painting the whole house interior

[rh71]

New dormer with most of the 1st floor re-done with new sheetrock/spackle/tape. So basically we have ~2500sqft of house to paint. I'm getting wind that this will cost over $10k (estimate to come). WTF... nobody filled us in on this ridiculous expense. I know it's probably easier said than done, but are we crazy for thinking we could save some money here and at least do the walls on our own, have them do the ceilings, etc.? Every room is empty of furniture and flooring at the moment... couldn't be scripted any better... probably just time-consuming, considering it would take 3 guys about 2 weeks. So... prime coat, 2 paint coats, not difficult, is it?

 

[Greenman]

10k to paint a 2500 foot interior is absurd. I just had a 1600 foot interior done for 2.5k.

 

[bhanson]

I have no idea what I'm doing and it took me the better part of a day to paint 1 room by myself (2 coats, no primer). I went through two gallons of paint and needed more but decided to call it quits. I think this room is about 11x13?

I should have primed but I didn't. I know this isn't entirely useful information but a time frame from someone that doesn't know anything about painting would give a decent extreme should you do it yourself.

 

[Lifted]

Are you in LI? Drive to the local pickup for the illegal labor, grab as many as you can fit in your vehicle/roof/trunk, and pay them whatever the going rate is ($60/day plus lunch?) and let them hammer it out. You're looking at $1500/wk with 5 guys. Shouldn't take that much time though unless you have some colors that require many coats.

 

[0roo0roo]

you have to paint the ceiling first.

and doing a good jobclean/prime/paint/maybe 2nd coat takes longer than you'd think.

 

[AFurryReptile]

Just painted my entire house - 2300 sq/ft - for under 1k. That included trim and everything. If you're paying 10k to get your house painted then you are getting ripped off. Painting on your own isn't that hard to do if you just use a decent paint and take a little time to learn the technique.

 

[Mike Gayner]

Dude it's painting, not giving birth. If you don't do it yourself, you're not a man.

Also, $10k?lolwut?

 

[Dr. Zaus]

10k is indeed lolwut.

 

[Humpy]

New dormer with most of the 1st floor re-done with new sheetrock/spackle/tape. So basically we have ~2500sqft of house to paint. I'm getting wind that this will cost over $10k (estimate to come). WTF... nobody filled us in on this ridiculous expense. I know it's probably easier said than done, but are we crazy for thinking we could save some money here and at least do the walls on our own, have them do the ceilings, etc.? Every room is empty of furniture and flooring at the moment... couldn't be scripted any better... probably just time-consuming, considering it would take 3 guys about 2 weeks. So... prime coat, 2 paint coats, not difficult, is it?

Just asking for advice about what other people think based on square footage won't get you anywhere. Probably no one here has seen your house or hired painters from your area before. Things are cheap in TX for a reason that won't apply in NY. 10K might be a good price, only you will know after getting a few estimates from local painters.

DIY is cheaper if you can spare the time and don't care about results. And for sure, if you can't afford to hire a pro, you can't afford to pay for the potential consequences of hiring day laborers.

 

[Aharami]

I'll paint your house for $7K!

 

[BoomerD]

$10K is a lot of fucking paint.

IF you do it yourself, use primer first. That drywall will suck up paint like a sponge, and won't ever look quite right if you don't prime first.

Paint the ceiling before you paint the walls. It's MUCH easier that way...and you won't have to repaint the walls after you get the ceiling paint all over them...(don't ask how I know... )

Since the house is bare, (no floor coverings, no furniture) this is a perfect time to do this. It should NOT take 3 guys two weeks to paint the interior of a house...not under normal conditions anyway.
You should be able to knock out the average 12 x 15 bedroom in a matter of a few hours, and should be able to do at least 2 of them in a day...maybe 3.
Painting the trim will be the time consuming part of the whole experience.

 

[rh71]

Just painted my entire house - 2300 sq/ft - for under 1k. That included trim and everything. If you're paying 10k to get your house painted then you are getting ripped off. Painting on your own isn't that hard to do if you just use a decent paint and take a little time to learn the technique.

did you go at it all day, how long did it take you, and how many people?

are any brands at the big box stores perfectly fine? It's $30/gal we saw yesterday. We're doing light colors, as darker takes an extra coat they say.

Are you in LI? Drive to the local pickup for the illegal labor, grab as many as you can fit in your vehicle/roof/trunk, and pay them whatever the going rate is ($60/day plus lunch?) and let them hammer it out. You're looking at $1500/wk with 5 guys. Shouldn't take that much time though unless you have some colors that require many coats.

Not a bad idea - how skilled are they usually? I assume from being out there all the time they can pretty much do anything?

The other factor is the contractor is working with us on the timing of this, so he can put in his floors afterward. I don't really want to hold him up... dying to get in but I'm not paying anything over a few thousand just for paint.

Thx for all responses.

 

[dabuddha]

I did my whole house after we purchased it few years ago. Almost 3600 square feet. Probably cost me around 1k in supplies total. But now I fucking hate painting with a passion!

 

[Vette73]

1: Prime everything first, including ceiling.
2: Paint ceiling with ceiling paint
3: Paint walls
4: Paint trim

Just go to lowes and get their good valspar paint (not the builders/contractor grade stuff) and go at it. Use flat for walls and eggshell for trim. Should be able to do in one weekend.

Thats what I did to my house after the remodel/addon.

 

[rh71]

I did my whole house after we purchased it few years ago. Almost 3600 square feet. Probably cost me around 1k in supplies total. But now I fucking hate painting with a passion!

time? hours/day? Manpower?

 

[edro]

Use flat for walls and eggshell for trim.

Yeah, if you want scuff marks on every wall.
Flat is impossible to keep clean.

You need at least eggshell on walls, maybe even satin in high traffic or kid areas.

 

[HydroSqueegee]

I'll paint your house for $7K!

I'll do it for 5K and have it done in under a week

 

[Vette73]

Yeah, if you want scuff marks on every wall.
Flat is impossible to keep clean.

You need at least eggshell on walls, maybe even satin in high traffic or kid areas.

I have a 2 year old and my flat walls still look good. But I don't rub up against them all the time?

That and with flat paint you can do touch ups anytime and it will blend in. Can't do that with paints that have sheen.

 

[edro]

I have a 2 year old and my flat walls still look good. But I don't rub up against them all the time?

That and with flat paint you can do touch ups anytime and it will blend in. Can't do that with paints that have sheen.

I have a friend with a 4yo and his 3yo house with flat walls looks horrible.
I also saw numerous houses (when house hunting) with flat painted walls that looked horrible.

Maybe you are just careful. Good point about touchups.

 

[dabuddha]

time? hours/day? Manpower?

It was about 2 years ago so I can't honestly say but as far as manpower, 1

It'd take me a couple of hours per room from what I remember. The most time consuming part really was the taping of the trim. I replaced all the flooring so I didn't bother tarping it up.

 

[BigFatCow]

anyone have thoughts on buying/renting a sprayer for doing something like this? Seems like with an empty house it would speed things up quite a bit.

 

[HydroSqueegee]

1: Prime everything first, including ceiling.
2: Paint ceiling with ceiling paint
3: Paint walls
4: Paint trim

Just go to lowes and get their good valspar paint (not the builders/contractor grade stuff) and go at it. Use flat for walls and eggshell for trim. Should be able to do in one weekend.

Thats what I did to my house after the remodel/addon.

something about the Valspar paint i just dont like. it always has a latexy feel after its dried and just doesnt dry to hard finish. But i painted my old house when i sold it with the Valspar contractor paint and primer, and it was pretty decent.
Olympic paint has been my go-to for years now, but my dad swears by Behr paint and uses it exclusivly. Its preference really.

But bare minimum 2 coats primer on the new drywall. Minimum 2 coats paint (egg shell or satin). Trim sucks. cutting in sucks. When i paint my living room and hallway this summer, im seriously considering putting up crown molding. I hate cutting in so much im willing to spend the money and time on that instead.

 

[Vette73]

I have a friend with a 4yo and his 3yo house with flat walls looks horrible.
I also saw numerous houses (when house hunting) with flat painted walls that looked horrible.

Maybe you are just careful. Good point about touchups.

I agree paints with more sheen clean easier but I have also seen the touch up on them and it layers up and looks bad. But if you are a parent that lets your kids go nuts on your walls then yes get a super glossy paint and have at it. But we don;t let our son go wild on the walls. We supply him with paper and teach him good and bad, bad being drawing on the walls. :

I have lived in both types and I rather be able to touch it up and look good as new. I did more touch ups when I had a roommate with a english mastif dog then kids so I got a lot of exp doing touch ups.

 

[Vette73]

something about the Valspar paint i just dont like. it always has a latexy feel after its dried and just doesnt dry to hard finish. But i painted my old house when i sold it with the Valspar contractor paint and primer, and it was pretty decent.
Olympic paint has been my go-to for years now, but my dad swears by Behr paint and uses it exclusivly. Its preference really.

But bare minimum 2 coats primer on the new drywall. Minimum 2 coats paint (egg shell or satin). Trim sucks. cutting in sucks. When i paint my living room and hallway this summer, im seriously considering putting up crown molding. I hate cutting in so much im willing to spend the money and time on that instead.

It dried fine for me and has been 3years now on the remodel and about 1 year on the addon with no problems.
Most walls were new drywall and some old, but worked the same on both.

Behr is also ok as long as you use light colors. Behr seems to have issues with darker colors and nto sure if they have fixed that or not. Valspar seems to work fine light or dark color.

We also waited until it was a little warmer (dryer air) as it seems colder temps, and/or humid air, can cause what you describe, not sure if thats the case for you though?

 

[soulcougher73]

10k to paint a 2500 foot interior is absurd. I just had a 1600 foot interior done for 2.5k.

This literally a year ago. Was $2500 on the dot for a 1700sq house.