It’s something people often say after getting a few quotes.
Same house.
Same rooms.
Same colours.
And yet, the numbers can be far apart.
At first glance, it doesn’t make much sense.
But once you’ve spent enough time on site, it starts to.
Most painting quotes look similar on paper.
Rooms listed.
Coats mentioned.
A total at the bottom.
What’s usually missing is how the work is imagined in the first place.
Some quotes are built around finishing quickly.
Others are built around finishing properly.
That difference doesn’t always show up in words, but it shows up clearly in the price.
This is the part that rarely gets explained.
Preparation time doesn’t sound impressive.
Drying time doesn’t feel urgent.
Cleaning as you go doesn’t make a room look different straight away.
So those are the first things to be reduced when a quote needs to be cheaper.
The problem is that those are also the things that decide how the work holds up later.
Two quotes can differ simply because one painter has allowed time to slow down, and the other hasn’t.
Some people walk into a house and see colour.
Others see:
Neither approach is wrong.
But they lead to very different plans.
One quote might assume the house is “mostly fine”.
Another might quietly account for what usually comes up once work starts.
That alone can shift the price significantly.
This doesn’t get talked about much.
Some painters run multiple jobs at the same time.
It keeps prices lower, but it also splits attention.
Others work through one house fully before moving on.
Neither approach is advertised in a quote.
But it affects pace, focus, and consistency.
And it affects cost.
“Two coats of white” can mean very different things.
Different brands.
Different coverage.
Different durability.
Some finishes are chosen because they’re easy to work with.
Others because they last longer in real homes.
Again, that choice rarely shows clearly on a quote.
But it’s built into the number.
On day one, most painting jobs look fine.
The difference appears after months.
Or after a year.
Edges soften.
Marks show.
Repairs become visible again.
That’s usually when the cheaper quote starts to make sense – in hindsight.
Two painting quotes aren’t just two prices.
They’re two assumptions about:
The right quote isn’t always the lowest one.
It’s the one that matches how you want the house to feel once the work is done.
These are the questions that usually come up after reading this.
Because they are often pricing different approaches, not just the same rooms.
Time allowed, preparation, drying gaps and level of finish all change how a job is planned — and priced.
Not always.
But a higher quote often means more time built into the job, fewer shortcuts, and a finish designed to last longer, not just look good on day one.
Preparation, drying time and attention to detail are the first things to be shortened.
They don’t stand out immediately, but they make the biggest difference over time.
Because many things in painting are assumptions, not line items.
How a painter imagines the job is rarely written down, but it’s always reflected in the final number.
Look past the total.
Ask how the work will be paced, how many jobs are running at the same time, and how preparation is handled.
The right quote is the one that matches how you want the house to feel after the work is finished.
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