Painting is the trade where the visible work is the smallest part of the job. Anyone can roll a wall. What separates a finish that still looks good in six years from one that peels in eighteen months is preparation - filling, sanding, caulking, priming, and the patience to do it before the fun part starts.
This matters for how you read quotes. Two painters quoting the same rooms can differ by 40% purely on prep, and the cheaper quote is not padding-free, it is prep-free. Ask what happens before the first coat, and you will learn more than any other question can tell you.
What painters do
- Interior walls, ceilings and trim
- Exterior siding, brick, stucco and trim
- Cabinet refinishing and spraying
- Drywall repair, patching and skim coating
- Staining and refinishing woodwork
- Wallpaper removal and surface preparation
Does a painter need a licence in Ontario?
No provincial licence required. Insurance and a clear written scope carry the weight here.
General liability insurance
Covers overspray on a neighbour's car, damage to flooring, and ladder incidents. Ask for the certificate.
WSIB clearance
Especially relevant for exterior work at height. Many small painting operations are owner-operators who may be exempt - ask them to confirm their status in writing either way.
Lead-safe work practices for pre-1980 homes
Sanding old paint can disturb lead. A painter working on an older home should be able to describe how they contain dust.
What it costs in Ontario
Painting is quoted per room, per square foot of floor area, or as a whole-project number. Per-room pricing usually assumes walls only - confirm whether ceilings, trim, doors and closets are in or out, because that is where quotes diverge.
| Job | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Interior, per room (walls only)Standard bedroom. Ceilings and trim are commonly extra. | $400 – $900 |
| Interior, per square foot of floor areaWhole-house pricing. Includes basic prep and two coats. | $2.50 – $5.00 |
| Whole house interior, roughly 2,000 sq ftWide range depending on ceiling height, trim volume and colour changes. | $4,000 – $9,000 |
| Ceilings, per roomTextured or popcorn ceilings cost more and may contain asbestos in older homes. | $300 – $700 |
| Exterior of a detached houseDriven by surface material, height and how much scraping is needed. | $4,000 – $12,000 |
| Kitchen cabinet refinishingSprayed finish. Far cheaper than replacement, and the finish quality varies widely. | $3,000 – $7,000 |
These are planning estimates for Ontario, not quotes, and they move with material prices and demand. Use them to sanity-check a quote, not to argue one down.
Questions to ask before you hire
- 1What preparation is included - filling, sanding, caulking, priming?
- 2How many coats, and is primer counted as one of them?
- 3What paint product and finish line are you using? (Brand alone does not say much; the product line does.)
- 4Does the quote include ceilings, trim, doors and closet interiors, or walls only?
- 5How are floors, furniture and fixtures protected?
- 6Who is doing the work, and will the person who quoted it be on site?
- 7What is the warranty if the finish fails, and what does "failure" mean?
Warning signs
- A quote that does not name the paint product.
- No mention of preparation anywhere in the written scope.
- A price notably below every other quote - nearly always fewer coats, thinner prep, or cheaper paint.
- Payment in full before work begins.
- Cabinet refinishing quoted without any mention of degreasing and de-glossing.
How to read reviews for this trade
Painting reviews are the most immediately reliable on this site, because the customer can see the result the day it is finished. The useful signal is tidiness and communication, which reviews capture well. What reviews will not tell you is durability - for that, look for the rare review written a few years later, and weight it heavily.
Some of this you can do yourself
Not every job in this trade needs a contractor. These guides cover the ones that do not, and say plainly where to stop.