We can break any job down into all of its parts for comparing whether or not one part takes any longer to produce a higher quality finish.

For example, the moment the house is masked and ready to spray and we pull the trigger for the next 2 hours, one of two things happen, 1) we produce a glassy smooth finish with some cheap $14 paint or 2) we produce an ugly orange-peel finish seen in the photo with more expensive paint. The point is, it takes the same time.

Following up a bit on the botched paint job post. What each of us does in the same time is what sets painters apart. We can spend 1 second per nail hole making holes flush or we can spend 10–15 seconds producing a sunken hole. We can spend 2–3 minutes caulking a door casing nicely or 10–15 caulking a door casing that looks awful. We can lay a roll of tape straight in 30 minutes or we can lay a roll crooked and unsealed in 30 minutes.

The products we use and how we use them makes all the difference. When I see poor quality work like seen in this photo I can’t help but think there is no excuse for it. Those guys produced that poor quality in 160 man-hours when they could have easily produced the finish seen on the door in 100 hours less.

Playing devil’s advocate here… I am not entirely convinced builders should have to pay more for the fact a painter doesn’t know what they’re doing. That makes we wonder if the pricing structure we see in our areas is due to a lack of experience. That question poses a two sided debate doesn’t it?

Where I have my systems today and the products I use, you wouldn’t be able to tell if I got paid $1.00 per sq ft or $10. The result looks identical and the process takes the same amount of time. You’re looking at the .85 cents per square foot 1 coat special on that door pic. I can make it more glossy for $5.