What does it cost to paint the exterior of my house in Billings, MT? This is a common question that we get. The answer is… it depends. Not what you wanted to here, but it does depend upon many different factors.

The amount of preparation work needed for: scraping, sanding, priming, patching, repairing and caulking. Are there siding or trim that needs to be replaced because of warping, rot or other reasons. What type of siding do you have, metal, vinyl, cedar composite or fiber cement?

What a lot of people forget is the amount of time it takes to complete the prep work, which is the most important part to getting a great lasting paint job. Included in the prep work is masking and protecting all the surrounding areas and surfaces from paint & debris. We clean up every day to leave a clean and safe environment for you and your family. The more prep work the higher the cost of the project. You may not want us to get to detailed on the prep work for various reasons to keep the cost down.

Other factors that drive the cost are the size and height of the home. The larger the home the more surface area to prep and paint.  Is it a two story home or higher? What is the access to reach the higher surfaces that need to be painted? Are there obstacles and uneven ground to work around.

How many different colors does your home have? The more colors and detailed the project is the more time it takes to complete your home. Changing colors will affect how many coats of paint that will be necessary to achieve a uniform appearance.

The grade of paint that you select. Paint prices vary from low quality grades that you can purchase for $30 per gallon up to $75 per gallon. The higher grade paints perform and last longer. This prevents you from having to repaint your home in a few years. The majority of our paint bids the paint and material make up 15-20% of the price. As you can see painting is a labor intensive undertaking.

What type of trim does your home have? Will we have to paint your windows, doors, soffits and/or fascia? Some of these surfaces may be a low maintenance metal or vinyl material that we don’t need to paint. But even these material fade and oxidize over time.

“Are you ever going to tell me what it costs?” Yes… We measure all surfaces to be painted on the exterior of your home and provide you with a detailed bid that includes a 5 year labor and materials guarantee. The price will differ from the variables discussed from $1.50 square foot to $3.00 a square foot of paintable surface.

My experience, over 10 years, allows me to be accurate and consistent in my proposals. It is not a “guesstimate” which many contractors provide that can be dangerous for you. If a painting company prices to low they may not want to finish, cut corners or ask for more money. We pride ourselves in honoring our quoted price. Like many things in life you get what you pay for. Our company prides itself in hiring and keeping professional & trained year around painters. People you can trust with your biggest assets your family and home.

We would be happy to come out and inspect your home with you and visit about what your home needs. During our inspection we will measure and talk about all the variables discussed in this article. We look forward to hearing from you.