"we made sure of this during negotiations with our contractor”

How did you make sure?

It’s up to you. You certainly h,ave the right to have it repainted to conform with the contract. How about having him repaint the rooms most likely to be susceptible to your toddlers’ hands? ... or buy a lot of Magic Erasers :)

Why is satin finish more expensive than eggshell? The paint itself doesn't cost more and the process of applying the paint is exactly the same, no matter what sheen. Also, your issue with not being able to clean the eggshell finish in your old house may have been because of the brand. Satin is really not that much more durable than eggshell, but you should get what you want and if it's in the contract then a reasonable contractor will understand that and make it right.

Judy. We made them add it to the contract specs for the home. And we paid more for it.

Paintguy22, thanks for your input. I speak from my living in two different houses with eggshell vs satin paint and having issues with eggshell. If eggshell and satin are the same price do you know why builders (all of the builders that I know of) use eggshell paint as their standard whole house paint instead of satin or semigloss?

I am now wondering if there is a huge difference between satin paint & eggshell paint? My husband thinks so and requested satin paint. He is also the one who painted our other houses...ugh should we keep the eggshell or is it going to be a pain in the butt to keep clean?

No one would use semi gloss in the whole house.

Typically homes in this area (pnw) use eggshell for walls and satin or semi gloss for woodwork and trim.

If a quality paint has been specified, durability should be similar with egg shell and satin.

What brand and line of paint was specified? I.e. Sherwin Williams Emerald.

Don't most builders use flat paint? When did they start upgrading to egg shell?

Consider the possibility that the eggshell finish is a primer paint and call your contractor and ask when he is going to add the satin finish for which you contracted.

The brand of paint is PPG, not sure which line. Will have to check.

I would definitely make them repaint it! You paid for it and that’s what you should have gotten. Period. There is a huge difference in cleanability between the two. Your contractor may be a small business owner but that doesn’t give him the right to not give you what you paid for. If he sent the right info to the painters and it was their mistake then it’s their cost to eat.

Our builder only does flat. Even upgrading to two tone and paying an extra $3000 would have only given us colored flat. No thanks. At least it’s easy to paint over so we’ll be going over it in satin.

I would just go with the egg shell. It's a more forgiving finish as far as accentuating flaws in your walls and it is washable. Ask your builder for credit.

I would have no problem with the egg shell. However, you should get what you contracted for.

eggshell is a standard/default sheen. It is assumed to be what people will choose. Satin should be easier to clean with the smooth finish. Good for kids.

I think you are confusing flat paint with eggshell. No builder or anyone else cheap ever used eggshell as the standard. Flat paint is what hides all the poor drywall prep. Flat paint is standard on every single production build and most custom builds.

Thete is only a very slight sheen difference between eggshell and satin. Flat isn’t very scrubbable, but eggshell certainly is.

The higher the sheen level, the more visible that the inevitable wall issues will appear.

I see eggshell on spec's all the time, perhaps it's more common on the west coast?

Flat does hide poor dry wall, and I agree, a slight difference between eggshell and satin. I was referring to clean-ability. Thanks for the feedback :)

Having used a magic eraser, I will say that scrubbing eggshell with it will leave you with shiny spots. Not such an issue with satin. I do get it, as I have two special needs kids who can be hard on things. I have a satin paint in my kitchen, right now, for cleanliness. I prefer the look of eggshell, but I'll probably do satin in their rooms in the new house because it IS more scrubbable. Especially when you're really working to get something entrenched off, rather than just wiping down the occasional sticky spot.

"Judy. We made them add it to the contract specs for the home. And we paid more for it.”

You have it in writing…then, your contractor has to honor, legally, your request.

We are debating asking contractor to either have painters repaint just the high traffic areas with satin finish (don't know how cost effective that will be for the contractor or not?), or Have them repaint everything with satin finish or lastly just stick with the eggshell finish & repaint certain areas as needed ourselves. I know our contractor is probably dreading our call and we are too. Ugh.

Our contractor says the eggshell finish is scrubbable & can be touched up easily. It is what he chose for his own house. I've just had bad luck with scrubbing eggshell finish. PPG is supposed to high quality paint and very expensive for anyone but builders etc who have a contract with PPG....so I dont know, eggshell COULD hold up well...ugh.

Get at least your upcharge refunded to you if you keep the eggshell.

Are you sure it is eggshell? Most people don't even paint with satin on their walls because it's too shiny. Satin is more for trim. The standard for most new home builders is flat paint, which is a non-washable and non-shiny finish. It's cheaper paint plus it's a primer plus one coat system (some painters do one or two coats of the flat and skip the primer). The washable paint (eggshell, satin, semi-gloss, etc) is a primer plus two coat system and the paint itself is more expensive. It makes sense that the builder would charge more for a washable paint than a flat paint, but it does not make sense that satin would cost more than eggshell. It's the same primer plus two coat system and the paint is identical in price usually if you are just choosing a different sheen.

I'd go in and give your children and dogs some peanut butter sandwiches. Leave them by themselves for a few minutes and see if you can scrub those marks off the walls easily. If not, repaint :). But like others have mentioned the quality of the paint determines its washability more than its sheen.

As many have addressed most builders don't use satin on walls because most people don't want it. Eggshell is the shiniest i'd put on a wall, with flat on the ceiling. Satin goes on the trim and doors.

lol thanks Jen Hans. My husband laughed when I read him that. So we spoke to our contractor and he said he didn't notice it was eggshell paint instead of satin that should have been ordered. With that said we aren't going to pay more for it or have them repaint to satin finish. We researched the paint they used and found it has pretty good washability and decided it's best at this point to keep it. I am happy with everything else that our contractor has done and hopefully the paint will work long term for us! :) thanks everyone for your comments and knowledge. It's interesting to see how people from different areas of the U.S. do things differently.

I would never attempt a gloss like that on walls, unless a formal space and with some intent. . Eggshell is perfectly washable, in any decent quality paint, and with a primer and TWO finish coats in any new build. Satin is a trim finish. Move on. : ) You were saved from nasty looking walls.

Hopefully they used Manor Hall and not Speedhide.

The prep work greatly increases with each sheen level increase.

The difference in cost that my builder charged between eggshell and satin was very small, under $100 to do the house interior in satin instead of eggshell. It was the fact that we specifically had them change the specs on the contract to satin then ended up painting eggshell anyway that was upsetting. But oh well I think overall it's a quality paint and everyone on here helped me realize that its the quality of the paint that matters most so hoping it will hold up. I dont do satin paint because I want the sheen "look", I do it for the durability, washability of the walls. Thanks! :)

You could compare the "gloss level" number from the TDS spec sheet for the paint that was used, compared to what was in your last house. A quality paint in eggshell will be as good or better than satin in a cheap brand.

I have Muralo Nanocoat (eggshell) in most of my rooms. I wish I had it in the main hallway instead of a Benjamin Moore paint that I was sold! (Muralo is now owned by California Paint.)

But magic erasers will change the sheen of any paint.

Lol Suzyq53

What extra prep is there for going from eggshell to satin? Also, $100 must be a change order fee or some silly thing like that.

Egg shell is a nicer Finnish

its durable ( just slighty less so than satin) much more classy & crisp... a much more on trend coveted look. Which is most likely why they used it. Has a slight sheen, so you can wipe it clean. but depends on the quality of your paint! You cannot beat Benjamin Moore paint ... worth every penny!

Egg shell is not shinny.

When light hits it you get a nice hum/radiance from it .. nice shadows....not a shiny glow like satin. Also eggshell brings out, enhances and draws attention to architectural features & trims ...rather the thicker coating of satin that masks it.

Satin can look Plastic.

In my opinion stay with the eggshell....it’s beautiful & hard earring enough ......but only if it’s a very good quality paint.

The thread is TWO years old.

Also as mentioned by others ... satin is standard hard warning sheen used for wood trim (tho egg shell much nicer).

Satin Is not for walls.

Satin on walls is a very unusual request. i know old feed ... but hope helpful for some x