.

It depends on how many are doing the job and splitting it.A job like that would take me a week just to do woodwork the way i would want it.Im sure he can get a cheaper price for that.Dont forget the snagging by the way when all is done.check and tick list before handing over cash.

Dr. Loon

mad m wrote:

Painting as a whole is the bottom end of the trades as some people like Dr loon might think this,there is no problem in painting a house yourself and saving money and fair play if they do it.

I never said "bottom end of the trades", fair play to painters for making money, but it's a job anyone can do really and I wouldn't hand cash out for something I can quite easily do myself. If someone's too lazy to attempt it themselves, than you're there to make money from their laziness. I'm not saying painters are at the bottom end of the trades. Just that it's something that anyone can do without need of training. Unlike electrics, tiling, plastering. Although I know some people do a terrible job regardless.

mijmu

They said there is 2 of them and about a week each.

I am inclined to agree with Dr.Loon. Ill do it myself.

magpie

€400 a day each in that case. Jesus.

mad m

Dr. Loon wrote:

I never said "bottom end of the trades", fair play to painters for making money, but it's a job anyone can do really and I wouldn't hand cash out for something I can quite easily do myself. If someone's too lazy to attempt it themselves, than you're there to make money from their laziness. I'm not saying painters are at the bottom end of the trades. Just that it's something that anyone can do without need of training. Unlike electrics, tiling, plastering. Although I know some people do a terrible job regardless.

No sorry Dr.loon i didnt mean to say you thought that,ive heard it said to me so many times and i totally agree with you about Electricans and plumbers.I meant to say as a whole painters are considered the bottom end of the trade because so many people can do it themselfs...Well bet they cant do Marbling or Graining (sticks tongue out)...

magpie

bet they cant do Marbling or Graining

For that 'Lawrence Llewellan Bowen' look.

FX Meister

Dr. Loon wrote:

I never said "bottom end of the trades", fair play to painters for making money, but it's a job anyone can do really and I wouldn't hand cash out for something I can quite easily do myself. If someone's too lazy to attempt it themselves, than you're there to make money from their laziness. I'm not saying painters are at the bottom end of the trades. Just that it's something that anyone can do without need of training. Unlike electrics, tiling, plastering. Although I know some people do a terrible job regardless.

But in the same regard anyone can plaster a wall, but you wont do it as well as a proper plasterer

mad m

FX Meister wrote:

But in the same regard anyone can plaster a wall, but you wont do it as well as a proper plasterer

Very true,plastering is a hard trade.But painters make them look good!

Borzoi

mad m wrote:

No sorry Dr.loon i didnt mean to say you thought that,ive heard it said to me so many times and i totally agree with you about Electricans and plumbers.I meant to say as a whole painters are considered the bottom end of the trade because so many people can do it themselfs...Well bet they cant do Marbling or Graining (sticks tongue out)...

Or gilding - that used to be a favourite of mine back in the days when I was in the trade.

mijmu, your quote is right about the time involved, but I'd say the price is two high, especially if you're supplying materials. Somewher about the €2500 to €3000 is what I would have though appropriate. But then agian I left the trade - so it's not my livelihood

There is a perception that painters as tradesmen are expensive and that anybody could do a bit of painting. The usual comparisons are with electricians, tilers etc are made. But most domestic customers only see basic painting skills - you might as well be asking electricians to come over a wire a plug for you - and comparing the skills.

mad m

@Borzoi

Would have to agree about the gilding but love the Marbling.John kane from Bolton St was a dab hand at it when i was there.Done the evening Sign Writting class under him and he was great.What you up to these days Borzoi?

Dr. Loon

FX Meister wrote:

But in the same regard anyone can plaster a wall, but you wont do it as well as a proper plasterer

I really don't think anyeon can plaster a wall. Plastering is a very skilled job. True enough so is decent painting, i.e - marbling, rag rolling, and all that other cool stuff. All I'm saying is if you're just doin standard painting then if you have a bit of patience you can do a grand job yourself. I suppose this also depends on how DIY minded you are, and what risks you're willing to take!

I have the utmost respect for all trades, and wish there were more decent tradesmen out there. There seem to be too many cowboys about.

FX Meister

Like you said Loon, basic painting isn't that hard, but either is basic electrical work and I've done that in the past (been checked by electrician and it was fine). Plastering is also something that you get better at, my father is a testament to that, he can plaster as good as a lot of tradesmen and he only taught himself.

Dr. Loon

FX Meister wrote:

Like you said Loon, basic painting isn't that hard, but either is basic electrical work and I've done that in the past (been checked by electrician and it was fine). Plastering is also something that you get better at, my father is a testament to that, he can plaster as good as a lot of tradesmen and he only taught himself.

I suppose some people are more DIY inclined than others. My Dad is a carpenter by trade, but can do pretty much anything in terms of tradesmans work - plumbing, electrical, tiling, painting etc...etc... While there are others without the "aptitude"* for it.


*may nor be a good word but ye know what I mean!

I'm in the installation business and an example of people having more money than sense, I have a client who got us out to change the battery on his remote control. No word of a lie. I explained to him over the phone what we were going to do and he still insisted we called out!!

Idiot.


But rich idiot

FX Meister

Aptitude is the right word I'd imagine. A lot of people can paint but just don't think they can. As was said, basic painting isn't that hard but I've also seen work in friends houses done by professional painters and it looks amazing. And as said in teh above post, a lot of people these days have more money than sense.

Borzoi

mad m wrote:

@Borzoi

.What you up to these days Borzoi?

I'm not time served - started as a summer job, ended up with them for a few years! Learnt alot from some seriously skilled guys, found some awful twats too! Then got bored with the whole manual labour, hard work aspect, so I went back to college and got my engineering degree. And that's almost ten years ago!

wideband

hi mijmu,

what is the ft2 of your house...and are you painting the window frames and walls externally

rooferPete

Hi Mad m,

Did you ever go by the name "Superbrush", it's been a few years now but he was a "Time Served" painter.

A good painter can turn a house into a home, a badly painted house is nothing short of a nightmare.

The nice skips on the ceiling where the roller was running out of paint ? the runs on the doors, how come they are always around the handle or at eye level ?

Why waste your paint ? get a real painter the difference will be noticed by every visitor but most important by the home owner.

mad m

rooferPete wrote:

Hi Mad m,

Did you ever go by the name "Superbrush", it's been a few years now but he was a "Time Served" painter. how come they are always around the handle or at eye level?

No sorry i wasnt,myself and another painter who i used to work with were called "Nixer Kings",we never said no

The commonest reason for runs around handle is when the door is being painted in most houses on site, the handles are no put on yet so the paint fills up in the hole for the handles and sometimes runs.

philoshea

every tradesman that is registered is entitled to make a profit for his pension no point being a fool for people

311

Holy god ,tales from the crypt:eek:

This thread is an old as my granny!

philoshea

311 wrote: »

Holy god ,tales from the crypt:eek:

This thread is an old as my granny!

sorry just relised it 2005,im new:o

phil