House Painting Cost in Phuket and How It Is Worked Out

What is the house painting cost in Phuket based on?

The house painting cost in Phuket from Phuket Pro Painters is based on the surface that actually gets painted, measured in square metres. The price is not based on the size of the land plot or the floor area of the home. Two houses with the same floor area can therefore have different painting prices if the number of rooms, the ceiling height, the number of doors and windows or the state of the walls is different.

Once the area is known, five things decide the price: the type of work, the hiring option, the height of the building, the difficulty of the job and the condition of the existing surface. The rate tables shown on this page are estimates for early budgeting. The real price of each job is confirmed in a written quotation after a painter has visited, surveyed and measured the property.

What formula does Phuket Pro Painters use to price a painting job?

The rate tables and the online calculator rest on the same principle: each surface is priced on its own, and the surfaces are added together into the price of the job. What sets the price of a surface:

• its paintable area in square metres, for example interior walls, exterior walls and ceilings;
• the rate per square metre for that surface under the hiring option chosen, and the paint grade when paint is included;
• the working height, which counts only for surfaces that need height access, such as the exterior walls and roof of a two- or three-storey house;
• the difficulty and access of that surface, at one level only;
• surface preparation for the condition of the existing wall, charged per square metre of that surface.

Once all surfaces are added together, the job never falls below the minimum job charge. Scaffolding, a boom lift or rope access is never charged automatically per square metre; if the site may need it, it is quoted separately after the survey. The site survey and measurement are free. Owners who want to put their own numbers into the formula can use the house painting cost calculator straight away, without entering contact details first.

Why are the prices on the website a range and not a single number?

The estimates from Phuket Pro Painters are shown as a low-to-high range because two jobs that look identical in the calculator can still differ on site. A wall that looks sound in a photograph may turn out to have old paint lifting over a wide area once the painter scrapes it. A hillside villa that a truck cannot reach takes longer to supply with ladders, scaffolding and paint. The range gives a realistic budget frame. The exact figure exists only in the written quotation.

How does the type of work change the base rate?

The base rate per square metre is set separately for each type of work, because each surface needs different time, tools and coatings.

One house usually combines several types of work, so the quotation lists the area and price of each type on its own line.

What is the difference between the two ways to hire us?

Phuket Pro Painters offers two hiring options, and the base rate is not the same for both. "Labour only" is a common arrangement in Thailand: the owner buys the materials and pays the contractor for the work alone. Foreign owners are often more used to a single price that includes materials, which is the second option.

Each option has its own page: labour-only painting, where you supply the paint, and labour and paint together in one price. Under both options, surface preparation and scaffolding are quoted as separate lines in the same way.

When does the paint grade affect the price?

The paint grade affects the price only when the customer chooses labour and paint. There are three grades: standard, premium and ultra premium. Each grade is a surcharge per square metre on the base rate. In general, a higher grade stands up better to sun and rain and is easier to wipe clean. That matters most on exterior walls in Phuket, which face strong UV, heavy rain during the south-west monsoon and salt-laden air near the coast. For rooms with light use, such as a store room, the standard grade is usually enough.

How is surface preparation charged?

Surface preparation is a surcharge per square metre of that surface, chosen surface by surface, with four levels: a repaint in good condition, a new surface that has never been painted, moderate preparation for small cracks and minor flaking, and heavy preparation for extensive flaking and deteriorated surfaces. A wall with major cracks, water leakage, rising damp or a waterproofing problem is different: the calculator prices the painting portion only and marks the repairs as excluded, because that work needs a site inspection first.

The work included in this line, and the work that is not, is set out on the page about surface preparation before painting. Phuket Pro Painters does not take on waterproofing, structural crack repair or leak repair work. If a property has those problems, a specialist needs to fix them before any painting starts.

How do height and scaffolding add to the price?

The height of a building affects the price, in three bands: one storey, two storeys and three storeys. The higher the wall, the slower the painters work and the more care safety needs. Height counts only for surfaces that are worked at height, such as exterior walls and roofs. Ground-floor interior walls and ceilings are priced at the normal rate even in a two-storey house.

Scaffolding is not a rate per square metre. Standard access equipment is included in the labour. Full scaffolding, a boom lift or rope access is quoted separately after the site survey if it is needed. Buildings of four storeys or more, or work that needs rope access, are a special case: the calculator gives no figure, because anchor points and access have to be assessed on site. The customer sees a button to book a free site survey instead. A worked explanation of the pricing for a home with more than one floor is in the guide to what a two-storey house costs to paint.

How is the difficulty of a job measured?

Difficulty has three levels:

• Normal access. Flat walls, a clear workspace, standard ladder access, a normal residential room or an open exterior area.
• Detailed / complex surface. Decorative trims, many edges, architectural details, complex window frames or small sections that need masking, where most of the edges have to be cut in by brush.
• Difficult access. Narrow access, difficult ladder placement, a restricted workspace, walls close to a boundary or a neighbouring house, or surfaces above a swimming pool or a roof.

Only one level applies per surface. Unusually complex projects are better served by a site survey.

Hillside villas and the older buildings in Phuket Town with decorative stucco usually fall into the second or third level. The level that applies is settled after the site survey.

How many coats do the estimates assume?

Every estimate assumes one primer coat and two top coats, which is the usual standard for painting buildings. If a job needs a different number of coats, for example when a dark colour is being changed to a light one, the agreed number is written in the quotation and the price is adjusted to match.

How do I get from an estimate to a real price?

A real price takes two steps. First, a painter from Phuket Pro Painters visits the property, measures the actual area and checks the condition of the walls, at no charge. Second, we issue a written quotation that lists the areas, the work items, the hiring option, the price and the warranty terms, for the customer to check and agree before any work starts. This happens on every job. What the painter checks, and what appears in the document, is explained on the page about the free site survey and written quotation.

The quotation also states the terms of the workmanship warranty after handover. The period and terms are the ones written in each quotation, not on this website. The general scope is described on the painting warranty page.

What should I have ready before asking for a price?

Three pieces of information make the estimate closer and the survey quicker to arrange:

1. An approximate area in square metres, or the room sizes as width, length and height.
2. Photographs of the walls to be painted, both wide shots and close-ups of damaged paint.
3. The location of the house or building in Phuket, and the number of storeys.

Owners who live abroad can send these by message and have a house manager meet the painter on site. When the details are ready, send them through the page to request a quotation and book a free site survey, or call 063-004-0115. The team speaks English and Thai.