How Much Does It Cost to Paint a House in Tallahassee?

You want a number. We understand. We do not print a rate card, because we have never seen two houses that cost the same to paint, and a number pulled from a chart would be wrong for yours. What we can do is show you what moves the price up or down, then tell you how our estimate works. Since 1998, that has been the deal.

The short answer

A whole-house exterior repaint in Tallahassee lands somewhere in. A single interior room lands in. A full interior, walls, ceilings, and trim, in. Those spreads are wide on purpose. Where your house falls inside them depends on the things below, and the only way to know is for Marshall or Gerard to come look.

What moves the price

Interior or exterior

Different jobs. Interior painting is walls, ceilings, trim, doors, and the moving and covering of everything in the room. Exterior painting is washing, scraping, caulking, priming, and working from ladders in whatever weather the week brings. Same house, same crew, anywhere in Tallahassee. Neither is automatically the more expensive one. A big two-story exterior can outrun a small interior, and a full interior with every ceiling and door can outrun a one-story exterior.

How much of the house

Walls only is one price. Walls plus ceilings is more. Add trim, doors, closets, and the inside of the garage and it climbs again. Same house, three different quotes, depending on what you want touched. We write down what is in and what is out so you can decide.

Height and access

A vaulted foyer, a stairwell, or a two-story exterior means taller ladders, more setup, and slower work. Ceilings above the normal height cost more than ceilings at it. Nothing about that is unusual, but it is one of the first things Marshall or Gerard looks at.

Condition and prep

This is where two houses of the same size split apart. Hairline cracks from settling that need patching. Trim that needs scraping and sanding before it will take paint. Old caulk that has to come out. Outside, mildew and pollen that have to be washed off, and chalky paint that needs a primer before color. Prep is most of the labor in a good paint job. If a quote is much lower than the others, prep is usually what got left out.

Wood rot and repairs

We do not paint over rot. When we find soft fascia, trim, or siding, it comes out and gets replaced before paint. Those minor wood rot and carpentry repairs are billed time and material and shown as a separate line, because until a board comes off nobody knows how far the rot goes.

Color change

Going from a dark color to a light one, or the other way, usually means an extra coat. A similar color over a similar color usually does not. Changing your mind mid-job costs the most, because the crew has already started. People do change colors. It happens. Just tell us before day one, and the number stays the number.

Paint grade

We buy the paint and show you the material cost and the labor cost as separate numbers, so you can see what the paint is and what it costs. We use quality paint from the major brands. A higher-grade paint costs more per gallon and tends to cover better and last longer. We get a pretty nice discount and we pass it on to our customers.

What is in the way

We do the heavy moving. We have sliders. Beds and furniture get covered in plastic, floors get canvas drop cloths. Still, a room full of furniture takes longer than an empty one, and a house that is packed floor to ceiling takes longer than one that has been cleared out.

Cabinets, doors, and specialty work

Cabinet painting is priced on its own. Doors come off and are painted away from the kitchen. It is careful, detailed work, and it is quoted that way, at.

Why we will not quote it over the phone

Because we would be guessing, and a guess is worse than no number at all. It sets you up to be either disappointed or overcharged. So the estimate is free, in person, every time.

Marshall Parker or Gerard comes out and walks the whole job with you. Marshall has been estimating for twelve years and was a painter before that. Gerard has walked jobs since 1998. They look at the walls, the ceilings, the trim, the outside, and they poke the wood. You get a written quote that shows the scope, the material cost, the labor cost, and any repairs as time and material. No pressure. We are usually booked out, so we tell you when we can start and let you decide. If you are comparing bids, our list of questions to ask any Tallahassee painter will help you read them side by side.

"The price was totally fair and right in the range of what I was expecting."

"Superior Painting did exactly what they said they would do, when they said they would do it, and within the stipulated budget. They not only stand by their work, but everything was done in a very professional manner."

How to keep the price where you want it

A few things you control:

• Decide the scope before the estimate. Walls only, or walls and trim? Which rooms? A clear list gets you a clean number.
• Pick colors before day one. A change after the crew starts is the most expensive kind.
• Clear what you can. Small things off the shelves and out of the closets. We will move the heavy stuff.
• Fix the rot now. A small repair on this job beats a bigger one on the next.

Payment

Check, ACH, or card.

Quick answers

How much does it cost to paint the outside of a house in Tallahassee?

Roughly, depending on size, height, condition, and rot. The estimate is free and in person.

How much to paint one bedroom?

Roughly for walls, more if ceilings, trim, and doors are included. We will quote the room exactly once we see it.

Do you charge by the square foot?

We do not hand out per-square-foot numbers, because two houses with the same footage can be very different jobs. One is smooth and freshly caulked. The other has cracked walls, wet trim, and a color change. The square footage is the same. The work is not.

Is the estimate really free?

Yes. More answers on our FAQ page, or skip ahead and request a free estimate.