What's a house painter worth?

[calmloki]

Been hiring more and more work on our rentals - Unca Sammy says my time isn't worth a dime, but if i hire someone i get to write off their pay - effectively paying them 3/4 the amount that i write the check for. So $20/hour becomes $15/hour. Sometimes i'd just rather read this board than sweat for $15/hour.

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Good finish painters get around $35-40. Someone to slop paint on your house is much, much less, particularly if you arent going to check their immigration status.

Interior trim and complex exterior trim costs a lot more than flat wall painting.

I paid three guys to paint our old house inside and out, including all the interior trim, doors, yada yada yada. It took them about 2 weeks. IIRC it was about $6k. Very good finish work. 100% brushed on.

When I was going to paint the inside of my wifes old house, a regular company quoted me $1200 over the phone and then $2000 when he showed up so he got to go home and spend the day doing something else. I did some of the cleaning up, caulking and spackling and got two guys to shoot it for $800. All eggshell white top to bottom, in every room. Totally sprayed with a concoction of airless sprayers in various states of fluctuating operational level.

And yes, you better use primer first, interior or exterior. Only exception I'll make to that is if I'm painting concrete where I use a self priming masonry paint. I'd recommend eggshell or the 'satin' finish thats halfway between a flat and semigloss for a regular house. It might look a bit cheap in a super fancy house. It'll hold up twice as long and cleans much easier.

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I'd also very strongly recommend this

Campbell Hausfeld EZ5000RB Factory Reconditioned House Painter

I've had one for about 4 years now and its the bomb for mass painting. Airless, easy to use and easy to clean.

You stick the tube into a paint can (1 or 5 gallon), turn the knob to prime and wait until you see paint recirculating from the main tube to the secondary, turn the knob to paint and pull the trigger. Takes about 3 minutes of practice on a crappy piece of plywood or cardboard to get the back and forth motion. When you're done, pull the tube out of the can of paint and stick it in a bucket of water, turn the knob to clean and pull the trigger pointing the gun into the bucket of water until it runs clean.

This is a stupid price for it too, its usually $220-250 new and I think I paid $250 or so 4 years ago but that included the power roller attachment that I've never used.

This does a WAY better job than the cheap powerpainters, and its a lot easier to clean than the wagner paint crew. Does as good a job as a lot of the regular painters airless units.

Only thing it wont do that a commercial airless can is spray really, really super thick paints like thinned texture and the heavy elastomerics. Only thing I've ever added to it is an extra 25' of hose and a swivel bearing on the gun end.

[aaronc879]

Quote:

Originally Posted by calmloki Been hiring more and more work on our rentals - Unca Sammy says my time isn't worth a dime, but if i hire someone i get to write off their pay - effectively paying them 3/4 the amount that i write the check for. So $20/hour becomes $15/hour. Sometimes i'd just rather read this board than sweat for $15/hour.

I've sweated for $15/hr or less for my entire adult life working in a factory. Most people in this country would jump at the chance to paint for $25/hr.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FinanceDude My time is DEFINITELY worth more than $25 an hour. Anyone want to come paint my house

Nope. I do many things that simply cannot be justified on an economic basis. Sometimes, it is to get some physical activities. One cannot sit in front of a PC all the time. I do not go to the gym; it's boring to me. So, I do things just to get my muscles a chance to move. Another important thing is "job satisfaction". I suspect that many white collar workers are not happy with their day job. Doing some simple minded tasks is good therapy. At the end of the day, you stand back, look at what you have done and say to yourself "I did that".

That's how I feel.

[saluki9]

Around Chicago it runs about $40 and hour for a decent interior painter. I've seen people pay a lot more than that without getting much better results.

[lswswein]

A question Nords - Do you have liability insurance in case they decide to sue you? Once they pay you, they might have expectations about the work too...

-h

[eridanus]

I paid $37/hour for a painter and her assistant (aka, her daughter on summer vacation). I bought the paint, caulk, and tape.

[Zipper]

I do other stuff and take cash only.

[Westernskies]

Have built from the ground up, and/or added onto, or extensively remodeled three different homes, probably did 80%-90%% of the work on both. Footings to roofing, the only thing I contracted out was the plumbing- (it's a $hi++y job no matter how much you can save), and the carpeting, because I didn't have the specialized tools or the desire to learn that skill.

Made ~130K on the first one, ~160 K on the second and ~180K on the third. Some of that was market appreciation, but most of it was sweat equity. Either way, the labor investment definitely helped put me in a position to ER.

I work a white-collar job and travel a lot on business. I did all the planning and pre-built all three houses in my mind while sitting on long airline flights. (a better ROI than the in-flight movie) Having a mentally challenging, physical labor project to look forward to when I return really helps me unwind. I know a lot of people can't fathom roofing, wiring, or framing as relaxation (my ex-wife would be at the top of that list) but I really look forward to strapping on a tool belt on the weekends. Part of it is learning new skills, (welding, wiring, etc)
but the biggest part of it is the mental aspect- it is a completely different kind of work than what I do for a living. Vacations?-I can't imagine taking a cruise or just sitting on the beach- I would be bored out of my mind and probably end up working in the ship's engine room or driving the bulldozer grading the beach...

Gotta go, I have roof trusses to order for a garage addition on the mountain cabin.

[Martha]

I wish Nords was my neighbor.

[MikeD]

My father always told us that it didn't matter what we did for a living as long as we were happy. He would say, you can even be a garbageman. Anything, as long as it's not a house painter.

Mike D.

[FreeAtLast]

I had the inside and outside painted about 4 years ago and was charged about $3500. They just bid most of the job incuding materials so I did not know what they were actually being paid.

Two men were here for the better part of two weeks. I think there was some extra charge for replacing some small sections of sheet rock and removing wall paper in a small bathroom.

I had painted the exterior of my home a few years earlier and just the paint and other things that I bought for the job were close to $1000 at Home Depot. I think I went through 45 gallons of paint.

My painting days are over. I am happy to delegate the task.

[HFWR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigwonderfulwyoming Have built from the ground up, and/or added onto, or extensively remodeled three different homes, probably did 80%-90%% of the work on both. Footings to roofing, the only thing I contracted out was the plumbing- (it's a $hi++y job no matter how much you can save), and the carpeting, because I didn't have the specialized tools or the desire to learn that skill.

New plumbing is a breeze. Old plumbing, however... At the end of the day, dirt and grime from head to toe.

[Khan]

I pay my neighbor to do yard/garden work and some exterior house stuff. He enjoys working, he can use the money, he has the tools, and he knows his limitations.

I will not have him do stuff that has a risk of physical harm (2nd story gutters).

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FUEGO The same logic applies to changing your oil, fixing your car, mowing your grass, etc. Inadequate tools and low productivity levels have made outsourcing these tasks to specialized labor "efficient" for many consumers.

My problem is the hassle factor-- either getting someone to come out for an estimate (let alone to do the work) or the delay. If you go to Jiffy Lubetheir place, by the time you've driven back & forth and enjoyed their waiting-room coffee you would've been done an hour ago.

We spend a lot of time trying to reduce the number of times we need to change the oil, fix the car, mow the grass, and so on. Our teenager has caught on to this gambit, however, and I'm afraid she's going to move out as soon as she can.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FinanceDude My time is DEFINITELY worth more than $25 an hour. Anyone want to come paint my house

The catch is that pesky "work" concept. See, you only get paid as long as you keep your job. In ER I get the same direct deposit in my account every month whether I feel like working or not!

My father-in-law feels that his time is worthless, so he'll spend hours on drudgery that no contractor would ever touch. OTOH his attitude pays off in searching for lost objects, tracking down the source of the ant trail, researching questions on the Internet, looking for leaky water faucets, and so on.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lswswein A question Nords - Do you have liability insurance in case they decide to sue you? Once they pay you, they might have expectations about the work too...

We carry an umbrella liability policy on our gross worth, and I offer to keep at the job until I get it right. I don't tackle anything I can't handle. Or at least think I can handle.

I once practically field-stripped their electric oven to "fix" a problem with the self-cleaning latch, only to discover on reassembly/test that the housecleaner had switched two knobs. So I know they have a sense of humor.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martha I wish Nords was my neighbor.

Well, I could come up during the summer to do a few jobs-- I forget, is that the 16th or the 18th of August?

I've lost every "winterizing" skill that I ever had...

[Marquette]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigwonderfulwyoming Having a mentally challenging, physical labor project to look forward to when I return really helps me unwind. .... Vacations?-I can't imagine taking a cruise or just sitting on the beach- I would be bored out of my mind and probably end up working in the ship's engine room or driving the bulldozer grading the beach...

I often joke that I want a big yard, a pile of dirt, and a Bobcat when I retire. I'll go out in the morning and move the dirt from one side of the yard to the other. Then I'll go out the next morning and moving it back... it's just like my current job but I'll feel like I actually accomplished something at the end of the day.

I love painting. It lets my mind wander to other places, gives me a solid task to do, and I know when I'm done. I don't need to tape off any more but I still don't trust myself to work without a dropcloth (don't need it for splatters, but you never know when you or the dog is going to step in the paint tray). It's helped that my wife is color-choice challenged. I painted some walls in our bedroom 13 times and did the whole interior twice (including learning how to skim coat to fix bad drywall).

[harley]

A painter had won the contract for a large tract of homes. Half way through the project he realized he had underestimated. In an effort to remain solvent he resorted to thinning his paint.

Months later while asleep, he was tossing and turning. In a vision an angel came to him.

"What do you want of me?" asked the painter.The angel's only reply was, "repaint you thinner."

[Khan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by harley A painter had won the contract for a large tract of homes. Half way through the project he realized he had underestimated. In an effort to remain solvent he resorted to thinning his paint. Months later while asleep, he was tossing and turning. In a vision an angel came to him. "What do you want of me?" asked the painter.The angel's only reply was, "repaint you thinner."

Repaint, and thin no more.

[harley]

I always screw up the punch line