What actually moves the number.
We bid every job individually, so there is no price list on this site. Here is what we are looking at when we write one, so you can read any contractor's bid with the same eyes.
| Estimates | No charge |
|---|---|
| Response | One business day |
| Format | Line item |
The variables
Eight things, every time.
In roughly the order they change the number.
How much wall there is
Not the square footage of the house. The square footage of the surface being finished, which on a two-story with tall parapets and deep returns can be far more than the floor plan suggests.
How hard it is to reach
A single-level with clear ground around it is scaffold-free. A hillside lot, a courtyard with no equipment access, or a third story over a pool changes the labour on every coat, not just one.
What is already on the wall
New construction over clean sheathing is predictable. A recoat over failing stucco, an old elastomeric that has to come off, or a wall with moisture damage behind it is discovery work, and discovery is the single biggest reason a number moves after a bid.
Repair or replace
Patching and matching an existing texture is slower per square foot than finishing a whole elevation, because matching is a craft problem rather than a volume one. Sometimes recoating a full elevation costs less than chasing a match across it.
The finish itself
A sprayed dash covers ground quickly. A hand-worked smooth trowel across a long uninterrupted wall is the slowest finish we do, because every pass has to be flat and there is nowhere for a flaw to hide.
Detail count
Corners, reveals, control joints, foam shapes, window surrounds, and every place two materials meet. Two houses with identical wall area can be a week apart on labour if one has three times the detail.
The specification level
On drywall this is the finish level, and the difference between Level 4 and Level 5 across a whole house is real. On paint it is the sheen and the number of coats. Neither is a place to guess on your behalf.
Where the job is
Crews running to Cedar City, Kanab or the Arizona Strip carry travel that a job ten minutes from the shop does not. Cold-weather work at elevation also costs schedule, because cement plaster cures on its own terms.
Questions
What people ask us.
Why will you not give me a price over the phone?
Because the honest answer to most of what drives the number is not visible from a phone call. We cannot see the substrate condition, the access, the detail count, or what is behind a wall that is already failing. A number given without those is a guess, and a guess that moves later is worse for you than a slower, real one.
Do you charge for an estimate?
No. We walk the site, take measurements and photographs, and send a line-item estimate. Call 435-229-3769 or send photos and drawings through the quote form and we respond within one business day with the right next step.
What makes a bid change after it is written?
Almost always discovery: moisture damage behind a finish, framing that is out of plane, an old coating that has to come off rather than be recoated, or a substrate that is not what it looked like from outside. We write what we can see and flag what we cannot, so the unknowns are named in the estimate rather than sprung on you later.
Is the cheapest bid ever the right one?
Sometimes, and you should be able to tell why. Compare what each bid actually includes: the number of coats, the lath and barrier detail, whether control joints and flashings are in scope, the drywall finish level, and the number of paint coats. A lower number is usually a smaller scope rather than a better deal, and reading the line items is how you tell the difference.
A site walk beats a guess.
Send photos, drawings, or an address. We respond within one business day with the right next step.
| Response | One business day |
|---|---|
| Hours | Mon-Fri, 8am to 5pm |