Why sellers repaint, and what the job usually includes
Repainting before a sale is about presenting clean, even walls and ceilings and covering the marks of daily life: nail holes, scuffs, patched spots and bold colors a buyer may not share. The job usually means every room's walls, often the ceilings, and sometimes the trim and doors. We don't publish prices; this guide explains what a painter weighs when pricing it.
How much surface, and which surfaces
Wall area drives the paint and labor for the rolling, but rooms are not equal. Ceilings are slower to paint than walls. Stairwells and two-storey entries need tall ladders or planks. Closets add many small surfaces. Ask the painter to list which rooms, closets and ceilings are included so bids can be compared fairly.
Patching and preparation
A house that's been lived in has holes from frames and shelves, dents behind doors, cracks at corners and old patches that show through. Each one is filled, sanded and spot-primed before paint. The amount varies a great deal, and it's the part of the job most often trimmed when a bid needs to come in lower. Ask how patching is priced and whether spot-priming is included. Our guide to drywall repair and surface preparation shows what thorough prep looks like.
Color choices
Covering a deep accent wall with a light neutral can take extra coats or a tinted primer, while repainting a similar light color often takes fewer. Choosing one wall color and one ceiling color for the whole house speeds the work and keeps touch-ups simple for the next owner. Ask how many coats each room is priced for.
Trim, doors and cabinets
Baseboards, door casings and doors are brushed by hand and take far longer than their area suggests. Including them can change the price more than any wall color decision. Kitchen cabinets are a separate job altogether; see our cabinet painting and refinishing page if they're on the list.
Empty or furnished
Painting an empty house is faster than working around furniture, rugs and stored boxes. If you're moving out before listing, painting after the move can reduce the labor. If the house will stay furnished, ask who moves and covers furniture and whether that's in the price.
Drying time between coats
In an average year at Tuscaloosa, NOAA counts about 1,508 hours with the wet-bulb temperature above 73°F and about 3,008 hours above 67°F. Air that's warm and full of moisture slows how fast water leaves a fresh coat. Indoors, running the air conditioning with the windows shut usually keeps drying predictable. If the house is empty and the system is off, ask the painter whether they want it on during the work, because slower drying can stretch a whole-house schedule.
Older paint and the federal lead rule
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, and their workers must be trained in lead-safe work practices. EPA's list of states that run their own EPA-authorized programs includes Alabama. Sanding, scraping and patching painted surfaces in a house built before 1978 calls for plastic sheeting, dust control and careful cleanup, which add time. If your house falls in that range, ask the painter whether the firm holds RRP certification and how lead-safe steps are priced.
The listing date
Sellers often work to a deadline. A crew asked to finish a whole house in a short window may need more painters on site, and work squeezed into a busy calendar can cost more. Give the painter your target date early, and leave a buffer before photos are taken so the paint has time to cure and touch-ups can be done.
Questions to ask before you choose
- Which rooms, ceilings, closets and trim are included?
- How is patching priced, and is spot-priming included?
- How many coats for each room?
- Who moves and covers furniture?
- Can the work be finished, with touch-ups, before the listing photos?
Our pricing guide explains the general factors behind every painting quote, and interior painting covers the steps for each room.