Painting our house need Some help and advice

[HullyGully]

FYI - I recently rented a tower approx 10metres high, along with steel planking and wheels

For 3 days I paid around 300Baht - Very cheap

I paid Baht 5000 as a deposit against damage / theft etc

Collect and returned the tower when I finished

So if your thinking about painting the outside of your house, a consideration

[onthedarkside]

<snip>

We have been quoted just over 215,000baht + 7% VAT --- YES, that's a total of 230,456.00baht!

Terms:

50% deposit on signing contract

30% when painted in

20% on delivery

Looks like a trip to HomePro for some brushes, rollers and paint is on the agenda!!

Outrageous price and terms. I've been here in Thailand for a very long time and own many buildings. Always found that the painting guys are the worst rouges. Been burnt once, never again.

[thhMan]

I think its always best to buy the paint yourself and get a decorator

to paint your house, if they buy the paint they will more often than

not buy the cheapest paint,then water it down,they dont need scaffolding

they just use bamboo poles, and you need to keep a constant eye on the

painters to make sure they do a good job.

regards Worgeordie

Good advice.

I was a professional contractor in Australia for 10 years and even there with the strict licensing, the industry is full of cowboys that will use inferior materials,.. thin the paint too much, not clean or prepare (sanding, washing, etc) surfaces before painting and then skimming over with single coat "once-overs" etc etc.

If using tradesmen here my advice is to tell them that you were a professional painter in your own country many years ago and that you know what a good job requires;

1) All surfaces dusted down,.. washed with sugar soap or detergent based water and rinsed off,

2) lightlly sanded and all holes caulked with acrylic.

3) Followed by 2 coats of premium (unthinned) paint.

Make sure they cut edges with a brush and don't leave roller smudges on ceilings, sills or window frames and that they keep tiles free of drips and thick edges where wall meets floor.

Must admit,.. I have seen some very good paint jobs on quite a few of the new estate developments so if you could get one of those teams on the job you'd probably be quite OK.

Spot on.

A lot of people think painting is slapping a couple of coats on, and is something we can all do.

The art in painting (be it a car or a house) is in the preparation. That is what you pay a tradesman for. And it isn't cheap.

Try sloshing on some paint and then wait a couple of years.....the cheap job you had done will suddenly become not so cheap when it has to redone.

You are joking yes?

Take all that time and effort to paint a house that was sloppily put together in the first place. Bahahaha

[johnmcedinghburg]

Im agreement with some of you, they comming to your home and could ask crazy proces

So i think i Will do THE job myselves, only problem is for me THE high parts as that is far to high.

IT seems THEy never used primer so that is why THE paint is comming loose and that all THE paint needs to be removed first

Sent from my iPad using ThaiVisa app

[Bob Fortune]

Hello all, I am a newbie here and I am extremely overwhelmed to read this discussion. This meets most of my requirements and got many suggestions too. A lot of expert advice has been provided here in detail. I agree that to paint a wall perfectly, you need to mix it perfectly. Experienced and professional painters will do it more efficiently. So for better outlook of your house, go for professional painters all around. Thank you for this discussion.

[Mrjlh]

First thing you need to know how to do is negotiate! And from the responses I'm reading not many really know how to do that. A very good painter's labor cost should be 400-500B a day. High work 600-800B. Any more than that you're his ATM machine. If he wants to use help that's his problem. How many days should it take? Depends on how many rooms. I had a large single story house. He painted the entire inside of a 3 bd, 2 bath, kitchen, large living room floor to ceiling for 1200B in two 1/2 days. I supplied the paint which cost me more than the labor. Total 4200B. He wanted 4 days I said for every day under that I'd give him an extra 100B/day. And i even tipped him. He walked away happy as lark. My neighbors were so impressed they hired him. His also did two of my neighbors houses afterwards too with the same conditions. And...I was told I over paid. Sometimes you never know.

[Chiengmaijoe]

I think its always best to buy the paint yourself and get a decorator

to paint your house, if they buy the paint they will more often than

not buy the cheapest paint,then water it down,they dont need scaffolding

they just use bamboo poles, and you need to keep a constant eye on the

painters to make sure they do a good job.

regards Worgeordie

I went for that option the first time I had my house repainted but unfortunately by the time I got out of bed they had already done most of the ground floor. First of all, they didn't bother to move the potted plants that were next to the wall so I ended up with them all being variegated, and also there were rings all over the floor where they had been moving the paint tank. I lifted the tank to put some old newspaper underneath and then realised it was water thin. I had bought good quality paint and they had watered it down so much it might just have been cheap paint. They had done half the job and probably only used 20% of the paint!

I did paint the wall once but I wouldn't want to do it again in this heat, so I would go with buying the paint, getting someone in to do it, ideally someone that has been recommended, and keeping a very close eye on them to start with, paying particular attention to them watering it down.

Post 12 before the work permit nonsense was raised? A bit slow off the mark there, elgenon.

Edited March 13, 2014 by Chiengmaijoe

[sharktooth]

Here's a painting I did of my house...

I can give you a hand with yours if you like?

[Rickaroonie]

A good painter charges from 400 to 600 per day. Note: I said good painter, no cowboys or high school kids or self taught. There's a huge difference in the quality you will get. I've been in the game for over 40 years, I know what I'm talking about. And yes, there is 'cowboys' who will use every trick in the book. (Back to note) I live in Australia and that's the price. Some prefer to charge per hr. My opinion is although they may be good painters, they usually quote you hourly because they cant quote and entire project and fear losing out some income. This way they feel comfortable and secure for there daily rate. One problem, they can go slower. Fixed price is fixed no matter what! Myself , I quote by job and I figure $600 per day. Again, go back to note.

You can find some good tips on painting in YouTube but be careful, it's full of cowboys. The best I've seen to date is 'howtopaintinfo' This guy is good. Or you can visit my channel here; https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnh1563LqDqf-o7qtG7sOvg

I'm not spamming here, I just get so annoyed at all the bs on painting I see on sites, forums and Youtube. People deserve honest and true information.

Good luck

Rickaroonie

[Rickaroonie]

Here's a painting I did of my house...

image.jpg

I can give you a hand with yours if you like?

Lol, absolutely laugh of the day!! Maybe even for the whole week! Clever cookie.

[beau thai]

And be careful with amateur painters. One knocked the door looking fo work and the owner scratched his head then said 'Well you can paint the Porch white if you like'

An hour later the painter knocked the door and said ' I've finished - and it wasnt a Porsche it was a Ferrari'

Who said the old ones are the best.....?

[BillyBobThai]

I think its always best to buy the paint yourself and get a decorator

to paint your house, if they buy the paint they will more often than

not buy the cheapest paint,then water it down,they dont need scaffolding

they just use bamboo poles, and you need to keep a constant eye on the

painters to make sure they do a good job.

regards Worgeordie

Good advice.

I was a professional contractor in Australia for 10 years and even there with the strict licensing, the industry is full of cowboys that will use inferior materials,.. thin the paint too much, not clean or prepare (sanding, washing, etc) surfaces before painting and then skimming over with single coat "once-overs" etc etc.

If using tradesmen here my advice is to tell them that you were a professional painter in your own country many years ago and that you know what a good job requires;

1) All surfaces dusted down,.. washed with sugar soap or detergent based water and rinsed off,

2) lightlly sanded and all holes caulked with acrylic.

3) Followed by 2 coats of premium (unthinned) paint.

Make sure they cut edges with a brush and don't leave roller smudges on ceilings, sills or window frames and that they keep tiles free of drips and thick edges where wall meets floor.

Must admit,.. I have seen some very good paint jobs on quite a few of the new estate developments so if you could get one of those teams on the job you'd probably be quite OK.

To get a local Thai to do as you quoted here, 5,000,000 baht and 2 years to complete.

[Mapguy]

<snip>

We have been quoted just over 215,000baht + 7% VAT --- YES, that's a total of 230,456.00baht!

Terms:

50% deposit on signing contract

30% when painted in

20% on delivery

Looks like a trip to HomePro for some brushes, rollers and paint is on the agenda!!

Outrageous price and terms. I've been here in Thailand for a very long time and own many buildings. Always found that the painting guys are the worst rouges. Been burnt once, never again.

Well, yes, probably an outrageous proposal. It would be time to negotiate or say good-bye. It is not endemic to Thailand. Since Darkside owns so many buildings and has so much experience, perhaps he can provide specific references. He has obviously had much more experience than most of us.

Contractors always bid by the job. If they are competent, of course, they could well earn their money. It depends, obviously. In any case, you would certainly need to get more than one quote from reputable contractors. A contract needs to be clear, but then, of course, regardless of country, a contract is really only a piece of paper.

If you think that is onerous, read on!

An alternative is to hire your own painters. (In any case, buying your paint yourself is always cheaper --- if you know what you are doing!) You can get pick-up day labor or find some decent laborers who know one end of a paint brush from the other. Anyway, you are asking a lot, and taking on a lot more specific responsibility and supervision. When it comes to larger buildings requiring scaffolding, you are multiplying risk. Want to deal with a crushed skull of a worker who falls on your patio? Most jobs, of course, certainly do not end so dramatically, but give worker injury more than a passing thought.

It seems that some posters have experience painting their own houses. Some might be quite good at it. Well, that's fine if you can still climb a ladder!

I enjoyed the positive report of the guy who got his family to help him. That is a very traditional approach to this sort of maintenance challenge. Of course, one does accept dealing with the relative competence of various uncles and aunts and has to consider not only how much beer and whiskey the job costs but also more mundane things like does everyone know how to paint?! This latter consideration might lead to more expensive family problems !!

Your mileage, in any case, will vary. I know of one case in which a professional sub-contractor did a beautiful 300 sqm top to bottom interior beautifully. Another when some experienced handymen did an "okay" job under supervision. A third when day labor worked out just fine, sort of. A fourth in which the painter didn't know which end of the brush he was holding.

All in all? You get what you pay for. Most of the time!

PS. I should add that local contractor estimates may also include a "pain-in-the-ass-dealing-with-farang" multiplier!

Edited March 30, 2014 by Mapguy