What are your painting rates?
We do not have set painting rates. We do not even calculate your painting project by the square foot. The price for your painting project will be as unique as the project itself. We make an on-site painting consultation with you to gather information about your project, see all the tiny details and answer your questions. We then estimate based upon the amount of prep work involved, time to complete your project, estimated materials & a small profit margin to allow our business to flourish. Painting services are not meant to be cheap - supplies, paint & labor are all costly. Due to high labor costs, we have a project minimum of $1000. For every painter used for a 5 day project you are paying a week's salary for each painter (We typically use 2 to 3 painters). Complete exterior painting projects usually begin at $4,000 for a small standard home and cabinet painting projects begin at $2,500. Our clients have told us that our estimates fall somewhere in the middle; We provide not the lowest nor the highest estimate. Our goal is to be the best, not the cheapest, painter around.
What paint do you use?
We prefer Sherwin-Williams® paints. We like the versatility and durability available in their line of painting products. They also offer a great contractor discount and we are able to pass our savings on to our clients. We recommend their mid to high grade paint lines like SuperPaint®, Duration®or Emerald®. At our clients' requests we use any brand of paint they prefer. We also have experience with and can recommend Benjamin Moore® or Farrell Calhoun®
What does the cabinet
painting process involve?
We specialize in painting stained or paint-grade cabinets. You will not find anyone more meticulous or that cares more than we do about the final finish of your cabinets. Cabinet painting projects typically take 4 days with the fourth day being a half-day of cleaning up.
On the first day we prep everything. Prep work includes taping and covering anything that will not be painted. Because our preferred method is to spray and we leave the doors hung to paint, European and bulkier styles of hinges can be covered with tape and preserved from being painted whereas the older, more intricate styles cannot. We fill any holes of previous drawer or cabinet pulls if you plan on changing them out for new styles of hardware. For kitchen cabinet projects we create a partition to keep paint from blowing into adjacent areas and we also cover the ceilings and air vents. On day one we lightly sand and caulk the cabinets.
On day one (if time allows) or day two we use a professional sprayer to prime the cabinets with ProBlock® Oil-Based Primer. We allow the paint to dry and then we lightly sand the primer coat.
On day three we paint with the professional sprayer one coat of ProClassic® Alkyd Interior Enamel (same coverage and paint used as two coats brushed by hand).
On day four we clean up and reveal your dramatically changed and beautiful cabinets!
Oil-based (alkyd) primer and paint fumes are very strong. Depending on how far your sleeping area is from your cabinets, you may want to make other sleeping arrangements for the nights we prime and paint. Fumes usually dissipate within 24 hours of final coat. Please wait 48 hours to restock your cabinets.
We can provide an estimate to hand brush your cabinet painting project if your project requires it such as if you have intricate hinges that cannot be covered with tape and want to preserve them from painting or if your cabinets have been previously painted by hand.
We also stain cabinets which is a very different process but also typically a 4 day project.
Do you charge for painting estimates, require a deposit and what is your payment schedule?
Most estimates are complimentary. We may charge a nominal fee of $25 if travel time to and from your painting project location exceeds an hour. We will let you know when we schedule your estimate if an estimating fee applies. The consultation usually lasts around 30 min or as long as necessary to adequately assess your project. We then spend another 1 to 2 hours pricing your project and preparing a formal estimate which is then emailed to you. As soon as you accept our estimate, we can schedule your project for the next available slot. There is no deposit required until contract signing which occurs on the morning of the first day we begin work. We typically do a 50%/50% payment schedule although for larger and longer projects we can arrange for a 33%/33%/34% payment schedule. The final payment is due upon completion of work at the walk-through.
