Hiring an Interior Painter: What the Quote Should Say

Each room and each surface in it — walls, ceiling, trim, doors, closets, inside the closets — with the number of coats and whether primer is in. The paint brand, line and sheen for each surface. The prep: nail holes and minor patching, caulking, sanding, cleaning, and what's excluded (wallpaper, plaster repair, stain-blocking). Furniture moving and protection. The crew size, the schedule, and whether the price is fixed. A total that separates labor and materials is a bonus; most painters quote a single number.

Referrals from neighbors and a local paint store — the store counter knows who buys good paint and who doesn't — beat marketplace reviews. Ask for three recent interior jobs with contact info, and for one you can look at. Confirm liability insurance and workers' comp with a certificate from the insurer, not a photocopy. Look at the trim in their photos: anyone can roll a wall; the cut lines and the doors are where you see a painter.

Fixed price for a defined scope. Hourly ($25–$75 per painter-hour) works for a small job or a punch list, but for a house it leaves you paying for a slow crew. Get a fixed number for everything in the quote, with a per-room or per-door price for anything you might add. A deposit of 10–30% is normal; a demand for half or more up front is not.

Let the painter supply it, at their contractor price, and specify the brand and line in writing. Painters get 20–40% off retail and are responsible for having enough on the day. If you supply, the painter's warranty usually won't cover the paint's performance. Either way, get the color, line and sheen for each surface on the invoice, and ask for the leftover paint labeled by room.

Most move and cover furniture as part of the price; some charge extra for heavy pieces or exclude it. Ask, and clear small items, valuables and wall hangings yourself the night before. Rooms that are emptied before the crew arrives paint faster and get a better finish — if you can move a room's contents to another room, the crew will thank you and the quote may reflect it.

The EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting rule: a contractor who disturbs painted surfaces in a home built before 1978 must be a certified firm using lead-safe work practices — containment, no dry sanding, HEPA cleanup. If your house is pre-1978, ask for the firm's certificate; if they don't have one, they aren't legally allowed to sand your walls. It adds a little to the prep cost and it's the law.

A properly prepped wall in good paint should go 5–10 years without peeling, flaking or fading unevenly. A written warranty of 1–3 years on labor — peeling, blistering, adhesion — is standard from a reputable painter; the paint itself carries the manufacturer's warranty. What isn't covered: scuffs, stains, and anything caused by moisture from a leak. Get the warranty on the invoice.

A quote with no surfaces or coats listed; 'paint' with no brand; a price well under the others (one coat, no prep, or contractor-grade paint); no insurance certificate; a large deposit; cash only; a crew that shows up without drop cloths; and a painter who says a pre-1978 house doesn't need lead-safe practice. Also the one who will start tomorrow in the busy season — good painters are booked out.