# What's a fair hourly rate for interior house painting?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-fair-hourly-rate-for-interior-house-painting/513959>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [October 15, 2009, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-fair-hourly-rate-for-interior-house-painting/513959 "2009-10-15T22:22:30Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 10\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Blunt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Blunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blunt)\
**Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-fair-hourly-rate-for-interior-house-painting/513959/1 "2009-10-15T22:22:30Z")

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I’ve got a few rooms in my condo which need painting, and also happen to know a guy who is currently unemployed and looking for some cash. I think he’s going to be really good, and had been working as a painter for a year or two I think, up until a month or so ago. He’s a buddy of mine, so whatever he wants to make is fine with me, but I’m kind of interested in what a fair price would be. What should a ballpark going rate be per hour, for a side job like this?

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**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\
**Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-fair-hourly-rate-for-interior-house-painting/513959/2 "2009-10-15T22:33:53Z")

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$16.14 per hour, according to the wage determination that I have to use at work. Of course, if you were realy employing him you would have to pay benefits and all, but for a ballpark number, there you go.

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**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\
**Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-fair-hourly-rate-for-interior-house-painting/513959/3 "2009-10-15T22:34:50Z")

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I’ve never charged by the hour. I charge (or did charge I should say) by the job itself.

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**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\
**Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-fair-hourly-rate-for-interior-house-painting/513959/4 "2009-10-15T23:46:03Z")

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Professional working for a painting company makes around 15hour. Hiring a professional company your looking at 30/hour+ per man.

My friend Just bought a new condo the developer was charging 300per room. I recommended she go with them.

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**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-fair-hourly-rate-for-interior-house-painting/513959/5 "2009-10-16T00:42:45Z")

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Advice - painting is not a thing you should pay by the hour. It will never get done. Pay by the job.

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**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-fair-hourly-rate-for-interior-house-painting/513959/6 "2009-10-16T00:45:19Z")

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I have a friend from school who paints professionally, and now does a lot of side work. My family has employed him several times.

He did two large family rooms + hallway + ceiling + paint for $500. He did 3 bedrooms + paint (no ceilings) for $300. He did my bathroom + patching + paint for $95.

Those are some numbers for you to go by for project prices…

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**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-fair-hourly-rate-for-interior-house-painting/513959/7 "2009-10-16T02:16:38Z")

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Do it by the job. You have no idea at what speed this guy can paint. Chances are it’s not at the level of a professional painter.  
Maybe pay him when a room is completed, so he has take home money, but your room is finished.

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**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-fair-hourly-rate-for-interior-house-painting/513959/8 "2009-10-16T03:42:00Z")

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Pay by the JOB, not by the hour \<---- from someone currently working as a painter.

Get an estimate of time and costs before he starts.

Be explicit if you want any sort of damage repair, and whether or not you want two coats. I recommend two, because it looks alot better, but if it hasn’t been long since the last painting application, the walls are clean, and don’t require repair you might get away with one.

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**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-fair-hourly-rate-for-interior-house-painting/513959/9 "2009-10-16T04:00:27Z")

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**Especially** when hiring a friend, make it paid by job, not by hour. You can hire a friend to do work for you, but you should make everything excruciatingly clear when spelling out the boundaries between friends and workers. You expect him to do X, Y, and Z, and you expect it to be done in X days, and he will receive half when starting and half when finished, or whatever you work out. I’ve had friends do work for me before, and it gets sticky when they’re taking advantage of you, but they’re friends, so you don’t want to complain too much, but your job you’re paying for isn’t getting done, blah blah blah.

You could get an estimate from a painter who isn’t him first, and offer him that.

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**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-fair-hourly-rate-for-interior-house-painting/513959/10 "2009-10-16T04:35:09Z")

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> [@Zsofia](#):
>
> Advice - painting is not a thing you should pay by the hour. It will never get done. Pay by the job.

Absolutely. Remember _Murphy Brown_? The painter never left.