Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Sixpence on May 07, 2007, 08:41:52 AM
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My house needs to be painted. It's not very big and I really don't have the money to pay someone, so I thought I would do it myself(with a little help from my friends).
Now I am not looking forward to the prep work, but I was told you can use a pressure wash instead of scraping, anyone have any experience with this?
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Are you scraping to remove paint from wood or masonary?
Power washes can put holes in masonary quite easily...which can make for a whole lot of patching up afterwards.
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Wood shingle
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You need a good pressure washer but be careful not to get the nozzle too close or you might cut through the wood shingle itself. It takes a bit of practice so just start in a less obvious place.
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If you use a power washer make sure you allow plenty of drying time afterwards before painting. If not you trap moisture under the paint , which is worse than not painting at all.
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Originally posted by Jackal1
If you use a power washer make sure you allow plenty of drying time afterwards before painting. If not you trap moisture under the paint , which is worse than not painting at all.
Yeah, I kinda figured. I got some loose stuff that's gonna get washed off and I guess you can't use a drop cloth when you pressure wash. I'm kinda wondering about the cleanup of the loose stuff that comes off.
Also, would you paint the trim first?
Gonna run to sherman-williams, see if they got some answers
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Pressure washer good idea, quick and easy. These tips may be helpful:
Your stripping a wood surface with pressure washer, be careful of the PSI settings of the washer. Rent one that has adjustable pressure settings. With wood surfaces lower PSI is better, anywhere from 300 to 900 PSI will do the job.
Wand tip: Make sure washer comes with appropiate nozzle tip (goes into the end of wand). Tip sizes are listed by angle of degree. At zero degrees....means you have a jet stream of water and will cut through your wood siding like a hot knife through butter. I would choose eith a 45 or 33 degree nozzle to clean wood surfaces. The wider angle also lessens the PSI.
Male sure you have plenty of exterior rated caulking on hand too. Any loose caulking will be removed by pressure washer.
Hope that helps.
PS: on the wand tip, if thay don't have the right one go anywhere they sell pressure washers and you can get one for $5.
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Paint the trim last.
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Sixpence. check your PMs
Correct answer is -probably both.
And you can do it a couple of ways depending on how thourough you want to be.
If your house is peeing badly you might not want to pressure wash first as all those paint chips are going to go blowing all over the place.
I would not advise someone with little to no experience, stripping a house of paint by way of powerwashing.
You can. Damage the house. Damage yourself. or both
If its peeling badly. I'd run across it real quick just scraping off. as much of the really loose stuff as you can. Unless its really windy most of it will fall straight down and make it a hell of alot easier to clean up.
Then powerwash. (with no more then a 2600 PSI and no lower then a 2400 PSI powerwasher for your average homowner) Let it dry then go around and scrape whatever else you may fidh came loose from the powerwasher. and either spot prime those spots that came off as you go along (using an exteriour primer) or prime the entire house.
Like I said, It depends on how thorough you want to be
If your looking for a perfect job (most people arent) you will want to sand down those areas where the paint was peeeling and maybe use an eteriour spackle to smooth it all out again to pristine like new condition before you prime.
Either way. Anyplace if goes down to the bare wood. You are going to want to prime first.
Also. If oil paint has been used on the house and you are planning on using a latex over it.
You MUST use an oil based primer first. Or its just going to peel again.
I used the 24-2600 PSI reccomendations that less then 2400 PSI and your basically using an oversized waterpistol. You could probably do almost as good with a plain garden hose and a spray nozzle as aything under 2400 PSI. using a fan tip
Larger then 2600 PSI and your running a greater risk of damaging the siding,windows or yourself.
I have a buddy of mine who is also a professional and because of a simple act of carelessness took a nice sized chunk of flesh out of his left arm. He still bears the scar some 10 years later.
also because if yoru inexperienced and you use a more powerful one 3000-4000 PSI it will only take you a moment to shred the wood on your siding or trim or to blow out a window.
Also, wash up well when your done or are stopping to eat something.
If your house is over 30 years old there is a 75% chance it has lead paint on it in one or more of its layers
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Originally posted by BigGun
Paint the trim last.
Paint the trim first.
Then you wont have to worry about any laddermarks on the siding after its been painted. AND
If you pain tthe trim first, You will fint its alot easier to keep the diding paint off the trim then to keep the trim paint off the siding.
Particularly if you want a proffesional looking job and are painting the side of the trim that fases the siding and arent just facing off the trim.
you can do it the other way. But this way is both easier and faster.
Use quality tools.
For brushes Use Purdy, or Woosters
Some people like the Cornado brushes but I find they have a longer break in time then I like
GoldCrests are good too if you can find them
Expect to pay about $15 for a brush, Less if you can get a contractors discount
Stay away from Home Depot paint.(Behr/Glidden)
Its cheper yes.
and thats exactly what your getting. cheap paint.
I dont care how much they paid consumer reports to say its good. the stuff is trash.
I WONT use it. Not even on the Customers insistance.
I tell them to find a different contractor instead.
"yes, your house.
But. my business and reputation"
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I hope u have better luck than I had. I stained my house, with a Wagner. The nozzle I wanted to use kept clogging so I had to use the bigger one. What a mess I made. Stained windows, roof, and even a bird that popped out of the eaves at me....out of reflex I sprayed the poor thing head on. Bad news is...its time to stain again!!! Perhaps a brush will be used this go-round.
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Problem there was the Wagner. they mostly just spit. Rent a professional quality airless sprayer from a good paint store, much less overspray and tons easier to use.
oh and buy or rent if they will a spray shield ( big piece of metal/plastic with a handle) to keep from spaying adjacent areas that you dont want stain. Other than that spend some time masking and covering areas you dont want to stain. It takes some time but you will be happier with the results.
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Originally posted by McDeath
Problem there was the Wagner. they mostly just spit. Rent a professional quality airless sprayer from a good paint store, much less overspray and tons easier to use.
oh and buy or rent if they will a spray shield ( big piece of metal/plastic with a handle) to keep from spaying adjacent areas that you dont want stain. Other than that spend some time masking and covering areas you dont want to stain. It takes some time but you will be happier with the results.
LMAO spot on.
Ive found Wagner products generally suck.
Homeowners will swear by them though.
That is till they've used a professional machine LOL
If your not used to spraying yes a sheild is a good idea.
Just remember to wipe it clean every once in a while or it will build up and start dripping
I've been doing this for almost 30 years and I can get to within a few inches of just about anything without getting overspray on the undesired object.
but like I said. I've been doing it almost 30 years. You get that good the same way you get to carnagie hall "Practice practice practice"
I dont do alot of spraying on houses anymore (maybe 2-3 a year)because of landscape and vehicle concerns. Even if you keep it off the windows by whatever means if its even a slghtly windy day nearby plants and shrubs get the speckled effect
And with todays landscaping its impractical to cover everything.
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Originally posted by FiLtH
I hope u have better luck than I had. I stained my house, with a Wagner. The nozzle I wanted to use kept clogging so I had to use the bigger one. What a mess I made. Stained windows, roof, and even a bird that popped out of the eaves at me....out of reflex I sprayed the poor thing head on. Bad news is...its time to stain again!!! Perhaps a brush will be used this go-round.
I am assuming your using a solid stain and not a semi transparent?
If your using a semi trasnsparent remember. work on only one or two boards at a time and complete the entire board from one end to the other always maintainigna an wet even endge as you progress otherwise your going ot end up with lap marks.
I gave an estimate to someoen a couple years ago on a pretty big house for $7,000 to stain it. Which considering the size of the house I thought was a fair price.
Did a follow up call about a week later and she told me (with a bit of attitude I might add)she hired someone to do it "alot Cheaper" ($4,000). So I told her well your going to get either a good job or a cheap job. the two dont usually go hand in hand and that staining a house with semi transparent is different then using a solid stain or painting it." Sh said she'd take her chances.
Ok, suit yourself
I happeend ot be working in the area and would drive by her block on the way home where I could see her house from the main road.
Soon as I saw who;s truck was otu there I knew what she was in for.
Yea the guy is cheap. but he usually isnt renowned for doing high end work.
The days go by and pretty soon you can see what the job is going to look like.
This nice horizontal siding had these really funky vertical zigzag stripes on it from working up and down rather then side to side.
Next thing I know Im getting a call from the lady apologising and asking if I can come fix it before memorial day.
"Sorry hun. Too busy now" but I refered her to someone I know who ended up doing the job...for $7,000 with a solid stain.
Now the house looks like it was painted.
Which is exactly what she didnt want.
Did a job sometime later for one of her neighbors who referred her to me to begin with and we got to talking about it. Seems the lady was away on business during most of the proccess and ddint come back till the first guy had already done 90% of the house. She was furious demanding he fix it. When he couldnt.she fired him and got a few other prices to fix it, each higher then my original and several refusing outright to attempt it at all.
so she tried calling me again. which is what this lady advised her to do to begin with.
In the end she ended up paying over 9K for a job I would have done right for 7
Cant say I didnt warn her
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Ya i know I should have taken the time to mask and all, but I despise crap around the house. I just rushed it. I knew I was going to replace all the doors and windows (which is now done) so I didnt care much. This time however, I will have to be careful. I'll just have to pretend Im enjoying it. yuck
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I just painted my house last year and it was a blast and i paided a 1/3 of the price even after buying 2 cool tools to do the job with, First i got a 2000PSI Gas PowerWasher which did a fantastic job on the exterior of the home it took all the crap off and didnt harm the siding ( it would if you left it on one spot) Make sure you use a good quality siding wash, A good wash will have chemicals in it to kill mold spores and help lift the dirt and gunk.
Then my cool tool 2 was a wagner model 177 Airless Sprayer with a 2 1/2 Gallon Reservoir with this i made quick work of the house 2 day job Max including the slow trim painting process, with the airless i was using a metal straight edge along the trim and it worked great for keeping the paint off the trim.
Paint the house first then the trim last, Use a good ladder and you wont need to lean it on the house, even if you do wrap rags around the ladder where it touches the house and that will protect the paint
Total Cash outlay Tools, $129 power washer $169 Wagner Airless
Paint, 10 gallons House and 4 gallons trim Paint $150 Tape and Caulking $ 30 Total around $478
i was quoted prices from $2500 to 3600 from Painting Contractors. After the wife heard this buying the tools so i could Paint the house myself and save us alot of money wasnt so bad
Funny note thou... Now i make extra money Painting Friends homes and making $600 labor for doing it they just buy the paint and tape :lol :lol :D
This year im redoing my decks so the pressure washer is doing its job very nicely stripping the crap off so i can re-stain it TOOLS RULE :aok
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Originally posted by 68ZooM
I just painted my house last year and it was a blast and i paided a 1/3 of the price even after buying 2 cool tools to do the job with, First i got a 2000PSI Gas PowerWasher which did a fantastic job on the exterior of the home it took all the crap off and didnt harm the siding ( it would if you left it on one spot) Make sure you use a good quality siding wash, A good wash will have chemicals in it to kill mold spores and help lift the dirt and gunk.
Then my cool tool 2 was a wagner model 177 Airless Sprayer with a 2 1/2 Gallon Reservoir with this i made quick work of the house 2 day job Max including the slow trim painting process, with the airless i was using a metal straight edge along the trim and it worked great for keeping the paint off the trim.
Paint the house first then the trim last, Use a good ladder and you wont need to lean it on the house, even if you do wrap rags around the ladder where it touches the house and that will protect the paint
Total Cash outlay Tools, $129 power washer $169 Wagner Airless
Paint, 10 gallons House and 4 gallons trim Paint $150 Tape and Caulking $ 30 Total around $478
i was quoted prices from $2500 to 3600 from Painting Contractors. After the wife heard this buying the tools so i could Paint the house myself and save us alot of money wasnt so bad
Funny note thou... Now i make extra money Painting Friends homes and making $600 labor for doing it they just buy the paint and tape :lol :lol :D
This year im redoing my decks so the pressure washer is doing its job very nicely stripping the crap off so i can re-stain it TOOLS RULE :aok
Point A. What you live in, a bungalow?
Point B. What kind of crap paint did you buy that it only cost you $11 per gallon?
Point C Like I said. Homowners love wagner. Till they use a real tool
Point D I'd love to eyeball this house in person. Just so I coudl tell you everything you did wrong LOL.
If I were you I'd fully expect it to peel badly within the first 5 years
either that or your full of crap about the entire story
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I just got quotes to paint my house - $9,600 - $15,000 was the range.
OUCH!
No way I'm doing it myself though....some parts you really gotta have nads to get up there.
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Originally posted by Curval
I just got quotes to paint my house - $9,600 - $15,000 was the range.
OUCH!
No way I'm doing it myself though....some parts you really gotta have nads to get up there.
How big is the house?
Obviously more then a standard 2 stories
If your living in one of the Mc Mansions thats about right
Throw out the lowest quote.
He's gonna cut corners.
throw out the highest quote
He's already pretty busy and can afford to just throw prices out there
Pick one of the middle ranged prices.
Make sure he is insured. (ask to see the certificate of insurance)
Make sure you know exactly what you are getting for that price and make sure you arent compairing apples and oranges as to what exactly each is going to do.
Remember inside is 90% asthetics. Outside is 90% about protection
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Originally posted by Sixpence
Yeah, I kinda figured. I got some loose stuff that's gonna get washed off and I guess you can't use a drop cloth when you pressure wash. I'm kinda wondering about the cleanup of the loose stuff that comes off.
Also, would you paint the trim first?
Gonna run to sherman-williams, see if they got some answers
I paint trim first, then mask. To each his own I guess.
If you are talking about Sherwin-Williams, from personal experience I would suggest going elsewhere.
About four months ago I got sucker punched at SW. I was going to use a primer/sealer followed with the final coat. They tinted the primer instead of the paint itself when mixing. After I got all the paint home and discovered this, SW wouldn`t refund the cost of the primer that THEY screwed up becuase it had been tinted and mixed. They did offer to remix the final coat paint to the correct tint......................at an added charge.
You can probably use your imagination as to how the conversation went down hill past this point.
:D
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Originally posted by Jackal1
I paint trim first, then mask. To each his own I guess.
If you are talking about Sherwin-Williams, from personal experience I would suggest going elsewhere.
About four months ago I got sucker punched at SW. I was going to use a primer/sealer followed with the final coat. They tinted the primer instead of the paint itself when mixing. After I got all the paint home and discovered this, SW wouldn`t refund the cost of the primer that THEY screwed up becuase it had been tinted and mixed. They did offer to remix the final coat paint to the correct tint......................at an added charge.
You can probably use your imagination as to how the conversation went down hill past this point.
:D
SW is a good paint. But I will agree. you have to make sure with what your getting
that being said. nothing wrong with tiinted primer.
I usually use Ben Moore. but have no problems using SW if its more convenient to get to.
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Originally posted by DREDIOCK
nothing wrong with tiinted primer.
........................Unles s you are using light shades for your final and the primer is tinted the shade you want the final to be. Coverage is a B. The primer should be light, basic.
It sucks I think about sums it up. :)
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Originally posted by DREDIOCK
How big is the house?
Obviously more then a standard 2 stories
If your living in one of the Mc Mansions thats about right
Throw out the lowest quote.
He's gonna cut corners.
throw out the highest quote
He's already pretty busy and can afford to just throw prices out there
Pick one of the middle ranged prices.
Make sure he is insured. (ask to see the certificate of insurance)
Make sure you know exactly what you are getting for that price and make sure you arent compairing apples and oranges as to what exactly each is going to do.
Remember inside is 90% asthetics. Outside is 90% about protection
Three stories, made mostly out of stone and mortar. There is a wee bit of wood trim in some spots.
I have decided to go with a mid range guy already, who is also a mason. It's why I chose him...because most of the real work involved is prep work and he has already done some nice work in installing windows etc. at our place.
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Originally posted by DREDIOCK
Point A. What you live in, a bungalow?
Point B. What kind of crap paint did you buy that it only cost you $11 per gallon?
Point C Like I said. Homowners love wagner. Till they use a real tool
Point D I'd love to eyeball this house in person. Just so I coudl tell you everything you did wrong LOL.
If I were you I'd fully expect it to peel badly within the first 5 years
either that or your full of crap about the entire story
Ad B, do you pay more then that with your painter discount? and charge customers something around 24$ as they sell in store?
He bought cheap paint and he is aware of that including consequence.
Ad C, If tool do the job , even twice per 10 years, there is no reason to buy pro tools, thats not his source of income.
Ad D. So what, if he is happy with results , whats make you think he would be happier if you would do that?
I bet , if you find someone picky, he will turn your life in to nightmare. I'm right? ;-) And your defense would be "we allways do this this way
or " I have 20 years of experience, i'm licensed, bonded..........".
Unfortunately that does not mean someone who is licensed and bonded, do his work right. Usual, those one who are in hurry are pro painters.
5 years? who cares? He save enough to paint his home every year for this 5 years
68zooM, how you dare to paint your own home ;-)
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Originally posted by ramzey
Ad B, do you pay more then that with your painter discount? and charge customers something around 24$ as they sell in store?
He bought cheap paint and he is aware of that including consequence.
Ad C, If tool do the job , even twice per 10 years, there is no reason to buy pro tools, thats not his source of income.
Ad D. So what, if he is happy with results , whats make you think he would be happier if you would do that?
I bet , if you find someone picky, he will turn your life in to nightmare. I'm right? ;-) And your defense would be "we allways do this this way
or " I have 20 years of experience, i'm licensed, bonded..........".
Unfortunately that does not mean someone who is licensed and bonded, do his work right. Usual, those one who are in hurry are pro painters.
5 years? who cares? He save enough to paint his home every year for this 5 years
68zooM, how you dare to paint your own home ;-)
At contractor discount I am copying this directly from the receipt for paint I purchased yesterday.
1 Gallon Benjamin Moore "Mooreguard" Latex HP Pastel
Color- Lancaster Whitewash HC- 174
Item BM1371
Suggested Price $33.99
Extention (contractor Discount) $28.89
7% NJ sales tax $2.02
Total $30.91
(Even Home Depot paint is more then $18.00 per gallon the last time I looked)
One of my selling points is I do not mark up the material price
And I pass my contractor savings onto the customer
I only make money on the labor.
Any excess material left at the end of the job is the customers to keep (I have better things to store then paint colors I may not use again for God knows how long)
I staple any and all material receipts to my copy of the contract for the customer to see should they have any questions.
He could have rented a pro tool a lot less then the price he paid for a piece of junk
Home Depot will rent you a professional Sprayer for about $50 a day
Least that's what I paid last year when mine went down
I've had some nit picky customers everyone has. I try to be more critical and nit picky of my work then my customers. Its rare when I find a customer that's more picky then I am. But it happens maybe 1 in 50.
Like the lady a few months ago that literally went crawling around on her hands and knees running her hands over the ALL floor trim Not looking for imperfections. but FEELING for imperfections you couldn't see 3 inches away.
Nobody pays me in full until they are happy with my work.
"We always do it this way" is nothing but a cop out
I..Me have going on 30 years of experience and licensed ,bonded. A member of the "Association of Professional Painters & Decorators of New Jersey" etc etc. bla bla bla
And I wouldn't think of using that as excuse for less then great work. Or as offering it as proof I do good work.
The only "problems" I've had is when someone with something with years and years of neglect are upset when it doesn't look like new construction when its done. And then I tell them up front. I cant give you a new construction look on this without actually giving you new construction.
Or when they want something extra for free that wasn't included in the contract.
And provided its within reason I often will throw in an extra or two for free that isnt in the contract
I do VERY little advertising. 95% of my work all comes through word of mouth.
I keep managing to pay the bills even in the tough times and the same people keep calling me back for more work and referring me to al their friends so I must be doing something right.
5 years. Yea and we will see in 5 years how much more it costs him in time and material to fix the things he could have avoided by using quality products in the first place.
Furhermore with a 2000 psi powerwasher on a house of any kind of size to it would be the equivalent of scrubbing down an entire bathroom with a toothbrush.
Even if I gave him the benefit of the doubt that he waited a couple of days between the time he powerwashed it and he started painting it and only claims he did the rest in two days. Unless he lives in a bungalow. there is no way he did all that to a house in only 2 days and did any kind of quality job. I'd be willing to bet the caulking doesn't even last a year before it starts cracking because he probably painted over it the same day he caulked it. And that's even if he caulked it correctly.
Based on the amount of paint used. Im guessing he probably painted it the same color (one coat) it was and perhaps changed the trim color
He or anyone wants to paint their own house. Hey great. Go for it. Im not saying it cant be done.
As long as he is happy with it. more power to him.
but based on what he claims. there is no way in this life Im going to believe he did any kind of quality job.
But as long as he is happy with it. More power to him
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Originally posted by Curval
Three stories, made mostly out of stone and mortar. There is a wee bit of wood trim in some spots.
I have decided to go with a mid range guy already, who is also a mason. It's why I chose him...because most of the real work involved is prep work and he has already done some nice work in installing windows etc. at our place.
sounds like you have a Tudor
Depending on the shape they are in they can be fun stuff..one way or the other lol
Next week Im giving an estimate to the guy the runs the printing store I deal with.
he has one of those old victorians.
I have a love/hate feeling with those things.
Typically they are in horrid shape by the time the owner decides to paint them and they require a brutal amount of prep work,window glazing,foundation repair etc.
But I simply LOVE the way they look when they are done right.
It is the one type of home that gives me the most sense of personal satisaftion when Im done
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Originally posted by DREDIOCK
Point A. What you live in, a bungalow?
Point B. What kind of crap paint did you buy that it only cost you $11 per gallon?
Point C Like I said. Homowners love wagner. Till they use a real tool
Point D I'd love to eyeball this house in person. Just so I coudl tell you everything you did wrong LOL.
If I were you I'd fully expect it to peel badly within the first 5 years
either that or your full of crap about the entire story
Well first off im not full of crap.
point A i live in a 1600 SQ FT Home, Point B sense im in construction i got a real good deals thru my suppliers, the paint has a 25 yr warrenty so if it fails its not because the home wasnt preped right, Point C theres not a dam thing wrong with a wagner, sure its not construction grade BUT thats not what i was after, this one did the job great like i said.
Point D By all means feel free to look all you want you wont find a flaw anywhere. ive been in construction for over 25 years and have been designing homes now for the past five years and i take pride in what i do and it doesnt take a rocket sciencetist to paint a house, Its funny how painting contractors charge outrageous prices to paint a home
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Awwwwwwww should of known a" Professional Painter"
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Originally posted by DREDIOCK
sounds like you have a Tudor
Depending on the shape they are in they can be fun stuff..one way or the other lol
Next week Im giving an estimate to the guy the runs the printing store I deal with.
he has one of those old victorians.
I have a love/hate feeling with those things.
Typically they are in horrid shape by the time the owner decides to paint them and they require a brutal amount of prep work,window glazing,foundation repair etc.
But I simply LOVE the way they look when they are done right.
It is the one type of home that gives me the most sense of personal satisaftion when Im done
It's not a Tudor, it's an old (120 years) house built in the traditional "Island Style" of yesteryear.
Nothing to compare it to in the US.
You are absolutely right that prep work is the big issue. That's why I went with the mason.
:aok
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Originally posted by DREDIOCK
At contractor discount I am copying this directly from the receipt for paint I purchased yesterday.
1 Gallon Benjamin Moore "Mooreguard" Latex HP Pastel
Color- Lancaster Whitewash HC- 174
Item BM1371
Suggested Price $33.99
Extention (contractor Discount) $28.89
7% NJ sales tax $2.02
Total $30.91
(Even Home Depot paint is more then $18.00 per gallon the last time I looked)
One of my selling points is I do not mark up the material price
And I pass my contractor savings onto the customer
I only make money on the labor.
Any excess material left at the end of the job is the customers to keep (I have better things to store then paint colors I may not use again for God knows how long)
I staple any and all material receipts to my copy of the contract for the customer to see should they have any questions.
He could have rented a pro tool a lot less then the price he paid for a piece of junk
Home Depot will rent you a professional Sprayer for about $50 a day
Least that's what I paid last year when mine went down
I've had some nit picky customers everyone has. I try to be more critical and nit picky of my work then my customers. Its rare when I find a customer that's more picky then I am. But it happens maybe 1 in 50.
Like the lady a few months ago that literally went crawling around on her hands and knees running her hands over the ALL floor trim Not looking for imperfections. but FEELING for imperfections you couldn't see 3 inches away.
Nobody pays me in full until they are happy with my work.
"We always do it this way" is nothing but a cop out
I..Me have going on 30 years of experience and licensed ,bonded. A member of the "Association of Professional Painters & Decorators of New Jersey" etc etc. bla bla bla
And I wouldn't think of using that as excuse for less then great work. Or as offering it as proof I do good work.
The only "problems" I've had is when someone with something with years and years of neglect are upset when it doesn't look like new construction when its done. And then I tell them up front. I cant give you a new construction look on this without actually giving you new construction.
Or when they want something extra for free that wasn't included in the contract.
And provided its within reason I often will throw in an extra or two for free that isnt in the contract
I do VERY little advertising. 95% of my work all comes through word of mouth.
I keep managing to pay the bills even in the tough times and the same people keep calling me back for more work and referring me to al their friends so I must be doing something right.
5 years. Yea and we will see in 5 years how much more it costs him in time and material to fix the things he could have avoided by using quality products in the first place.
Furhermore with a 2000 psi powerwasher on a house of any kind of size to it would be the equivalent of scrubbing down an entire bathroom with a toothbrush.
Even if I gave him the benefit of the doubt that he waited a couple of days between the time he powerwashed it and he started painting it and only claims he did the rest in two days. Unless he lives in a bungalow. there is no way he did all that to a house in only 2 days and did any kind of quality job. I'd be willing to bet the caulking doesn't even last a year before it starts cracking because he probably painted over it the same day he caulked it. And that's even if he caulked it correctly.
Based on the amount of paint used. Im guessing he probably painted it the same color (one coat) it was and perhaps changed the trim color
He or anyone wants to paint their own house. Hey great. Go for it. Im not saying it cant be done.
As long as he is happy with it. more power to him.
but based on what he claims. there is no way in this life Im going to believe he did any kind of quality job.
But as long as he is happy with it. More power to him
Boy where do i start, Ummm yes i did caulk and it was dry before i painted... lets see here ummm no not one but two coats of paint ( im not slow nor talk alot while i work).. and again your worried about my pressure washer and again ill say it worked great (did i mention im doing my decks with it to) and that seems to be working fine.
Yes i did PAINT the home in 2 days (see above NOT SLOW statement) how long should ive have taken to paint a home that measures 32 feet wide by 68 feet long?? 1 week 2?, maybe thats how you make your money (labor)by moving at a snails pace and they (homeowner) think your the fastest thing on wheels ( now ill use your line) But as long as you are happy with it. More power to you
Sense ive painted my home, ive done 3 others for friends who have seen my work and how it came out and loved how it looked. what strikes me as funny is why bad mouth my painting experence that i was sharing with someone who was thinking of repainting there home into a rank on my Paint Job and Equipment i bought to do the Job with?? BUT as LONG as YOUR Happy Right?
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Originally posted by 68ZooM
Well first off im not full of crap.
point A i live in a 1600 SQ FT Home, Point B sense im in construction i got a real good deals thru my suppliers, the paint has a 25 yr warrenty so if it fails its not because the home wasnt preped right, Point C theres not a dam thing wrong with a wagner, sure its not construction grade BUT thats not what i was after, this one did the job great like i said.
Point D By all means feel free to look all you want you wont find a flaw anywhere. ive been in construction for over 25 years and have been designing homes now for the past five years and i take pride in what i do and it doesnt take a rocket sciencetist to paint a house, Its funny how painting contractors charge outrageous prices to paint a home
Just because your "in construction" doesnt mean you know anything about construction.
Hell I worked in a hospital.And working there I learned alot of medical stuff I wouldnt have known otherwise. But does that make me a doctor?
And "House designers" tend to know less other then what looks good
Im sure most of your local contractors can tell you all sorts of horror stories about "house designers"
Exactly which part of "construction" are you in?
Do you actually DO any of the work?
Based on what you have put down I can easily draw the conclusion you dont.
At best you have a working knowledge Probably as a site boss or coordinator
25 years huh? This coming October I will have been doing it for 30
I win! ;)
No it doesnt take a rocket scientist. but its not as simple as you put it out there either. Particularly if you want a quality job. and not just a job that looks good now.
You can sing me songs all you want.
but there is no way I'm going to believe you did a quality job in 2 days with paint that costs less then $12 per gallon unless the paint fell off someone's truck in the middle of the night.
What brand and grade was it? Didn't happen to say "contractors grade or Builders grade" did it?
I don't care what its warranteed for. Just wait till the paint fails and try to collect on that "Warranty"
And yes. Wagner is a piece of crap. And your model in particular is on the lower end of even the Wagner scale.
Outrageous prices huh? LOL Some yea
Most of us charge a fair price, going rate.
Builders like yourself dont exactly sell houses cheap either.
And when you think about those outrageous prices consider this.
If you have a regular job you get all the goodies that go with it.
You get sick time,vacation time,personal time, Family sick leave. Etc Medical insurance, Workman's Comp.
Tally that all up and your employer shells out a hell of alot more money to employ you then just what you see in your paycheck.
and are pretty much guaranteed to work year round.
Contractors get none of that. We get to supply it all out of our own pockets.
Not to mention Commercial Vehicle insurance can be up to twice what your average driver pays
Then there is licensing, In this state even if you do it as a side job like your doing you are required to have a licence. And to be licence you have to be insured. Its a $10,000 fine if your caught doing business without a licence
Then there is liability insurance.And depending on what your doing. that can run into some money as well. Basic insurance in the state covers painting single story rooms and single story houses. And thats it.
If your doing more then 1 story, thats and added charge, Power washing is even more, and if your using a sprayer thats even more again.
then theres
Tools, Gas,Maintenance,accountants fees.Taxe's and a whole assortment of little expenses associated in having your own business that individually seem small. together all add up.
And thats all before you get to pay your household bills.
Not to mention. You probably get to go home at a set time every day and your day is done. You dont have to go all over Timbuktu too to do estimates. Or any of the paperwork involved.
there can be times particularly in the winter months between Thanksgiving and Easter when your not sure you have work next week. Let alone next month or next year.dead times even for the best of contractors where you may not have work at all.
So when you do work, you ha veto make sure you make enough money to cover the times you might not be working and unexpected events just as a vehicle breakdown
You dont have to worry about any of that. And its obvious you havent taken that into consideration or you wouldn't be making claims of "outrageous"ness in pricing
now lets look at your own claims. You say you are doing your friends houses for I believe you said $600.
And I am assuming you are planning on doing them in 2 days just like you (cough cough) did yours.
Ok thats $300 per day
what you gonna do when you come across the house that ends up taking you 3,4,5 days that you thought would only take you 2?
"err ummm sir, sorry but Im going to have to charge you$1500 instead of the 600 I promised."
and what you going to do when you wipe out someones window by accident? You have insurance to cover it?
What I charge is pretty much going rate. I tell people "Im not the cheapest. but Im not the most expensive either. And I continually check with other contractors I know as well as people I do work for to find out where my prices are to stay pretty close to center
Now I dont doubt you design houses wonderfully. I take your word for it.
and maybe you did do a wonderful job. While I have my doubts. I truly hope so for your sake.
but the next time you want to consider what people charge. Take all the little items into account that you dont think of and never see.
Or try it yourself and pretty soon you will discover that you are charging just as much as everyone else. Not out of greed.
But out of neccessity
Do it for 5 years and you will be amazed at how much you didnt know the first year. Do it for 25 and you will laugh at what you thought you knew
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Originally posted by 68ZooM
Boy where do i start, Ummm yes i did caulk and it was dry before i painted... lets see here ummm no not one but two coats of paint ( im not slow nor talk alot while i work).. and again your worried about my pressure washer and again ill say it worked great (did i mention im doing my decks with it to) and that seems to be working fine.
Yes i did PAINT the home in 2 days (see above NOT SLOW statement) how long should ive have taken to paint a home that measures 32 feet wide by 68 feet long?? 1 week 2?, maybe thats how you make your money (labor)by moving at a snails pace and they (homeowner) think your the fastest thing on wheels ( now ill use your line) But as long as you are happy with it. More power to you
Sense ive painted my home, ive done 3 others for friends who have seen my work and how it came out and loved how it looked. what strikes me as funny is why bad mouth my painting experence that i was sharing with someone who was thinking of repainting there home into a rank on my Paint Job and Equipment i bought to do the Job with?? BUT as LONG as YOUR Happy Right?
Ok, small single story house.
Now that makes more sense.
Yes can be done in two days. But really 3 if you include powerwashing
4 if you do caulking.
You shoudlnt powerwash and caulk n the same day. and you shouldnt paint over caulking thats done the same day
If done correctly it should go like this
Powerwash- 1 day
Caulk &prep -1 day reguardless of it it take the entire day to prep or not but if you do the prep right actually cutting the bad caulk out as opposed to just going over it it and spot priming as a base minimum places where paint peeled should take a good chunk of if not all of a day anyway
Paint 2 days.
total = 4 days
My lowest base price is $300 per day for regular customers ($100 per day more then you are charging But I have added expences you dont)
= $1200 plus sales tax & Material
We will go with your 14 gallons but with my paint at no mark up
$30.91 X 14 =432.74
so we have
$1200.00 Labor
$ 84.00 sales tax (NJ its 7%)
$1284.00
Now we add the rest
$1284.00 Labor & sales tax
$ 432.74 Material (not including caulk, house cleaner, etc)
$1716.74
Still seem outragous?
Its not a matter of moving slow. its a matter of doing it correctly
doing it correctly takes more time then just doing it.
and lets face it. time is money
Remember. a lived in house is not new construction. to do it right You cant just gob & go
Tell ya what you like the 2 K powerwasher. Rent a professional one 3000 + psi in good working condition
and do your deck with that. If it doesnt work ALOT better. I'll pay a days rental fee for you
My apologies if my criticism seemed overly harsh