Do it Yourself: Re: [DIY] Priming walls

04 October 2011

Re: [DIY] Priming walls

Cindi, painting isn't hard, and doesn't take a long time, it's the prep work that makes the difference. Ask for a breakdown of his time & costs. I think you said you were buying the paint & supplies? Are you doing the prep work? Filling the holes, sanding then down and doing the general cleanup in preparation for the paint - plus the cleanup after he's done? If so, then $350 sounds a little high just to roll paint on the walls. But your best bet would be to get a written estimate from him - or whoever you hire - that breaks down what they're going to do and what they charge to do it. You may find he is adding some prep time in there. Have you asked him what he will do if the paint/primer doesn't cover in one coat? If you google reviews for behr's primer/paint you'll get a lot of information. It sounded good but I didn't care for it.

We gave $600 to have our ceiling painted a couple of years ago, 25x28', and labor is generally cheaper in the midwest. But included in that figure was some extra work along the edging where the tape had come loose. On the plus side, the guy they hired to do the finish texture on the flat areas was great. They charged us an extra $50 to have him do a small repair to the bedroom ceiling while he was here. He talked as he worked telling us about himself, ended up doing much more than the original $50 worth and refused to take more payment. Said he took pride in his work and wanted it to blend well and look good, plus he showed us what tool to use and how to do similar repairs ourselves. I recommended him several times. On the other hand, the guy who re-painted one of the bedroom ceilings after the new roof had a small leak, 11x14' room, just did a so-so job, didn't go all the way to the walls so there is still a small area around the edge that isn't quite as white. He said if he did he might get paint on the walls and wasn't authorized to do anything but the ceiling. He was sent by the roofing company so we didn't pay him but I'd sure never have him back again.

On Oct 4, 2011, at 9:40 AM, Cindi Waters wrote:

Exactly. The 6 x 6 is a closet next to the bedroom. So in the meantime, he would have had to take off the shelving (which I did), plug up the holes (which I did not do yet ...), sand the spackle, take down the window cafe boards, put up a curtain instead (which I changed my mind about ... I'm leaving the cafe closers for the windows , I'm just washing them and hoping for the best in terms of if and when I sell this apt). So his $300 or so job just became lots easier. But all that in 4 hours? As they say down here, "Me don't think so!"

From: Lee Griffith <ldgriff2001@yahoo.com>
To: DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, October 4, 2011 10:18 AM
Subject: Re: [DIY] Priming walls

I think there is also a 6 x 6 room included if I read correctly.

-Lee

On Oct 4, 2011, at 7:13 AM, Roger wrote:

I would have issues with a painter that couldn't paint an 11X13 room in 4 hours! It's all about technique. I'm pretty sure if I had all the right stuff on hand I could paint that room in 4 hours. It would depend on how much trim, windows, etc you have though. But my work likely wouldn't look as good though! But that guy basically told you his hourly rate, right? $350/4 = $87.50. I think I'm in the wrong biz!

From: Cindi Waters <clean_boost@yahoo.com>
To: "DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com" <DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, October 4, 2011 10:00 AM
Subject: Re: [DIY] Priming walls

One of the things that intimidated me is when he was looking over the room, he said he could be in and out in 4 hours. Four hours, I thought! I mentioned how he could get it all done in four hours and he told me not to worry. Next time someone tells me 'not to worry,'' I'm going to reply that I am cautious and careful, I try not to worry. :-)
From: Roger <frontierrog@yahoo.com>
To: "DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com" <DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, October 4, 2011 9:03 AM
Subject: Re: [DIY] Priming walls

That seems excessive to me, but he is filling holes and prepping too so I'm not sure how fair the price is. I know that I wouldn't pay that much!

A friend of mine had a guy paint his 3000sf house, with some very difficult vaulted ceiling surfaces for $1900. The painter is a friend from church though, so he no doubt gave him a very good deal! Not sure who bought the paint.

From: Cindi Waters <clean_boost@yahoo.com>
To: "DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com" <DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, October 4, 2011 8:42 AM
Subject: Re: [DIY] Priming walls

No, I don't mind in fact I'm glad you asked. He is charging $350 for an 11 x 13 room with no furiture and a 6 x 6 room with no furniture. I am paying on top of that for the paint, and he wants to get Behr's paint w/primer. He says I will only need one coat.

From: Roger <frontierrog@yahoo.com>
To: "DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com" <DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, October 4, 2011 8:38 AM
Subject: Re: [DIY] Priming walls

What is he charging, if you don't mind me asking?

From: Cindi Waters <clean_boost@yahoo.com>
To: "DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com" <DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Monday, October 3, 2011 10:43 PM
Subject: Re: [DIY] Priming walls

Yeah -- all these answers are giving me a lot to think about. I don't want to think too long, we have kind of engaged a friend (we're paying, though ... it's not TOO friendly) to do the work and I really have reservations about what he's telling me for the $$$ as well as the job. So could be I'll let him do the job for the small room and then find someone else to do another room and compare price and quality. I have another apartment I want done as well.

From: Jan Flood <jan.flood2@att.net>
To: DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, October 3, 2011 3:48 PM
Subject: Re: [DIY] Priming walls

The sales person at Home Depot assured me Behr's primer+paint would cover anything. Since I was using a dark color I bought a sample first, it looked good going on but once dry it was obvious it would take two coats. We ended up going with Sherwin-Williams again instead of Behr. As for paint covering spackling and/or blotchy spots - even if the paint covered them you would still see the underlying spackle if it wasn't sanded properly. As much as I hate to do the prep work, it's true that the quality of your finished job will depend more on the prep you do rather than what paint you buy. Sounds like you really need a primer here if you want a good finish. Washing the walls will help the paint adhere better and you would probably feel better knowing they were clean but won't necessarily eliminate the need for a primer or second coat. You can get primer tinted to you wall color so you might just need one coat of paint, depending on the color. Even on walls that are in good condition we use two coats, it give a better finish, a richness of color and will hold up better to cleaning and nicks.

You can purchase sample cans of most any paint, I think the Behr's was $5.95, some are $3.95 some more but it's worth the money to actually see what the paint will do on the wall. Too, different brands call their finishes by different names. Eggshell, satin etc don't look the same with every brand - a fact I learned the hard way.