Why trim costs more than its size suggests
Windows and trim are a small share of a house's painted area and a large share of the labor. Siding goes on in long passes with a wide brush or roller. A double-hung window has two sashes, muntins, a sill, a casing and sometimes a storm frame, each cut in by hand with a narrow brush, and each edge meeting glass or a second color. Whether you're pricing trim alone or a full exterior where trim is a line item, this is where most of the hours go.
What a painter counts
A trim quote usually starts as a count rather than a measurement:
- the number of windows, and whether each has divided lights;
- doors, with their frames and any sidelights;
- runs of corner boards, fascia, rake boards and frieze;
- sills, which take the most weather and usually need the most prep;
- shutters, if they're coming off to be painted.
Ask for those counts on the proposal, so two bids can be compared piece by piece.
Condition of the wood and glazing
The biggest swing in price is condition. A window whose paint is sound needs a wash, a scuff-sand and finish coats. One with loose glazing putty, open joints at the sash corners or grey wood at the sill needs much more before any color goes on: old putty raked out and reset, joints filled, bare wood primed. Some painters do glazing repair themselves; others price it separately or leave it to a carpenter. Ask which applies, and how they'll price it if a sash turns out worse than it looked from the ground.
Old paint on windows
Windows are where old paint sees the most friction, from sashes sliding and from scraping before a repaint. 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 lists Vermont among the states that run their own EPA-authorized RRP programs.
That work adds cost you can see on a proposal: sheeting under each window, containment of chips, cleanup, and the time all of it takes. If your house was built before 1978, ask the painter whether the firm holds RRP certification and how the containment is priced. A bid that skips those steps on older paint isn't comparable to one that includes them.
Product choices
Trim is usually finished in a harder, glossier sheen than siding, both for looks and because a smoother film sheds water and wipes clean. Enamels and alkyd-modified paints level well but can dry more slowly, and some need a particular primer over old oil-based coats. Ask what primer and finish the painter plans for the trim and why; our paint sheens and finishes guide explains the trade-offs.
Drying, humidity and stuck sashes
In an average year at Burlington, NOAA counts about 84 hours with the wet-bulb temperature above 73°F and about 603 hours above 67°F. A wet-bulb temperature reflects humidity as well as heat. In general, paint dries more slowly in humid air, and a sash painted on a muggy afternoon may stay tacky long enough to stick shut if it's closed too soon. A careful painter leaves sashes cracked open or works them free as the paint cures, one more reason trim takes calendar time as well as labor.
Reaching the upper windows
Ground-floor windows can be done from a short ladder. Second-floor windows, gable trim and fascia need extension ladders, staging or a lift, and every move of a ladder costs time. Dormers and trim above a porch roof add setup. A proposal should say how the high work will be reached.
Reading two trim bids
- Does each bid count the same windows, doors and runs of trim?
- Is glazing repair included, priced per sash, or left out?
- Which surfaces get primer, and which get finish coats only?
- How is old paint handled if the house predates 1978?
- Will sashes be freed as they dry, or left painted shut?
- What sheen and product go on the trim?
The pricing guide lists what goes into any painting price, and exterior painting covers the whole outside job.