How to Save Money on Your Painting Estimate

Homeowners often spend more time at home to stay warm and cozy during the chilly winters in Ohio. They also have more time to look around their house, dreaming of spring and summer projects to refresh the look of their family home. One common project to plan for is interior painting and homeowners will start looking around for local painters to get estimates. 

If you are a homeowner who is used to doing your home projects yourself, you may experience sticker-shock when you get a paint bid from a professional painter. Painting estimates include not just the physical painting but also the labor-intensive prep work such as taping off valuable doors and curtains, moving and covering furniture, protecting wallpaper, etc. Trim work, for example, is usually 60% of a bid. Professionals often operate at a level of detail that typical homeowners do not, and all of this can take extra time and result in seemingly high estimates. 

If you want professional help with painting but would also like to save money, here are some valuable tips that can save hundreds on your painting estimate:

1) Create an accent wall by not painting one wall.

If you are changing the color of a room, you may choose to retain the old color on one wall to create a nice accent wall. This will not only add character to your room but can also save hundreds on your estimate! 

See an example of how one homeowner saved money in this video:

​2) Don't have ALL the doors painted.

Get an estimate for only painting some of the doors in your house - the ones that get the most use and are in high traffic areas. They are more likely to be chipped and definitely need a fresh coat of pain. One example is a pantry door in the kitchen. Other doors, such as french doors that are rarely used or touched, can be simply washed to look like new again. Another example are doors that are out of the way and not noticeable like the door to the garage - those can be washed too.

Here we show you two different doors that you can choose to paint or wash:

​3) Move and cover furniture yourself.

​This may or may not save on the estimate, depending on the placement of the furniture. It will be a lot easier for your painter to get the job done faster if the furniture is out of the way.

​4) Remove wire shelving yourself.

Typically, homeowners skip bathrooms and the insides of closets when doing a painting project themselves because they are "good enough". But these can be places where dust and microbes collect, so for sanitary and cleanliness reasons you want to clean and paint bathrooms and closets. Many closets, and sometimes bathrooms, may have wire shelving that you want to protect from paint. These actually take extra time and effort for the painter because you have to unscrew the pegs to remove the shelves or paint around the shelves that you cannot remove because of the bevel that goes into the wall. And then you have to reassemble and reinstall them afterwards. All of this can add $100-200 for a shelving surcharge and what seems to be a small room such as a bathroom or closet can really add hundreds to your bid! If you can remove and reinstall such shelves, you can save some money on your estimate.

Here is an example of a closet with wire shelving: