We had someone come over that we knew initially he said $8k but somehow that blossomed to $15k not including the repair which was $2k and the $3k scaffold that he itemised.
That's just the reality. We're quite happy to paint it ourselves if it's going to cost $20k, some people take half a year to earn that after tax and student loan deductions. One can go oveseas 10x grabaseats futher than Oz and still have $1,000 per trip on spending money. Then he reduced it to $7k for the entire job :D.
We got a friend's cousin who does painting he's quite busy, so he said he can just replace a few timber weather boards he'll organise the scaffold thru his networks and we can just paint it ourselves. The more I read about it - other family have spent $3k for a month's scaffold. I heard that traders only pay $1k and then bill you $3k.....
Some weeks of family group effort .... and then there's $15k plus there. Regardless of what money a person has, it's like flying economy get to point B instead of first class and there's 15k waiting for you on arrival. The guy chased us, he came back on location fine so he got it for $7k. You ask a typical household some of them won't drop $20k for that. Maybe if the roof is leaking and it needs to be REPLACED but for a paint job .... just some family friends over and treat them for a BBQ and at another time reciprocate favour for them ...
$22,000 is a tad high - I agree with the others, you should get a couple more quotes.
I've been going through the paint job from hell for the past six months. Based on my experiences (still on-going, not yet resolved) I offer these tips:
Get a Master Painter and check with the association that they are current members. If you agree on a type of paint, get it in writing. I agreed to Resene Solyx (sp?) and got Lumbersider, which is self-priming and resulted in a very different finish to that I had agreed. Master Painters, through their association, have a 5-year guarantee on Dulux paints. If you run into issues with Resene paints there is no guarantee and Resene don't want to know (I know, I had a Resene technical rep out to look at my house). If the painters say they will strip back to timber, apply xyz, get all that detail in writing - do NOT rely on anything that is said to actually be done. Get a guaranteed finish date - a copy for you and one for them and signed by both parties. If you later agree on an extension get that in writing too. Any variations to the contract need to be in writing and signed by both, otherwise don't agree to changes. If there is a problem with the work, put it in writing and, if possible, take photos.
If things go really wrong, it costs $400 to lay a complaint with Master Painters. They will then investigate but because all their members are working painters any investigation waits until two of them have free time at the same time. Should they agree that there is a real problem then the $400 is refunded and they take steps to put things right. The whole process can take 4-6 months.
The Consumers Guarantees Act supposedly provides protection but is vague where it comes to services. I've had two legal opinions, one lawyer said a reasonable time for putting things right has not yet passed as "reasonable time" must take into account that tradesmen can be busy with other contracts and cannot be expected to breach other contracts to satisfy one. Another lawyer said that not being finished two months passed the completion date for a 3-4 week job is way past a reasonable time allowance.
I hope this helps. There are cowboys out there and even reputable firms can employ painters that are bad news. Cross every T and dot every i and keep records of everything.
Elpie: $22,000 is a tad high - I agree with the others, you should get a couple more quotes.
I hope this helps. There are cowboys out there and even reputable firms can employ painters that are bad news. Cross every T and dot every i and keep records of everything.
Good tips. I would suggest supplying the paint, so there is no way they can get it wrong. You don't need any qualifications to be a painter, so you can get anyone doing it. Also make sire that hey don't subcontract out to another outfit. If a company is charging a high price, they may just be taking the job and getting a cheaper company in to do the job. I have had a company do that before, and it ended up being a major problem.
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