How to Save Money When Hiring a Painter

Enterprising customers have asked how they can save money on any paint work they plan to hire out to a professional painting company. Here is a list of things customers can do with that aim in mind:

1) Have your colors picked out! You can achieve this by going to any paint or hardware store and choosing colors from the printed samples available on the color wall. We encourage supporting Miller Paint Company with locations on W. 11th in Eugene, OR and Marcola Rd. in Springfield. OR. We are happy to provide a free color consultation if needed. You can also look around your neighborhood and take note of color schemes you like on other houses first before applying those colors to your own!

2) Clear the workspace! For an exterior painting estimate it is helpful to trim back all landscaping and clear all personal possessions and stored items away from the house. On interiors it is helpful to remove all pictures and personal possessions from areas of the house that are going to be painted. The greater access we have to the work area the fewer labor hours are required to complete the job!

3) Doing some of the work yourself! Many of our customers choose to do the easier work themselves and hire out the more difficult aspects of the job. The most common examples are customers painting the exterior siding and trim of their own house and then hiring us to come paint the high and difficult to reach areas that they aren’t comfortable doing. In the summer of 2020 we had two remarkable customers (both women and both in their 70’s!) each paint the entire exterior of their respective homes except for a few areas that were 14 feet or more from the ground. We do several jobs like this every year and it’s always a rewarding experience for both the homeowner and for us.

4) Try to have major repairs completed before painting! It is more cost effective to have repairs like replacing rotten wood, fixing plumbing and roof leaks, and having foundation work done before painting. Try to sequence your home repairs accordingly.

5) DO NOT LET THE PAINT ON YOUR HOUSE EVER PEEL! This is the biggest cost saving tip any painting company can offer a customer. Repainting a house is expensive enough, but having to scrape peeling paint and invest labor hours in all of the extra work associated with a deteriorated paint job can double, triple, or quadruple the cost of painting your house. It is more work to remove peeling paint, caulk, prime, contain, clean up, and repair damaged paint surfaces than it is to actually paint a house! When you first see the signs of deteriorating paint on a house it’s time to repaint. This approach will save you substantially in the long run. You should have the exterior of your house painted every 7 to 12 years, 10 years being a good benchmark.

6) Reducing the number of colors used is another great way to save money on an interior or exterior paint job. Fewer colors mean fewer hours spent painting, and fewer hours means a lower total job cost. If you are on a very tight budget consider just using one or two colors as opposed to four or five!

7) If you want a cheap job, just tell us! It’s best to be truthful about your precise house painting and maintenance needs. We bid every job on the presumption that high quality prep work and high quality paint will be applied in a manner that meets or exceeds commonly accepted industry standards. We do this because we want to give our customers the longest lasting, most durable fade-resistant finish we possibly can. But we understand that there are cases where price is the sole priority and can often make adjustments in consideration of this. The most common examples where the lowest possible price and most basic standard is sought out is in painting rental properties and apartments, painting homes before they go on the market, and doing simple maintenance painting where the house or commercial building is washed and quickly sprayed in a fresh coat of paint using the existing color. We call this a “spruce” coat or a “refresher” coat. Accommodating the needs of the customer is our highest priority and we remain flexible with that aim in mind.