The town behind the page
A New Mexico Historic Preservation Division historical marker records that fields were first broken in Las Cruces in 1849, following the Mexican War, that the town became a flourishing stop on the Camino Real, and that Las Cruces has been the county seat of Doña Ana County since 1881. The U.S. Census Bureau counted 111,385 people in Las Cruces city in the Census of April 1, 2020.
This page doesn't quote weather figures for Las Cruces. What it does is walk through the part of hiring a painter that's the same in every city and still trips people up: comparing the proposals.
Why two bids for one house disagree
When one painter quotes much more than another, the difference is rarely the paint. It's usually somewhere in these lines:
- What counts as preparation. One bid may include washing, scraping, sanding, filling and spot-priming; another may assume a quick wash and go.
- Which surfaces are included. Walls only, or walls plus ceilings, trim, doors and closets? Eaves and fascia, or only the body of the house?
- How many coats. A color change, a stain, or a porous surface may need a primer and two finish coats where a same-color refresh needs one.
- Product class. Paint lines differ in resin content, coverage and how well they resist scrubbing and fading.
- Repairs. Patching drywall, replacing rotted trim or repairing stucco may be priced separately, or not at all until work begins.
Put the bids side by side and go line by line. Where a line is missing, ask about it.
Reading the scope of work
A good scope of work names each room or elevation, the condition of each surface, and what will be done to it. "Paint living room" isn't a scope. "Fill nail holes and cracks, sand, spot-prime, two coats eggshell on walls, one coat flat on ceiling" is. The guide to drywall repair and surface preparation explains each preparation step, and paint sheens and finishes helps you name the sheen you want.
Older paint and the federal rule
Lead in old paint is the one place where a federal rule sets the method. U.S. EPA states it this way: under EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule, anyone paid to do work that disturbs paint in homes, childcare facilities and preschools built before 1978 must hold RRP certification, firms included, even sole proprietorships, and their workers must be trained in lead-safe work practices. EPA also explains who runs the program: EPA runs the RRP program in states it has not authorized, and it lists the states that run their own EPA-authorized programs.
If your home was built before 1978, ask the painter how they'll contain dust and debris when they scrape or sand, how they'll clean up, and whether the firm holds RRP certification.
Interior and exterior in the same proposal
If you're having both the inside and the outside painted, ask for them priced separately as well as together. That lets you compare like with like and schedule the two parts at different times. Our pages on interior painting and exterior painting describe what each job should include.
When the proposal is final
Before you sign, make sure the proposal states the products by name, the colors and sheens, how many coats go on each surface, what's excluded, how changes will be priced, and who cleans up. The pricing guide explains the rest.