How to compare commercial painting bids in Houston

• Measured areas. One bidder includes ceilings, doors and the stairwells; another prices walls only.
• Preparation. Patching, caulking, cleaning and spot priming can be a large share of the labor, or barely mentioned.
• Products and coats. A contractor-grade paint in one coat and a premium commercial line in two are different jobs.
• Hours and phasing. Nights and weekends, and working suite by suite around tenants, cost more than open daytime access.
• Access. Lifts, scaffolding and who supplies them can change the total noticeably.
• Protection and cleanup. Covering furniture, IT and flooring, and a clean handoff every morning, take time.

Send every bidder the same written scope before the walkthrough. It should name:

1. Areas and surfaces — rooms or suites, walls, ceilings, doors and frames, trim, stairwells, exterior elevations.
2. Condition and prep — the repairs you know about, and the prep standard you expect.
3. Products and colors — a product spec, or "match existing" with the colors and sheens listed.
4. Coats or coverage standard — the number of coats, or uniform color and sheen with no patches showing.
5. Work hours and phasing — business hours, after-hours, weekends, and which areas must stay open.
6. Access and building rules — loading, elevators, parking, badges, and any lift or scaffold needs.
7. Protection and cleanup — what must be covered and the daily handoff you expect.
8. Insurance and documents — the certificate of insurance requirements, additional insured wording, and submittals.

The full proposal checklist is on our commercial painting cost per square foot guide.

• A single lump sum with no description of areas, prep or products.
• No product names, or "equal or better" with nothing to compare against.
• No coat count and no coverage standard.
• No exclusions listed: unknown items tend to come back as change orders.
• No written change-order process.
• Cannot provide the insurance documentation your building or property manager requires.
• Pressure to sign before you have compared the scope.

• Who supervises the work on site, and who is my daily contact?
• How many people will be on site, and for how many days or nights?
• How will you keep the areas we use open and clean each morning?
• How do you match colors and sheen across suites painted on different days?
• What happens if you find damage behind the paint that isn't in the bid?
• What does the written warranty cover, and for how long?

As planning ranges only, standard office walls may fall around $1.50–$3 per square foot of paintable wall area, retail interiors around $2–$4, and simple warehouse or shop walls around $0.75–$2. After-hours or weekend work often adds 15–30%. If one bid sits far outside the others, the scope is usually different; compare the lines above before the totals.

We walk the space, measure it, and give a written proposal that lists the areas, prep, products, coats or coverage standard, work hours, protection and exclusions, so it can be compared line by line. Your written estimate identifies the complete scope, total price, required deposit and payment schedule before you approve the project. We carry $2M general liability plus workers' comp. A current certificate of insurance is available upon request and is provided after a project is approved, according to the project requirements.

See commercial painting in Houston and painting an office without disrupting operations.

General guidance. Prices are planning ranges, not quotes; every commercial project is priced from a walkthrough and a written scope.