Lead Paint

I have a note on my phone titled “PAINT (OUTSIDE)” and it’s basically just me discovering that painting is mostly not painting.

It’s:

• cleaning
• scraping
• caulking
• priming
• fixing whatever the last paint job tried to hide
• and then (finally) rolling/brushing/spraying color onto something that’s ready for it

Which is why exterior painting quotes can feel like they’re describing different houses.

This is my decoder ring:

• cost anchors by $ per square foot, story count, and prep level
• the few drivers that make bids swing hard
• Example quote snapshots (EXAMPLES ONLY) so you can see what “scope” looks like in the real world

First: what does “$X per sq ft” even mean for exterior painting?

Different contractors (and cost guides) use “square foot” differently:

I have a phone note called PAINT (INSIDE).

It’s not inspiring.

It’s like:

• “move couch (again)”
• “why do baseboards have so many corners??”
• “buy more spackle (no, more than that)”

Anyway. If you’re here, you’ve probably seen two “interior painting” quotes that don’t even feel like they’re for the same house.

This is my little decoder ring:

• cost anchors ($/sq ft, per room, walls vs ceilings vs trim)
• why the bill is usually labor > materials
• the few scope knobs that move price a lot
• and a clearly labeled Example quote snapshots (EXAMPLES ONLY) section so you can compare bids like a normal person

Note to self: “$/sq ft” is not a unit of truth

Most guides talk about interior painting in the neighborhood of $2–$6 per sq ft (installed), but they’re often using your home’s floor area as the “sq ft.”¹