What a real painting estimate should include

Two estimates for the same house, thousands apart. Usually the cheaper one is not a better deal, it is a shorter list. Here is what should be on the page so you can tell.

The surfaces, named

Not "paint the interior." Which rooms, and within them, walls, ceilings, trim, doors, casings, baseboards, and closets. On an exterior: siding or brick, fascia, soffits, eaves, window and door casings, shutters, columns, railings, and porch ceilings.

Anything not named is not included. That is where most of the gap between two estimates lives.

The prep, in detail

Washing, scraping, sanding, patching, priming, and caulking should each appear. On an exterior, prep is often most of the labor. An estimate that jumps straight to coats is either assuming the surface is perfect or planning to paint over whatever is there.

How many coats, and where

"Two coats" is not the same as "two coats where two coats belong." Going dark to light needs more. A ceiling that has never been painted needs more. The estimate should say.

Protection and cleanup

• Who moves the furniture, and whether it gets covered.
• Whether floors are papered or just dropped.
• Whether hardware is removed or taped around.
• Whether cleanup happens daily or at the end.

These are the items that decide what living in the house feels like while the work runs.

The schedule

A start date, a rough duration, and what happens if weather moves it. You should hear about a change from the contractor before you notice it yourself.

Who is actually doing the work

Worth asking directly. On our jobs Jason walks the estimate, sets the scope, and is on site while the work runs. Plenty of companies hand the job to whoever is available, and the estimate rarely mentions it.

A number you can compare

All of the above is why we put the estimate in writing and give it to you free. Not as a sales device, but because a scope on paper is the only way you can hold two prices next to each other and see what you are actually buying.