Decide the scope before you call anyone
A painter can only price what you describe. Before asking for proposals on a Cape Girardeau home, walk around the house and through the rooms with a notepad and decide what's in and what's out. It sounds obvious, but vague requests like "paint the outside" produce bids that can't be compared, because each painter fills in the gaps differently.
Things to settle first:
- Which surfaces: siding, trim, soffits and fascia, doors, shutters, porch ceilings, railings, foundation coating?
- Inside, which rooms, and whether ceilings, trim, doors and closets are included.
- Whether you want a color change or the same color refreshed.
- Any repairs you already know about: soft trim, cracked plaster, water stains, nail pops.
Write the list down and give the same list to every painter.
What the city says about water
The City of Cape Girardeau's own statements are printed on this page as the city words them:
- The city says it completed a 15-year effort to switch solely to well water in April 2012; the Mississippi River had been the sole source of the city's drinking water until 1977. Its 2025 Annual Water Quality Report lists only groundwater wells as its sources.
- The city's Stormwater Division lists maintaining the levee and pump stations among its services. The city says storm drains handle normal flow, but some flooding is caused by issues on private property and must be addressed by the property owner.
Those are statements about city services, not about any lot. The stormwater wording does carry a point that matters for paint, though: water that collects against a house, from a downspout that empties at the wall or ground that slopes toward the foundation, keeps the lowest boards, trim and door bottoms wet. Paint there fails first, no matter how good it is. If you see peeling or swollen wood near the ground, mention it to the painter and sort out the water source before repainting, or the new coat will go the same way.
Judge a bid by its preparation
The paint itself is a modest part of most jobs. Labor dominates, and most labor goes into preparation. A proposal worth trusting says what will happen before the first finish coat:
- Cleaning. Washing the exterior, degreasing kitchen walls, removing mildew.
- Loose paint. Scraping, sanding edges smooth, and priming bare spots.
- Repairs. Filling holes, re-taping drywall seams, replacing or consolidating soft wood.
- Sealing. Caulking gaps at trim, windows and corners.
- Priming. Spot or full, and with what product.
If one bid is noticeably lower, check which of those lines it leaves out. Our surface preparation guide explains what each step does.
Older paint: what the EPA rule requires
Homes built before 1978 may have lead in their older layers. The EPA rule on this page applies to anyone paid to do work that disturbs paint in those homes, from sole proprietors to larger firms, and it requires their workers to be trained in lead-safe practices. In practice that changes how a job is set up: plastic sheeting, misting or tools with dust collection instead of dry sanding, bagged debris and a thorough cleanup.
If your home is in that range, a single question tells you a lot: ask the firm whether it holds the RRP certification the rule describes, and listen to how it plans to contain the work.
Choosing products without the brand talk
You don't need to name brands to set expectations. Ask instead:
- which primer goes on bare wood, on stains and on new patches;
- which finish product and which sheen, room by room and on the exterior;
- how many coats each surface gets;
- what the label says about the temperature and dry time needed before rain or dew.
Our paint sheens and finishes guide explains why trim, walls and ceilings often get different sheens.
Comparing proposals side by side
Lay the bids next to your scope list and check, line by line, that each one covers the same surfaces and the same preparation. Note who moves furniture, who protects plantings, and who hauls away debris. Ask what happens if rot or hidden damage turns up, and how that extra work is priced. A clear proposal makes the walk-through at the end simple: you check what was promised against what was done.
For the full list of cost drivers, see the pricing guide.