The floor guy only suggesting one coat is a sign right there that he has limited painting knowledge. Two coats is pretty much industry standard. In this poor economy, it is not uncommon for other tradesmen to pick up a brush and call themselves painters in an effort to fill in the slow spells. They usually are not good painters. Also, painters wanting you to supply the paint is also a bad sign. Good painters know what they like to use and will educate the customer on what is best....not the other way around. You should go with a recommendation if you can...at least you know he did a good job somewhere else. You can ask the painter to negotiate, but if he doesn't do that then you may lose him.

I have to say that for a several hundred dollar differential, you run the risk of having a shoddy job, which you have to either live with for the next however-many years, or pay to have done over.

I learned to paint after the "best" remodeler in my town brought in two separate painting crews for my renovation. The first group was a bunch of kooks who were painting in the dark, literally and figuratively. The second group was better technically, but did not understand my preference for particular brands and did a lot of whining. I got tired of it, picked up a brush and the rest is history.

Just think in terms of the price differential, not the total cost. My guess is that spending more will prevent a lot of headaches. The good painter will make sure it's done right. The floor guy, and maybe the cheaper painters too, will need to be checked up on and probably chased after to get things right. That is assuming you even know what is right, what to look for, etc. I am not saying you don't know, but there are lots of details that we don't even think to ask about....until its done wrong.

Good luck!

Paintguy & Amysrq, Thank you both so much for your replies that I appreciate a lot.

I did not sleep well which to me is a sign I am about to do something wrong by not hiring the painter that I felt most comfortable with in getting the job done right.

I am getting more behind in my work with so much on my mind. I really want a good job done so I do not have to redo this room every 2.5 years. I am leaning now towards taking off the moldings (that the floor guy never mentioned)and painting the walls before the new molding and quarter rounds/shoe molding is installed. I had initially planned to save money and just add the quarter rounds or shoe molding but I think the painters are right that I am spending this much money that I should do the job right.

I also want to go with someone that knows what they are doing and will cover the samples who was highly recommended by a client who said she did a great job on her condo that he painted all the rooms for before she moved in. He is the only one that seemed to know what he was talking about despite the price. I also prefer him to bring the paint over since I did that last time running around and buying paint and not getting my work done. The room was just painted 2.5 years ago and was poorly done by someone that recommended the last painter who cares more about cheap than quality. The new client that recommended the painter I liked cares about quality and I had a good feeling about him.

The $750 painter just faxed me over the quote he gave over the phone the other day and I had no realized that the quote included priming the wall after sanding it and spackling it. But it includes no paint and the painter thought Pearl was less glossy than eggshell so he must not use BM paint often.

I have not totally made up my mind yet. I am starting to like the Aura's Satin finish that is so rich but then again my whole wall is not covered with the Satin and maybe it would be too shiny in my home office and I should stick with the Regal Pearl finish in the Bone White.

Hi again Lynn!

THREE WORDS in your description of the "first" guy cinched-it for me...prepping the walls by "roughing it up".

Hire that one.

There's a reason you felt more comfortable with him. You sound like a very intelligent Woman.

Painting used to be a very proud trade.
Nowadays, the pool of REAL Pro's is being diluted by part-time college kids, teachers not working in the summer, flooring people who paint "once-in-a-while....", etc.
Customers THINK they're getting "such a good deal" because some hacks quote is half of someone elses.

Faron

That's a HUGE price spread.

What's the price of paint and other materials?

But my gut feeling is that the highest bid, in this case, is the one you need.

The flooring guy - he's adding a service he's not good at yet. And he sounds like he has no clue about wall prep.

Thank you Lazygardens and Faron79 for both of your input that leans toward the painter who would bring his own paint and had helpers so the job would get done faster in order to get started on the floors. Faron79, I always love hearing from you.

So far I am feeling the two men that came the same day are the best. I am trying to figure out which one since their price is close. The highest quote at $1100 for the BM Regal Pearl finish paint ($1250 for the BM Aura) is really only about $150 higher than the $750 quote since the lower quote that does not include the materials but includes the priming work that I would have to buy the primer for while the higher $1100 includes priming new molding if the floor guy takes off the old molding and puts new molding on after installing the floor.

The $689 quote does not indicate one or two coats and does not include the materials so I am not using that painter that has a painting business. In fact all the quotes are from men that have registered painting businesses except for the floor guy whose business is registered with a name indicating he does just floors.

The lowest quote is for a painting business but I was not impressed and I know the owner would not be painting but hiring others to do the job and does not indicate which paint or how many coats of paint.

The flooring guy's painter never called me back so I am not going with him.

It looks like the two painters that are close in price but one includes the paint and I was impressed with his knowledge both indicate in their estimates the prep work in sanding and roughing up the walls and spackling.

If the $750 guy did not mention the priming, I would just be going with the $1100 painter since he was recommended by my client (painted all of the rooms in her Condo) and I was impressed with his knowledge of BM Paints.

If I was going with Aura, I would use the $1250 price since that painter understood that Aura was different and he showed me a paint sample on my wall that he did a great job painting and making the paint look beautiful unlike my sampling since Aura was more difficult to paint with for an amateur like myself.

I need to make a decision in the next two days since I must get started on this project.

Lynn,
You're very gracious!

If his sampling of Aura pleased you, then that's the guy.
He sounds like he knows that altering his techniques for certain paints/brands is part of the trade.
THAT'S a big plus for him!!

IMO...some painters get too stuck-in-a-rut with certain brands, and refuse to alter their techniques. Therefore, they're probably shutting themselves out of potential good clientele/jobs...

Faron

Faron, if I liked the Aura Satin, would it be OK to use on a high traffic office wall or will it be too shiny from the torchiere lamps in the office? I have BM Regal Pearl finish on the walls right now and to me it is beautiful and not too shiny so I am tempted to go back and use the Regal Pearl finish paint in the BM Bone White but the sample of the Aura I have here in satin in the BM Bone White is so rich and beautiful and it has lower VOCS.

You can't go wrong with either choice, since they're both top-notch paints!

It just comes down to your choice of wall appearance when the lights are on!

Does the sheen tend to interfere with any art-pieces/themes you may have there?

Faron

Faron, it is amazing to me that I do not see the sheen on the wall but maybe it is because the painter never did the second coat on the wall. I have no overhead lighting so the pearl finish in the family room that has two coats is smooth and not chalky and rich to me and I do not see shine despite painters knowing right away that I did not use flat paint. My friend that dislikes shiny paints finds my walls beautiful. So I am tempted to stay with the Pearl finish but that means going with the paint that has more VOCS. I wonder how much shinier the Satin is in the Aura than the Regal Pearl? I may need to go out and get a quart to figure this out. The Aura is very difficult to paint with I am finding out from doing the two sample boards last night since putting it on the wall was not helping me.

I decided to paint some old boards over old colors that are light and neutral with the Aura Satin paint I have here in the quart and the BM Regal Pearl Finish paint in the SW Antique White color (not for the color but for the finish/shine). I really like painting with the Pearl Finish paint and the VOC count and drying time is so much less than the old formula. I know I will not be doing the painting but it is such a nice paint and really covers well. The Aura Paint I can not paint well with and I know a painter would have to be very skilled to paint with it. I will see how I feel when both boards dry but so far my feeling is that despite wanting to go lower VOC, I may just stay with the BM Regal Paint in the Pearl Finish since it is so nice and rich on the walls without too much of a shine. The Satin is definitely shinier than the Pearl. I do not like Eggshell or flat paint so I have decided to not try out the Aura Eggshell finish.

I am going to have to air out the room due to my preference for finish over VOC count. If I would like an eggshell finish, I would go with the Natura.

Hirer the painter to paint. I had my cabinet guy do the drywall and the walls were ok (covered mostly by granite anyway) but he did a terrible job on the kitchen ceiling and I had to hire a licensed drywll guy to redo it. Cheap can be expensive. My remodel is almost done. Looking for a painter myself right now and the drywall helper wanted to do it...told me he charged $250 aday for labor only.(not even licensed) My retired husband and myself just might be doing the painting ourselves. Won't be the first time but hopefully the last!!! :-)Drywall guy told me that he has lost a lot of jobs because of the economy and the fact that a lot of workers are taking on jobs that they are not that good at, just to get the work and of course, they are bidding the jobs for less than the contractors.

Thanks msgreatdeals for your input. I finally met with my floor guy's friend that used to paint and so far I still like my two favorite painters despite not yet getting a quote from him.

I am now leaning towards the Aura Satin despite the shine, it is so rich and beautiful.

I learned my lesson by going cheap with the tile guy and then having to hire someone new to redo the tiles as well as buy two new boxes.

The Aura is different to work with but not difficult. There is a learning curve. If the painter you hire has worked with the product before, you should be okay. I have used it once, in my laundry room, and was annoyed by drips setting up quickly. I would want to paint a few more "unimportant" rooms before using it in a room that mattered, like a living room.

our first home was 103 years old and in desperate need of reno/restore. besides having to tend to the peeling paint on the exterior, the interior was crumbling. we had of course budgeted for all the work but decided to save 15K on the painting and went with the cheapest guy.
the house looked great after he finished and stayed that way for a total of two weeks before it began bubbling and cracking.
it turns out the "painter" used to be a barber and we were his first job. hair grows back but a bad paint job might hang around a while. good luck!

kateskouros, thank you so much for your story which is helping me to decide. Thank you amysrq in also feeling like I do that if I use Aura, I should go with the painter familiar with painting with it since there is a learning curve.

I am not sure if I should take the time to try out the Aura Eggshell since I feel I should just go with the Aura Satin since I loved the Regal Pearl and I do not think I would mind a tiny bit more of shine since I love walls that are not chalky and easy to clean for my home office.

The Samples of the Bone White looks nice on the wall since most of the file cabinets are now in the garage. My two helpers and me have decided to try to keep the taller cabinets in the garage and only keeping two current years in my home office.

I guess I should post another post on another forum (but if anyone knows on this forum, I would appreciate it) asking if papers and files inside sturdy Hon File Cabinets will be OK in a garage that is not climate controlled.

I am beginning to think the satin samples are a bit too shiny since I took out the huge file cabinets so more wall is getting light. I may just go with the BM Regal Pearl finish that I like so much and deal with some outgassing.

I had to rent a POD today that will arrive on Friday since I could not get all the furniture out of the room to paint and install the floors.

I know I must rearrange the furniture so I can have less file cabinets in the front of the office where I work which will give me more light.

I will keep everyone updated. I am going with the BM Bone White in the Pearl Finish.