More Ways to Save on Painting
Here's more ways to save on house painting based on my experiences from painting houses in British Columbia.
Sometimes you have little influence on the price you pay for something. However, there are many things that can influence the cost of house painting.
Page written by Dan Valois
Page updated:
Use the content here at your own risk.
Some Ideas How to Lower The Painting Bill 😛
- Search for Room Painting Special in local paper or online. It's a deal for painting the room walls but it's a mystery what they charge for other surfaces.
- Get a painter that makes an effort to reduce your labour time. Is the fastest painting method being used?
- Moving in? Just get your painter to paint rooms about to get furniture. Perhaps you can paint the washrooms and stairwells yourself at anytime.
- Check online if the painting company has a valid gst number. If not, then don't pay the gst.
- Keep in mind that sometimes painters get exhausted and need a break. Your quoted price maybe higher to defer that break.
- Try not to get a company that may go out of business before the warranty ends. Getting free or low price rework is nice.
- Handyman companies do painting. Compare prices. Perhaps find out cost of painting from Temporary Services such as Labour Unlimited labourunlimited.com
- Are you from a culture that bargins? It might be better to get a painter from a culture that accepts bargaining. Westernized painters are generally firm on prices.
- Make sure as the paint goes on that you like the colour. What looked good on a swatch may not look good in your place. It's risky to be away during the painting. Painters can charge full rate to repaint with another colour.
- Painters may charge more working for contractors because the contractor is not trusted. However contractors scope out the cheapest painters. Compare price direct from a painting company or through the contractor.
- Cover your own furniture with plastic. Why pay painters to do this if you can easily do it yourself. Pick up a box of plastic at any paint store.
- Use expensive high hide paint for 1st cut. Roll with lower priced paint. Sometimes the cutting can be a thinner film than rolling.
- Is your painter saying it'll take 3 coats? It might be 2 coats with Sherwin Williams Duration or Benjamin Moore Aura.
- Getting your current home repainted before moving out? Say that your new place will likely need painting too during the quote. The quote for your current home might be lowered in the hope of getting 2 jobs.
- If your painter is taping , ask not to include pulling tape off in the labour quote. Anyone can pull tape off.
- If all your quotes are too high, contact the painting companies and make offers of what you can pay. Worth a try.
- Use same painter over the years. They might lock in prices. So called Grandfather pricing.
- Try Googling "Painters near me". The idea here is that the nearby local painters are using less gas and commute time. The quote maybe discounted for the benefit of getting home early.
- Generally don’t add ceiling painting after walls have been painted. It is cheaper to paint ceiling first.
- Tell the person quoting on the job that you have kids that can paint. I've had numerous customers imply that I'm competing with their children painting or that the painting is devalued due to children painting for free. "Wow. Look at that cost, I think I'll have the kids paint their bedrooms." A painter might lower the price hearing about this first.
- Ask for an introductory rate. Perhaps agree on 1 day of discounted painting to show skill level. If you don't trust reviews (many can be fake) then test driving your painter may reveal how it'll work out for the rest of the job.
- Is your painter working by the hour. You can speed him/her up by changing to brighter light bulbs, clearing rooms and perhaps lowering the temperature if it doesn't cause waiting for wet paint.
- Exterior painting: Maybe painter is charging too much for pressure washing. Get price from a pressure washing company.
- Get agreement that if the job doesn't look solid with only 1 coat, the painter needs to recoat at no extra.
- Get agreement that if the job doesn't look solid with only 2 coats, the painter needs to recoat at no extra. Some painters are unable to determine if it'll look solid after 2 coats.
- Add on little extras during the job. Painter may not charge extra. This can happen if the job is easy, the extra is fast or it's not a busy time.
- The painters with high Google rank are in a position to raise rates due to high call volume from first discovery and maybe fishing for the best paying clients. Perhaps check out the painters lower down search results.
- If 1st coat looks great, you can stop your painter from doing 1 or 2 coats more. Works if your painter is hourly. Ask your painter to show off when 1st coat done.
- Has your regular painter gotten old and slow and still charging the same labour rate? Maybe time to get some quotes.
- Got a new carpet? Cover your own carpet with carpet protector plastic.
- Learn to paint. There are many how to paint videos on YouTube! Even how to paint straight lines.
- Avoid specifying the brand of paint so you're not liable for paint not bonding or not covering.
- Get flat rate on painting so unforeseen items don't cost extra.
- Talk to paint representatives. They know painters that buy the most paint. If you believe that the cheapest painters buy the most paint.
- Paint your own washrooms. Can be painted at anytime after move in and some pro painters can take up to 4hrs for 2 coats. It's one of the most time consuming rooms.
- Get fixed price including paint. Some painters misjudge the amount of paint required.
- Find least busy company. Maybe check out the companies after page 3 on Google.
- Be a competitor. Say if cost too high that you're doing it yourself.
- Get agreement for compensation if job not done before deadline. Is your painter late? Make agreement that if painter late, he needs to pay for storage, moving truck delay costs.
- Get agreement that if the colour is wrong, you are not paying for the painting. Sometimes stores do bad cross matches. Sometimes painters don't follow directions and paint rooms the wrong colour.
- If you have a huge project, compare hiring 2 companies instead of 1 company to do all.
- Got a new floor. Put down floor protector.
- If there's lots of spraying. Don't let painters charge by area, instead by time. Some painters charge by area and it doesn't take long to do lots of spraying.
- Call the painters paint rep and ask for better paint prices.
- Avoid getting an exterior quote on a hot day.
- Tell painter you need lowest quote. As dum as this may seem it could have an influence. Simply ask for break on price. No reason.
- Get 1 coat job. Ask for 1 coat and when it doesn't look good complain the 1 coat wasn't applied right.
- Ask what other painters make per hour and then complain to contractor about total bill.
- Get quote during winter for work in summer. Company may neglect to adjust from winter rates to summer rates.
- If you agreed to meet the painter at a specific time for a quote. Don't be late for quote.
- During quote show off your other quotes and say "Beat these quotes".
- Get painters from poor neighborhoods and districts. Check on Google maps. Any work better than no work. Painters out of Mission or Abbotsford may beat the local Surrey Langley painters.
- Check mistint paint in paint stores. It's marked down.
- Ask to quote on stuff you optionally need painted 1st and then get quote on what you really need painted next. The overall price might be lowered to win all the work.
- Ask your painter if he/she has free left over paint.
- Ask painter if discount for early payment. This is likely applied more for commerical jobs with contractors that take a long time to pay.
- Got a website. Ask for discount to advertise Dan The House Painter on your site.
- Dispute that walls need 3rd coat and say its just a bad 2nd coat.
- For exterior quote don't let painter inside to see that you like to spend like crazy on stuff.
- Ask for one coat. Then complain 1 coat not done right.
- Using tinted primers may help dodge a coat.
- If your painter is hourly, make sure he/she is not doing unnecessary coats or wall repairs that are hard to notice.
- You might find that it might cheaper to use 1 company for interior and another for exterior. Compare prices.
- Say you have relatives that paint but they are too busy at the moment. This hints that you are informed on painting prices.
- Resist mentioning how desperate you are for the deadline and timing until you get the qute.
- Some painting companies may paint at reduced rates for non-profit organizations or charitable organizations.
- Home depot sells paint sprayers that are less expensive than pro sprayers. If you want to spray paint yourself.
- Be disappointed and complain lots after the job and act dissatisfied. There's a chance the painter may grant a discount.
- Pay attention to the fastest replyer to a quote request. It's a hint the company is not busy and may offer lower price than more busy companies.
- Be likeable. Figure out common interests for a chance to get a "friendly quote".
- If painter paid by the hour, get agreement to not pay for time at lunch or breaks. Many painters smoke and can waste up to 1 hr smoking.
- If this is a business then the painting can be claimed as a business expense. Get receipts with GST number from the painting company. GST numbers can be verified online.
Goofy
- Don't paint. Wait for your eyesight to decline. It's around 50+. Painting won't matter.
- Get poor old ill grandma to get the quote. Would a nice painter rip off Grandma?
- Some homeless people can paint but they are hard to find online. You can pay with food.
- Date a painter.
Perhaps Not a Cost Saving Tip
City of Vancouver Empty Homes Tax
- Most major renovations with a permit can be completed within 6 months. It's unlikely the house painting will help you dodge or delay the Vancouver Empty Homes Tax. Same goes for the British Columbia Speculation and Vacancy Tax.
Uncertain
- I'm not sure about this but if you have a home renovation company, can you could claim business expenses on renovating your own home.
Cheap Risky or Unethical?
- Hire a meth, cocaine or amphetamine addicts. These are the high energy painters and cheap too since desperate for drug money. (You might need to hide all your stuff lol.) THC and alcohol users make sluggish sloppy painters. Other substances may cause the painter to paint the wrong house.
Getting Shady 😲
- Keep getting quotes even after you've hired a painter. If you get a much cheaper quote, cancel or fire your painter. (Depends on contract.)
- Resist getting a written agreement. No written agreement is lack of evidence in court. Now you can make your own painting invoice and pay what you want lol.
- Hold back some money and when the painter tries to collect, threaten to trash them online.
- Get some quotes, attach to email and then email CC to all the competitors and ask "Can you beat this price and by how much?."
- If painter says needs 3rd coat, claim your looking at 1 coat.
- It's not your home.
- Ask painter to paint over mold and algae and then move.
- Have sob story of financial hardship.
- Say you've heard about the company having the lowest rates.
- Before the quote, say you'll pay by cash (In hope of a cash deal) and then pay by check. Perhaps also ask for a signed business letterhead receipt.
- Make place as dark as possible to hide wall improvements and give appearance job is smaller.
- Aggravate the painter to promote uncivil behaviour and then don't pay due to uncivil behaviour.