Painters make an average of $38,940 per year or about $20 per hour, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Independent contractors that own their own business charge $20 to $50 per hour for labor, but they must account for overhead, insurance, and marketing.
Now that the housing industry is growing again, more and more builders and contractors are looking for painters. As a result, the job outlook for painters is great. Projections show faster-than-average growth in this field. (Like this idea? Click to tweet it!)
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Because I used to be a teacher in the past life, I know how to make house painting simple.
If you use a power washer on wood siding, be very careful not to erode the wood’s surface or to blast water into the separations between boards. For more, see How to Clean House Siding.
The cost of painting interior walls is fairly straightforward as it’s largely determined by the total square footage of the surface area. The cost to paint interior walls is $1.50 – $3.00 per square foot.
It looks great! We have a small 1901 farmhouse we would love to paint white. Can you please share the paint and finish yo used for the house & trim? Thank you.
Thank you for sharing these tips, Josh! My boyfriend and I are about to embark on a major re-design of our condo and I am not looking forward to all the painting prep work. It does make a huge difference if you do it right though! Stacia February 25, 2015
Many products boast a 2-in-1 “paint and primer” label, but that name is misleading. “Paint and primers” don’t actually have any primer in the mix. They’re just thicker paints, and they aren’t anywhere near as effective as a combination of separate paints and primers.
The average cost to paint an apartment is $900 to $3,000 depending on the number of bedrooms or if it's a studio. A 900-square-foot one-bedroom apartment costs $900 to $2,500 to paint. Painting a 2-bedroom apartment with 10' ceilings costs $1,100 to $3,000 on average. Apartment Painting Price List Type Average Cost Studio $700 – $1,600 1-Bedroom $900 – $2,500 2-Bedroom $1,100 – $3,000
Preparations for a paint job generally include completing any repairs, pressure washing, sanding, and more. Cleanup costs will usually include the cost of clearing away any extra paint and garbage and properly disposing of everything at the landfill.
Depending on what you’re painting, have the proper tools ready. You don’t want to start painting and then have to stop and go to the store to buy another paintbrush or roller.
Painting interior walls is the easiest way to bring your living space back to life. But when it comes to interior house painting, proper wall preparation is critical to achieve perfect results. To help you out, we’ve compiled a seven-step guide to preparing interior walls for painting. Clean the walls: To clean the walls that need to be painted, you can use a vacuum cleaner or a towel. If you intend to paint your bathroom and kitchen walls as well, a solution of laundry detergent and water might help you remove residues (e.g. rust-colored drip marks and sticky residue from cooking). After washing the walls, give them a quick rinse and allow them to dry completely. If there is wallpaper on the walls, you’ll need to remove it and then clean the walls properly. If mold is present, apply an anti-mold solution to the affected area; also, get a special sealer (e.g. anti-damp paint) to cover heavy mold growth. Remove old paint: To remove cracked or flaking paint, use a paint scraper and sandpaper to smooth the surface. You can staple a piece of sandpaper to a sanding block or use an electric sander, which is more appropriate for large areas. Repair damaged areas: Interior house painting means much more than cleaning a few walls and choosing a chic color. To get the results expected, you must find all the flaws before priming and painting your walls. Loose patches of old plaster and cracks around window and door frames are some of the most common problems you may observe when inspecting your walls. After removing the old plaster, prepare fresh plaster to repair those areas. As well, a good idea would be to fill the gaps around windows and doors with a flexible sealant. Find “invisible” flaws: While some flaws are visible, others are not. You can use a utility light to find the flaws that are less obvious. Hold the light close to the wall surface, moving it up and down. Circle any flaws you notice so that you can find and repair them later. After executing all the repairs, use sandpaper to smooth imperfections away. Use lining paper: Using lining paper implies additional work, and it usually doesn’t do much good. However, in specific situations, such as when walls have lots of fine cracks or large repair areas, covering them with lining paper can help you get a smooth, flawless base for paint. Prime your walls: If your walls are covered in a water-based paint, you can apply a fresh coat of paint over the old color. But if you intend to paint over a semi-gloss, gloss, or oil-based color, using a primer is imperative to end up with perfectly painted walls. Use a special stain-blocking primer: Although a regular primer can hide small imperfections, most products can’t cover certain marks, such as those left behind by water and permanent markers. These marks will bleed through your paint, even if you apply several coats. First, try to remove the stains; if they won’t go away, use a stain-blocking primer.
After preparing the area, apply a light coat of bonding primer. Sherwin – Williams has great bonding primers. Bonding primer will help the water-based paint adhere to the old oil paint. Allowing 2 – 3 days for the primer to cure is important. It will help prevent the likely hood of the primer coat from chipping or peeling, allowing maximum adhesion.
Semi-gloss paints are more durable, shiny, and easy to clean. However, they draw attention to any flaws on the surface. High-gloss paints also reflect light very well, which makes the paint seem brighter. Depending on what type of paint you choose, you can expect to pay between $10 and $70 for a gallon of interior paint or between $15 and $70 for a gallon of exterior paint.
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This post couldn’t come at a better time! We are about to reprint our lounge after our toddler decided to do little Picasso crayon drawings on the walls, and discovering that the painter and decorator used the cheapest paint, it comes off with even a baby wipe! My top tip would be to use the most expensive paint you can afford, the cheap stuff just doesn’t hold up to day to day life with mucky little toddlers, this time I’m getting the Scrub proof paint! Tammi February 25, 2015
* per gallonOil-based primer$20 – $65Latex-based primer$20 – $80Shellac primer$30 – $62 Spraying vs. rolling