Sheetrock is nearly done on my apartment renovation project and I'm looking to hire out the painting. Four apartments must be painted and together, they're around 2100 square feet combined. When I've painted drywall previously, all I did was prime and paint it without sanding and the job came out okay. Upon doing research, it seems you're supposed to do a fair amount of prep work before priming and painting (i.e. sanding and etc).

I'd get another quote that's for sure. We've had "new construction" painted before and our painter didn't seem to charge more for it. We always require primer and 2 coats of paint anyway.

Last job he did for us was all new stuff: ceilings, woodwork, walls so he had a lot of sanding and prep to do. It was 720 square feet. He charged $2065 - labor only, we provide the paint.

These prices seem ridiculous to me. It's not a high end mansion.Just apartments.New construction.

Drywall primer paint.One coat medium grade finish paint.

Get an airless spray gun (rent or a cheap one from Home D- about $300). It takes about 10-20 minutes per coat to spray a room. If you want to backroll it (I never did on low end apartments),have a helper follow the sprayman around, maybe 15 minutes per room.

I'd pay $15 per room,per coat. 6 rooms per apartment x $30 per room = $180 per apt plus paint. Add maybe $90 per apt if you want it backrolled.

Four - seven hundred foot apartments can EASILY be done in one long day.

Sell the sprayer when the job is finished.

Call Labor Ready temp service and tell them you want someone who knows how to operate an airless.

Also, it is the drywall finishers job to leave the drywall paint ready when they are done. Unless it is a high end mansion, painters should not have to do anything on prep except maybe mask off the windows.

You have a chance to really test your "Painters". Get a quote one apartment first. Then ask the same painter company/contractor "how much of a discount will you give me, since I'm a landlord with many units/properties". To paint a second or third apartment, you should get 20-30% off if the unit is in the same building and they don't have to drive somewhere else.

I had three units in a property of mine that needed painting. So first I called my painter, Armando the painter. He owns a small painting company with the same employee's for the past 20 some years. I got a quote for $1,200, and took them 2 and 1/3 days. They worked slowly. Sanded, applied primer and let it dry before applying the paint. 2 guys, 2-1/3 days. Good job.

For the next apartment I hired my Korean painter. He runs his company like a rock star. Each employee is paid by job and not by the hour or day -- so his guys work like engineers, well thought out. They get to the job at 6:30am and set up. By 7am they sand, clean up. Prime using quick drying primer. They roll on the paint and spray in closets and in cabinets. By 4:00pm on the same day, they are done. Price $1,100. Quality-equal to Armando crew.

Someone has to wipe the surfaces down after the taper is done. If it needs sanding then, we’re not on the same page. Drywall primer is thin, but dries fast. I sand walls after this primer and usually take 2 coats to top off drywall primer. Richard if I’m painting new construction I get a good foundation down, it will help absorb abuse later.

GKARL point is you have to be on the same page as the contractor, still seems like a high price even w the paint.

Only time I hired painter we got crossed over painting bare doors. They took several coats of paint to cover, and the painter wouldn’t do it even though I offered to let him adjust his price. For prep comparison it took me 2hr to tape and caulk around kitchen cabinets n 8 windows in a 3br unit the other day taking my time.

Ned--that's exactly what I'm thinking. Do it myself and hire out pieces of it. Price is double what I was expecting.

That seems high. On new sheetrock, I'd recommend one step...wiping down the walls with TSP and a large sponge...you can do this yourself or hire a kid to do it. I do this myself and can do a standard bedroom in 10 minutes as long as the ceilings are 8' and I don't need a ladder. If you don't do this, all the drywall dust will be in the paint brushes/rollers and your paint will look horrible and not adhere well. I don't think sanding should be necessary if the drywallers did their job well.

Also ask what brand of paint. For example, Sherwin Williams has paints all the way from about $45/gallon up to $85. I used the ProMar 200, which is contractor grade. It's plenty good for rentals. If they are using expensive paint it may add hundreds to the cost.

You mention that the floors don't need protected...are they spraying? If you can find someone who sprays, it may be less expensive, as they can do a room in 15 minutes after all the masking is done...it goes really fast (I've done it myself). It's a bit tricky when doing ceilings also as usually the ceiling is flat sheen and walls egshell, so they have to mask the ceiling when they do the walls...unless you're willing to have egshell ceilings.

Definately a second - and third - quote.

Little bit funny, I had my lake house glass blasted and needed it stained. Referral from a friend comes in at 17k ... OUCH! Never returned his call. Now he's calling every other day .... obviously needs the work.

A guy from my golf league looks at it .... $4800. "OK DO IT".

Mr 17k calls again DROPS his price to 11k "I looked at it again" he says. Sooo I had to close the loop with him. Called him back. Told him who I contacted with and told him his quote was 3x too high.

sand it once over with a fine grit just to get the highest of the high spots. a quick wipe with a barely damp cloth, a squirt of PVA to "prime" it and then a coat of the paint you prefer. most better paints will cover in 1 coat over PVA.