A railroad town's houses, and the paint on them
The Texas State Historical Association's Handbook of Texas records that Odessa traces its founding to the extension of the Texas and Pacific Railway across the South Plains in July 1881, that Odessa became the county seat when Ector County was formally organized in January 1891, and that in 1927 it incorporated as a city. Whatever era your own house comes from, the way to hire a painter for it is the same: get proposals you can actually compare.
We don't publish weather figures for Odessa, because NOAA names no station for the city that we can cite. This page is about the bids.
Ask everyone to price the same job
Bids can't be compared if each painter is pricing something different. Before anyone visits, write a short scope:
- Rooms or exterior sides to be painted.
- Surfaces in each: walls, ceilings, trim, doors, siding, soffits, fascia, railings.
- Colors and sheens, if you know them; or ask each painter to price a set number of colors.
- Known problems: peeling, stains, cracks, soft wood.
Hand the same sheet to each painter, and ask them to note anything they'd add or change.
Signs of a careful proposal
A good written proposal reads like a plan of work. It tends to have:
- Each surface listed by room or side.
- Preparation spelled out: cleaning, scraping, sanding, patching, caulking, spot-priming or full priming.
- Products by name, with the sheen and the number of coats for each surface.
- Protection: floors, furniture, fixtures, plants and cars.
- Repairs either priced or clearly excluded.
- Schedule: start date, expected working days, how weather is handled.
- Cleanup and leftovers: what's removed, what touch-up paint is left for you.
- Payment terms tied to progress, not just dates.
Signs of a thin one
- A single number with "paint house" and nothing else.
- No mention of primer, or "one coat" on a color change.
- A paint grade described only with adjectives, without a product name.
- No mention of how older paint will be handled on a house built before 1978.
- A large up-front deposit with no schedule.
- Pressure to sign the same day.
A thin proposal isn't always a bad painter, but it leaves you no way to hold anyone to anything. Ask them to put it in writing.
Deposits, changes and touch-ups
It's common for painters to ask for a deposit to cover materials. Keep it proportionate, and tie later payments to finished stages. If you change colors or add rooms during the job, ask for the change in writing with its price before the work is done. At the end, walk the job with the crew lead in good light and mark touch-ups before the final payment.
The lead rule, plainly
On a house built before 1978, layers of old paint may contain lead. 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.
For an older house, ask whether the firm holds RRP certification, and how they'll contain dust and chips.
Putting the bids side by side
Lay the proposals out together and compare line by line, not just the totals. Our pricing guide explains what moves a price, and the interior painting and exterior painting pages explain each part of the work.