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Written by Colleen Kalil

Hiring a Professional Painter vs. DYI

As a consummate DYI individual I always try to do everything myself. As with all things in life experience quickly taught me that hiring a professional painter not only saved me time and money but the headaches of frequent trips to the store for things I didn’t know I needed or had forgotten. Whether your home is one that you have lived in for a long time or one you just purchased, you need a knowledgeable professional to guide you through the journey. Don’t get me wrong, I still do small projects but never a whole house.

To decide if it is cost effective to do the project yourself, sit down and determine the supplies you will need. Do a walk through and ask yourself these questions – will you need extra tall ladders, how many drop cloths will you need, how many gallons of paint, how many rolls of tape are required, will you be cleaning the walls first and will you need a primer. If you are painting over a dark paint with a lighter color, will you have bleed through? Once you have the answers, start mapping out the time you will need to move furniture, tape off everything and prepare and patch any walls that need work. As you do this, remember a professional company will come in with a team and have a room done in a few hours as well as cleaning up the area. Plus, they will guarantee their work.

Let’s face it, professional painters have done this before and know the tricks of the trade and the correct techniques to get quality results. It is how they make their living. They will help you choose the right type of paint for the surface area. Always ask for verifiable references and verify that the company is licensed, bonded and insured. Determine if they have performed background checks on their workers. In the long run, hiring professionals will save you time and money.

Please feel free to contact us at University Painters for a free estimate.

Exterior Painting, Home Painters
Written by Colleen Kalil

What Does an Exterior Home Painting Cost Estimate Include?

home Exterior painting, House PaintersHardly anyone questions the reality that painting the exterior of your home increases its value – sometimes exponentially. Most will also agree that painting your home’s exterior is a tedious, labor-laden job that can quickly become overwhelming. The job requires a large amount of preparation and may include a variety of complex nuances that lead the homeowner to abandon any thought of undertaking the process themselves, and instead place the job in the trusted hands of professionals. What factors are involved in painting the exterior of your home? The most common points are listed below.

  • Labor costs compromise the bulk of the price. Of course, there are dozens of resources that will purport to give you the average cost of hiring a painter. One source says $50 per hour per painter with a bottom line of $2400 – $7000 for an entire exterior of a home. Another resource estimates exterior painting costs of $30.00 to $35.00 per hour with commercial jobs priced at $25.00 to $45.00. Still another source says painting an average home between 500 and 1,500 square feet can cost between $1,000 and $3,000

You can see there is no single price for labor. Other factors that must be taken into consideration include the number of stories of your house and ease of accessibility to reach all areas.

  • Paint is going to be the next big expense. If you purchase paint that runs between $25 – $40 per gallon with an average home exterior of 3000 sq. ft., the paint will run anywhere from $375 – $600. However, if you purchase more expensive paint, the price will go up. For the record, research shows that most homes need to be painted every 5 to 7 years and the better paints offer you better protection against the ravages of the weather.
  • Other costs include power washing the exterior surfaces prior to painting, which can run $75 per day rental fee; there’s no reason to purchase a power washer unless you will be doing long-term power washing on a patio or other surfaces. Ladders and scaffolding can run up to $75 a day as well, and then there are the variety of tapes, sponges, brushes or power sprayer equipment to apply the paint.

Then there is the homeowner’s time and frustration. Exterior home painting is an exacting job. Hire the professionals at University Painters, Inc. Your home is our business.