Oops

This post was edited by zorroslw on Mon, Dec 22, 14 at 17:08

Might be the brand and not the color that costs more for the contractor. I have never seen darker colors priced higher than light colors and I have done a LOT of painting. I would ask him about it.

It might be that a darker color would require 2 coats of paint

Zorro: not the brand, he was the one that told me BM. I'm thinking it's the two coat thing that makes the difference. I didn't ask why but that's what Google said, lol.

2 coats plus the primer coat should be standard, no matter the value of the color. If he charges more for darker paint, he's either not using good paint, or he's skimping and only doing one coat with the lighter colors. Either is unacceptable.

Zoe: you are right, just went through my contract and paint specifies a coat of primer and two coats of paint. It says nothing about color limitations either. He said he would get back to me regarding the color. Hopefully there is no issue with the color I chose. If two coats is standard then I don't see why the color makes any difference. We've had no real issues with our builder so far, so hoping this doesn't turn into a problem.

Also, at least with Sherwin Williams paints, some darker colors require a different (darker) shade of primer. We used mostly lighter colors throughout the house but painted one room and a couple of accent walls in two other rooms with SW Spicy Hue (a deep cinnamony red brown hue). Those walls had to be primed with a dark grey primer AND it still took something like 4 or 5 coats of paint for the Spicy Hue to look exactly right. Final result is gorgeous but it took some work to get there. (p.s. I KNOW for a fact that the paint used was Sherwin Williams and not some cheaper knock-off tinted to match the SW color because I went to SW myself and bought both the paint and the primer myself and delivered it to the painters.)

My painters did not charge extra but I chose to pay them a small bonus because I knew they wound up doing quite a bit more work than anticipated on those walls.

"Can't afford any more change orders at this point! "

^^^^^^ Those are your words in origional post.^^^^^^
There is no techinical problem with the paint. The real problem is either you,the builder or both. If indeed you already made several chamges during construction,this is nothing new and neither is the additional cost. Contractors hate change orders and commonaly tack on extra cost each time one is made. Contractors often use every excuse available to charge extra wherther it increases thier cost or not. I can't say who's at fault here but one thing is obivous from reading what you are saying ,you and your builder arn't comunicating as you should. I don't see where the builder even told you it would cost more but if he did,why didn't you ask why instead of having us guess why?

Klem: my builder gives me "change orders" for any upgrade above the standard, maybe that means something different to YOU. When I picked tile that was more expensive than the standard, I received a "change order" for the difference. I haven't made any structural changes during construction. So when I say I can't afford any more change orders I mean I can't afford any more extras above the standard.
Thanks for your helpful post!

Painting a darker color sometimes requires extra coats of paint. The painter we use charges extra for dark colors, but we're talking really dark colors. My daughters room is a chocolate brown and it took several coats of paint.

You're welcome MrsB. Hopfully your experiece plus my advise helps others understand why deciding on details before entering into contract is cheaper than piecemeal decisions made during construction.

It was also more expensive for me to have a dark color painted. But it was almost black and took multiple coats, and the trim was China White and had to be cut in very carefully.

I have used BM Stonington gray. It's a great color but I certainly wouldn't call it a dark color. There is no way it should require extra coats of paint.

Thanks everyone, my builder came through and got the color "because he knew how much I wanted it" and painting has commenced. I'm almost an hour away from the home so haven't seen it. Will take pictures when I visit.