By EA Paint & Light Carpentry5 min read
At a glance
- Adds most timeAverage
- Scraping, priming and rot repair
- Also adds timeAverage
- Height, trim detail, lead-safe work
- Biggest driver
- Labor, mostly prep; not the paint
- Compare bids
- Scope first, then the totals
Times are rough averages for planning only. Every house is different — size, condition, repairs and weather all change it. Your written estimate gives the actual schedule for your job.
What determines the cost of painting a house exterior?
Mostly labor, and labor is set by condition more than size: how much scraping, priming and caulking the surfaces need, how much rotted wood must be replaced first, the siding type, the height and access, the amount of trim and detail, and whether lead-safe practices are required on a pre-1978 house. Paint is usually the smaller share.
Why a phone quote is a guess
Square footage tells a painter how much wall there is. It does not say how much of the old paint is failing, whether the trim is sound, how many windows there are, or whether the back of the house is a ladder job or needs staging. Those are the things that decide how many days the job takes, and days are most of the price.
A number given over the phone has to be either padded to cover what the painter cannot see, or low and followed by change orders once the ladders are up. Neither is a good deal for the homeowner.
The factors that move the price
Roughly in order of how much they usually matter:
- Condition of the existing paint — light washing and spot-scraping is a very different job from scraping a whole house back to sound paint
- Rotted or damaged wood — sills, trim and clapboard that need replacing before anything is painted
- Siding type — clapboard, cedar shingle, vinyl and fiber cement each prep and paint differently; bare or weathered shingles absorb far more primer and paint
- Height and access — a single-story ranch is a ladder job; a three-story colonial or a steep lot may need staging or a lift
- Trim and detail — the number of windows, shutters, brackets and porch railings, which are slow, hand-brushed work
- Lead-safe work on pre-1978 houses — containment, careful scraping and daily cleanup add time, and are not optional
- Number of coats and color change — a big color change or a very dark color can mean primer plus two finish coats
- Paint grade — better paint costs more per gallon but is a small part of the total, and usually the cheapest part of the job to upgrade
Each factor, and what to ask about it
The same factors as a checklist you can take into an estimate visit.
Paint condition
- Why it changes the time
- Scraping and sanding failing paint is slow, careful work
- What to ask
- How much will be scraped, and to what standard?
Rotted wood
- Why it changes the time
- Each repair is cut, fitted, primed and painted
- What to ask
- Which boards are being replaced, and is each one priced?
Siding type
- Why it changes the time
- Shingles and weathered wood take more primer and paint
- What to ask
- What primer goes on bare or weathered wood?
Height and access
- Why it changes the time
- Staging or a lift takes time to set up and move
- What to ask
- Ladders, staging or a lift — and who protects the plantings?
Trim and detail
- Why it changes the time
- Windows, brackets and railings are brushed by hand
- What to ask
- Are shutters, doors and porch ceilings included?
Lead-safe work
- Why it changes the time
- Containment and daily cleanup add hours
- What to ask
- What lead-safe practices will you use on this house?
Why Massachusetts houses vary so much
Two neighbouring towns can have very different housing stock, and that changes what an exterior job involves. In Worcester the median home was built around 1951 and about 77% of homes were built before 1980 — more layers of old paint, more wood trim and more lead-safe work. In Northborough the median is 1980, so a typical job is more often a repaint on a house with fewer layers to deal with.
Neither is better or worse; they are simply different jobs, which is why a price that was right for a friend’s house in one town tells you little about yours in another.
Tip: If two bids differ a lot, ask each contractor to walk you through how many days the job takes and what happens on each. The difference is almost always in the prep.
Where the money actually goes
On a typical exterior, labor is the large majority of the price and materials are the smaller share. Within the labor, preparation — washing, scraping, sanding, priming bare wood, caulking and repair — is usually more of the time than the finish coats. That is why two estimates with very different prices are often describing two very different amounts of prep.
How to read an estimate
A real estimate is written after someone has walked the house, and it says what will be done, not only what it costs. Look for:
- Which surfaces are included — body, trim, doors, shutters, porch ceilings, foundation
- How the prep is described — washing, scraping, priming bare wood, caulking
- Carpentry listed and priced separately, by item, so you can see what the rot repair costs
- The products and the number of coats
- Whether the price is fixed, and what happens if something unexpected turns up behind a board
- Proof of insurance, and the company’s registration with the Commonwealth
Comparing bids fairly
Put the estimates side by side and compare the scope before the totals. If one bid does not mention the soft sills you found with a screwdriver, or says nothing about priming, it is not cheaper — it is a different job. Ask each contractor the same questions, and ask the low bidder what they left out.
Talk to a local crew
EA Paint & Light Carpentry is a painting and light carpentry company based in Northborough, MA. If you would like the house looked at, call (508) 466-5846 or request a free written estimate. Related services: Exterior Painting, Light Carpentry & Wood Repair.
