by Craig | Nov 10, 2016 | Interior Painting, Pricing/Value
Not all Toronto home painting contractors are created equal, some are better equipped to handle larger projects than others. Interior painting on Toronto homes that are larger than 4000 square feet can be difficult. Here are some questions you should ask your painting contractor before undergoing the project. One being the concern of your possessions and furniture getting damaged by paint, you can look into the hiring of a company such as JIT Removals and Storage or similar, to remove and store your items while we paint!
Interior Painting Question 1: How many experienced interior painters do you have working for you?
Larger projects can drag on if not enough painters are working on it. If your interior painting contractor is a solo-prenuer or has only one employee it could take a month or two to paint your home.
At CAM Painters we currently have 4 experienced interior painters. For smaller projects, we run 2 crews of 2 painters and for larger projects, we combine the crews and run 1 crew of 4 painters. This gives us the flexibility to take on both large and small projects and get them done in a timely fashion.
READ: 3 Things Your Toronto Home Painter Wants You to Know
Interior Painting Question 2: Do you have experience working on larger projects?
Many painting contractors, especially when starting out, are more used to smaller jobs.
Many inexperienced painters will jump at the chance to quote on a larger project, however, they soon find themselves over their heads.
With larger projects, more organization is needed to keep the project on track. CAM Painters uses project management software, which allows us to:
- Keep all the little details straight, and the bigger the project the more little details there are
- Keep production goals in front of us so that your project is finished in a timely manner.
READ: Interior Painting: How Much Will It Cost For My Toronto Home?
Interior Painting Question 3: Can you show me some of the larger projects you’ve worked on?
Ask if you can see pictures of a larger project that your painting contractor has worked on. Ask for references for some larger homes that they have painted, contact those people and ask how their experience was.
An interior painting contractor that doesn’t have experience with larger projects won’t be able to produce those, and that will weed them out of the bidding process.
If you’d like a quote for your larger Toronto home, please schedule a quote. CAM Painters would be happy to Transform Your Home With Lasting Beauty!
If you’re looking to buy a property, perhaps with renovation (including painting) in mind, you can find great listings for home in Toronto at homeads.
by Craig | Oct 30, 2016 | Interior Painting, Pricing/Value
When hiring Toronto home painters you want to select someone who will make you house look great–after all, it’s likely your most valuable asset and you want it to look it’s best. Here are a few things to keep in mind so that you have the best painting experience possible…
Toronto Home Painters Tip 1: You Generally Get What You Pay For
When calculating out how much to charge for your painting project a painter generally estimates the number of hours the project will take and then multiplies it by their charge rate. Paint and supplies are then added on to this figure to arrive at the price they give you, the potential client.
When one painting contractor is charging you less than another painting contractor here is generally what’s happened:
- They are figuring that the job can be done in fewer hours
- Their charge rate is lower, which generally means their labour rates are lower. A painting contractor using painters in the $20-$25/hr range is usually going to offer a higher quality job than a painting contractor using painters in the $15-$20/hr range.
- They are figuring less for paint and supplies, which generally means a lower quality paint is being used.
Therefore, choosing the lowest priced painting contractor is not necessarily the best decision, because compromises have to be made to be the cheapest price.
READ: Interior Painting: How Much Will It Cost For My Toronto Home?
Toronto Home Painters Tip 2: Proper Prep Work is Necessary
It takes time to properly set up a paint job. Floors must be covered and protected, furniture has to be covered with plastic, switch plate covers must be removed. All these things take time, but they are well worth it! Your house and its contents are valuable to you and as the saying goes “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”
Also, properly prepping ceilings, walls and trim by filling nail holes and other surface imperfections result in a better looking finished product. Using primers, when necessary results in a more durable paint job and a better looking end result.
READ: Toronto Condo Painting: Tips for a Smooth Project
Toronto Home Painters Tip 3: It’s Worth it to Spend a Little Extra Money On Quality Paint and Primers
A higher quality paint can be twice as expensive as a lesser quality paint. What do you get for that extra cost?
- First, a higher quality paint from a reputable supplier covers better than the lower quality paint, which means that you get a better-looking result with fewer coats of paint, which saves labour cost.
- Next, higher quality paints are generally more durable than their cheaper counterparts. You will save money by having to paint less often.
For most painting projects paint and supplies only make up 10-20% of the total cost of the project, so you’re far better to spend a little extra on the paint to save it on the labour cost both now and in the future.
Keep these 3 things in mind when choosing a painting contractor and why not schedule a quote with CAM Painters? We’d be happy to Transform your home with lasting beauty!
by Craig | Sep 26, 2016 | Interior Painting, Pricing/Value
Many people are interested in how much their painting project will cost, even before having a painting contractor over to give them a written proposal. Below you will find typical sized rooms for Toronto homes so that you can get an idea of how much your interior painting project will cost.
READ: How Much Does it Cost to Paint My Interior In Toronto?
Interior painting costs (excluding prep)
Prices include both Labour and Top-Line Sherwin Williams Paint
| Small Bathroom 6 x 6
with 8’ ceilings |
Wall surface 190 sq ft
Ceiling surface 36 sq ft
Door & Frame each side
Baseboard 24 lin ft |
$325.00
$95.00
$65.00
$45.00 |
| Small Room 10 x 12
with 8’ ceilings |
Wall surface 350 sq ft
Ceiling surface 120 sq ft
Door & Frame each side
Baseboard 44 lin ft |
$450.00
$115.00
$65.00
$65.00 |
| Medium Room 12 x 15
with 8’ ceilings |
Wall surface 430 sq ft
Ceiling surface 180 sq ft
Door & Frame each side
Baseboard 54 lin ft |
$550.00
$165.00
$65.00
$85.00 |
| Large Room 15 x 20
with 8’ ceilings |
Wall surface 560 sq ft
Ceiling surface 300 sq ft
Door & Frame each side
Baseboard 70 lin ft |
$675.00
$225.00
$65.00
$105.00 |
Additional Considerations When Interior Painting
| All Wall Surfaces are figured for 8′ high flat ceilings. |
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| If you have 10′ high ceilings then add 25% to both wall and ceiling prices. |
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| If you have 12′ high ceilings then add 50% to both wall and ceiling prices. |
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If you have 14′ high ceilings then add 75% to both wall and ceiling prices.
If you have previously painted popcorn ceilings then add 50% to the ceiling price.If you have unpainted popcorn ceilings then a double the ceiling price.To find out the difference between painted and unpainted popcorn ceilings click here
Interior Painting Prep Costs
| Minimal Prep:
Area sand to the walls
Less than 10 nail holes to fill
No cracks or holes to fill |
$45.00 per room |
| Crack filling:
2’ long crack
5’ long crack
10’ long crack |
$25.00 per crack$45.00 per crack
$65.00 per crack |
| Hole patching:
1’ x 1’ drywall patch
3’ x 3’ drywall patch |
$90.00 each$150.00 each |
| Skim coats:
5’ x 5’ area
8’ x 10’ area |
$200.00$300.00 |
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READ: What Do I Need To Do To Prepare My Toronto Home For Interior Painting?
Final Thoughts on Interior Painting
I can’t cover all scenarios in this post, so I thought I’d cover the most common areas in the home and the most common prep work that we come across. It would be my pleasure to give you a quote, I can be scheduled online!
by Craig | Sep 7, 2016 | Pricing/Value
Most people advise getting a few quotes before moving forward with any painting contractors. Sometimes these quotes can be quite similar and sometimes they will vary. One contractor may charge half the price of another. Let’s unpack why this happens and what you’re actually getting for your hard-earned money.
READ: How Many Estimates Should I Get For My Toronto Repaint?
To begin with, not all painting contractors have the same business structure. Here are some of the different business structures you might come across:
Individual painting contractors that only do cash jobs, perhaps on top of a full-time job or as a sideline to another career.
They do not claim any of their painting income to Revenue Canada, so they are leery about providing any sort of an agreement or contract in writing. If they were to have an agreement the taxman can use that to expose their hidden income. Because there is no agreement or contract there is likely no warranty on workmanship or paint failure.
They likely don’t carry worker’s comp because stated income is needed for WSIB coverage. That means if they or one of their workers is injured on your property you can be held liable.
As well, they have no liability insurance. This means if any damage is done to your property, they can’t make an insurance claim, so you are on the hook for repairs.
Because these painters don’t have any WSIB, liability insurance and are basically working for a little extra cash they can offer low low prices and still make some profit. However, you are exposing yourself and your property to great risk if you go this route.
Painting contractors that sub out all their work.
These contractors basically go around and sell painting jobs and then subcontract them out to a different painting contractor (a subcontractor) who produces the work.
On the plus side, they usually will provide a written estimate and offer some type of a warranty.
However, I’ve got a couple of words of caution. A subcontractor is not covered under the main contractor’s WSIB or liability insurance, they need their own. Therefore, if you go this route, you need to ensure that the subcontractor has their own WSIB coverage and liability insurance. In some cases, the main contractor will sub work out to the cash job painter and you’re no further ahead than if you hired the cash job painter in the first place.
Painting contractors that have in-house employees.
These painting contractors take the time to hire their own employees. As such, they usually invest in training the employee, so that he or she can be a productive and effective member of the team. Employees also follow certain standards of production and customer service, resulting in a more consistent experience for the client.
Employees are also covered by the painting contractor’s WSIB and liability insurance, so there’s no risk exposure for the homeowner when workers are on the property.
Remember, your home is most likely your biggest asset, you should protect it properly.
CAM Painters hires in-house employees and we invest in their training. Whether it’s painting, job-site management or customer service we make sure they are properly prepared. The odd time we have to use an outside subcontractor for a project that’s outside our skill set we ensure that they have their own WSIB coverage and liability insurance. This gives you peace of mind and lets you feel comfortable while we take care of the rest.
Why not book a quote? We’d be happy to Transform your home with lasting beauty!
by Craig | Mar 4, 2016 | General posts, Pricing/Value
As the owner of CAM Painters many times I am asked when I do a quote whether I’m the one doing the work or not. I run a fairly small operation, so I’m able to be on site much of the the time. However, there are times when I can’t be on the job site. I’ve got to be out quoting on new work, for example.
Here’s how I ensure that you have a great painting experience, even when I’m not on site…
I hire great people.
I place an emphasis on hiring people that have good manners and are respectful. I want you to feel comfortable with my painters while they are working in your home.
We utilize shared to-do lists and annotation software.
This ensures that your expectations are clearly communicated with the entire crew.
To-do lists allows us to plan our work-flow and ensure that all tasks are completed and nothing is missed. Here is a screenshot of a recently completed project that was managed through our shared to-do list app named Wunderlist. As you can see as tasks are done, they are crossed off the list.
In addition, we attach annotated photos in the notes section of the to-do list app to ensure that colours go in their correct places. We believe the saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” is especially relevant in the painting industry. As you can see by the following pictures we’re given some complex colour schemes from time to time and it helps to have pictures to guide us through the process. These were done through Skitch.
Why do we go to this amount of trouble? Because we want you to have a great painting experience. Part of that is getting things right the first time, part of that is clearly communicating your expectations to everyone on our team. Having a project management system in place allows us to do that.
Why don’t you schedule a quote so that CAM Painters can Transform your home with lasting beauty!
by Craig | Feb 15, 2016 | General posts, Pricing/Value
I think it’s very important to have coaches in life. There are people who are further along the road in many areas which I want to improve. A coach can guide me past and around the potential pitfalls that would derail me from achieving my goals. A coach has a different perspective of the playing field than the players themselves.
Here is an article I wrote for one of my coaches who helps me tremendously as I position my business in the competitive Toronto marketplace:
In the post I talk about the importance of having a systematic way of running a business. Systems make for a more consistent customer experience, which is paramount.
My coach also taught me to ask “what does a great painting experience look like to you?”
People have different expectations of their painting contractor, a great painting experience happens when we meet those expectations:
- some want great care to be taken regarding job-site cleanliness,
- some want assurances that if a job is started the crew will finish it before moving on to another job
- some want to make sure that we’ll keep the door closed so that the indoor cat won’t escape
- and many more
We want to make sure that your expectations are spelled out and taken care of so that you can have a great painting experience.
My coach also taught me about providing value.
I try to provide value through sharing my knowledge in these blog posts. I provide value by carefully curating a list of trusted tradespeople I can refer to my clients – tradespeople that I know will provide you with a great experience. I know that I need to provide value to you first before you’ll be comfortable using my services.
I believe having a coach allows me to provide a better end product to my clients and that makes great business sense to me.
If you’d like to have a great painting experience book a quote and I’d be happy to Transform your home with lasting beauty!
