Most people compare quotations by looking at the rate, and the rate is the least comparable thing on the page. Two contractors can quote the same wall at very different numbers and both be quoting honestly, because they are quoting different work. Here is how to read what you have been given.
1. What area is being charged
The first question, and often the largest single difference. Ask explicitly:
- Are openings deducted? Windows and doors. Some quotes measure the full wall and deduct nothing; some deduct fully; many deduct partially. On a house with large windows this alone can move the total substantially.
- How are jambs, sills, projections and returns treated? They take real labour and are handled inconsistently.
- Is textured area measured on the flat, or on the developed surface? Ask.
Get the measured area in writing, not just the rate. A low rate on an inflated area is not a saving.
2. What preparation is included
Where quotes diverge most, and where the outcome is actually decided. Preparation ranges from a quick sanding to scraping off an entire failed coating, repairing plaster and letting it dry for weeks. A quote that assumes the first is cheaper than one that includes the second, and it is not the same job.
If your walls have any peeling, chalking or damp, a quote with minimal preparation is not a bargain — read why paint peels and what proper preparation involves.
3. Primer — how many coats, and which one
"Primer" on a quotation should say which primer and how many coats. Skipped or downgraded primer is the commonest hidden economy and the commonest cause of early failure.
4. The finish — exactly which product, exactly how many coats
"Texture paint" tells you nothing. It could be sand texture or marble texture, in any grain. "Emulsion" could be interior or exterior grade. Ask for the product name, the grade, the grain size where relevant, and the number of coats. See types of wall paint.
5. Material and labour — together or separate
Both arrangements are normal. What matters is knowing which you have, because a labour-only rate next to a with-material rate is not a comparison. If material is supplied by the contractor, ask whether you are told the brand and grade before it is bought.
6. What is excluded
Read this section first, not last. Common exclusions that become bills later:
- Scaffolding or lift access
- Plaster repair beyond a stated allowance
- Removal of an existing coating
- Waterproofing or damp treatment
- Making good after other trades
- Water and power at site
- Taxes
7. Whether waterproofing is in scope
If any part of your wall is damp or leaking, decorating is the last step, not the first. A quotation that offers to paint over a damp wall — or offers a "waterproof paint" as the remedy for a leak — is a warning sign. See chemical vs waterproof paint and the troubleshooting index.
8. Timeline and drying
Ask how many days, and specifically what the gaps are between coats and after preparation. A schedule with no drying time built in is a schedule that will produce a failure. Timing is seasonal too: why this is dry-season work.
9. What the guarantee actually says
Verbal assurances are worth what they cost. Ask what is guaranteed, for how long, what voids it, and who honours it — the contractor or the material manufacturer. Be sceptical of long guarantees offered casually; they usually turn out to cover only the material, and only against manufacturing defect.
10. Payment terms
Staged against completed work, with a retention until the job is finished and inspected, protects both sides. Large advances do not.
11. Ask to see a wall they did three years ago
The single most useful question in this list. New work looks good regardless of who did it. Work three or four monsoons old tells you everything the quotation cannot.
Why we do not print rates
You will notice we quote no numbers anywhere on this site. Rates move with grain, shade, quantity, city, access, the state of the existing wall and how much preparation it needs — a figure printed here would be wrong for almost everyone reading it, and would only be useful for making our own quote look good. Send us the wall area, the city and photographs and we will give you a real number for your job.