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🎨 Painting · ZIP 20036

House Painter Cost — ZIP 20036 (Washington, DC)

A licensed house painter serving ZIP 20036 charges roughly $84/hour, anchored on BLS OEWS wage data for SOC 47-2141 ($24.54/hr national mean) and the DC cost-of-living index of 142.5.

House Painter project costs near ZIP 20036

ProjectTimeTypical costRange
Single room paint (10×12, walls only, 2 coats) 1 day $744 $610 – $893
Whole interior repaint (1700 sq ft, walls + ceilings) 4–6 days $6,389 $5,239 – $7,667
Exterior repaint (1700 sq ft, prep + 2 coats) 4–7 days $7,450 $6,109 – $8,940
Kitchen cabinet refinish (sand, prime, sprayed enamel) 3–5 days $2,891 $2,371 – $3,470
All trim + 6 interior doors (whole house) 2 days $1,824 $1,496 – $2,189
Ceiling paint refresh (avg 1500 sq ft) 1 day $1,039 $852 – $1,247
Deck stripping + restain (300 sq ft) 2 days $1,264 $1,036 – $1,516
Pre-paint pressure wash (whole exterior) half day $378 $310 – $454
Wallpaper removal + skim coat (one room) 1–2 days $841 $689 – $1,009

What a house painter serving 20036 actually does

A pro painter's job is mostly prep, not paint: washing, sanding glossy/peeling areas, scraping, patching nail holes and drywall damage, caulking trim seams, masking floors and fixtures, priming bare or stain-prone areas, then finally rolling, brushing, or spraying two coats of finish. On exteriors, that prep includes a full pressure wash, scraping any peeling sections to bare wood, spot-priming with a bonding primer, and re-caulking every trim seam — typical exterior jobs are 3–5 days for a 1,700 sq ft home. The most common scope inflation is "spraying" cabinets without sanding/de-glossing first; it looks great for six months and then peels. Lead-paint disclosures are required for any pre-1978 home (EPA RRP rule) and a properly-trained painter will follow a containment protocol.

Six questions before you hire

  1. How many coats of finish, and is the primer included or extra?
  2. What brand and product line are you using? (Sherwin-Williams Emerald, Benjamin Moore Aura, and Behr Ultra are all premium tiers.)
  3. Are you EPA RRP-certified for lead-paint work? (Required for pre-1978 homes.)
  4. How will you prep glossy or peeling surfaces — sanding, de-glossing, bonding primer?
  5. What's included in the prep (caulking, drywall patches, masking, removing outlet covers)?
  6. What's the workmanship warranty, and what triggers a re-do (peeling, cracking, drips)?
A bid that's 40% lower than competitors almost always means thinned paint, one coat instead of two, or skipping primer on patched areas — and it shows within a year.
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