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Cost to paint a room: Quote worksheet

Compare wall prep, coats and the surfaces actually included in a painting quote.

Start with the questions below. Written quotes are required to compare totals; this page does not estimate a market price.

Check what each quote includes

Leave anything unclear as “Ask.” Choose “Extra” to add a separately priced item to that quote’s budget. Do not also put it in the general left-out costs below.

Walls and ceilings

Identify every included surface. A wall-only price does not cover the ceiling automatically.

Preparation and repairs

List holes, cracks, peeling areas, stains, sanding, caulking and texture repairs.

Primer and paint

Record the product, sheen, colors and coat allowance. Ask how poor coverage or staining is handled.

Doors and trim

Count door sides, frames, baseboards, windows and other woodwork separately.

Furniture and protection

Agree who moves furniture, removes hardware and protects floors and belongings.

Cleanup and touchups

Record reinstallation, disposal, leftover paint and the final walk-through.

Put your quotes side by side

Add only costs left out of each written quote.

Quote A
Costs outside the quote & your reserve

This is money you set aside. It is not a contractor charge or a recommended percentage.

Enter a quoted price

Quote B
Costs outside the quote & your reserve

This is money you set aside. It is not a contractor charge or a recommended percentage.

Enter a quoted price

A price difference helps only after the work matches.

Nothing is sent to a contractor. Saving keeps these entries in this browser; downloading makes a text file.

Material price trends, separate from your quote

These U.S. producer indexes track material prices over time. They are not store prices, labor rates or local installed costs. We do not use them to increase a historical project median.

Prepared paint

+5.9% from August 2025 to August 2026. Latest observation is preliminary and may be revised.

BLS producer index, not seasonally adjusted
PeriodIndex level, not dollars
August 2025430.843
August 2026456.224

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Updated . Use your quoted unit price in the material calculator; delivery, tax, preparation and labor remain separate.

Before asking for a price

List rooms, wall heights, doors, trim and ceilings. State colors and finish changes rather than handing over floor area alone.

What the total can tell you

A room’s floor area is not its paintable area. BLS painter wages exclude the job’s preparation time, business costs and material bill.

The budget adds the quoted price, separately priced Extra items, other costs left out and any tax not already included. Your chosen reserve is added to that subtotal. Treat every “Ask” row as work that is not yet confirmed as included. Get the answer in writing before comparing totals.