Libertyville and all of Lake County, IllinoisCall or text (224) 944-8652
Bancroft Painting Co.Interior & Exterior Painting

What a painting quote is actually made of

Square footage sets the floor. Everything above it is condition: how much washing, scraping, filling and priming the surfaces need before a finish coat is worth applying. Two houses of identical size can be a week apart in labour for that reason alone, which is why a price given over the phone without seeing the surfaces is a guess.

What you get instead is a written scope. It names the surfaces being coated, the products, the number of coats, and the preparation included. That is what makes two quotes comparable — without it you are comparing a number against a different number for different work.

The estimate is free. For a single room you can usually skip the visit entirely: text a photo and we will scope it the same day.

Text a photo for a scope

The Lake County painting year

Jan-MarInteriorCabinets, trim, whole-room repaints. Best availability of the year.
Apr-MayExterior opensWash, scrape and prime. Early bookings get the dry spring window.
Jun-SepPeak exteriorFull repaints, cedar, decks and fencing. Books out first.
Oct-DecBack insideLast exterior window, then interior and cabinets for the holidays.

Interior work runs every month. Exterior is weather dependent, so the spring slots go first.

Included in every scope
  • Surfaces washed and left to dry properly
  • Failing paint scraped back and feathered
  • Bare substrate spot-primed before finish coats
  • Joints and gaps caulked
  • Holes, cracks and nail pops filled and sanded
  • Floors, fixtures and planting covered
  • Cut lines kept sharp at ceilings and trim
  • Site cleaned at the end of each day

The shortcuts that make a cheap quote cheap

These are the things that get left out to bring a number down. Each one shortens the life of the finish, and none of them are visible on the day the job is handed over.

What we will not do
  • Coat over damp or unwashed surfaces
  • Paint over a water stain without sealing it
  • Spray cabinets without degreasing first
  • Stain new cedar before it has weathered
  • Pressure-wash siding hard enough to drive water behind it
  • Start an exterior outside the weather window

How it works

Four steps, and a number that does not move

01

Walk the job

We look at the surfaces, not just the rooms. Prep is what the number is built from, so it is what gets measured.

02

Written scope

You get the surfaces, the products, the number of coats and the price in writing before anything is booked.

03

Scheduled properly

Interior any month. Exterior inside the season, not squeezed into the end of it.

04

Walked and signed off

We walk the finished work with you under real light and fix anything on the list before the final invoice.

Service area

Painting across Lake County

Book your estimate

Text a photo of the room or the elevation and we will scope it, or call and we will walk it through with you.

Call (224) 944-8652Text a photo

Questions

Pricing questions

Why do painting companies quote so differently for the same job?

Almost always the preparation. Paint and labour rates do not vary much between companies; what varies enormously is whether the quote includes washing, scraping, filling, sanding, priming and caulking, or whether it is a price to put two coats on whatever is there. Ask each quote to name the prep and the number of coats and the gap usually explains itself.

Do you charge for an estimate?

No. A walk round for a whole house or an exterior takes about half an hour and costs nothing. For a single room you can often skip it — text a photo and we can scope it the same day.

Is the price fixed?

The written scope is a fixed price for that scope. The only thing that changes it is something genuinely hidden until work starts — rot behind a board, failed plaster under wallpaper, several layers where one was expected. If that happens you are told and shown before any extra work is done, never afterwards.

When should I book?

For exterior work, over the winter for a spring slot — the early season is the best window of the year and it books out first. For interior work, January through March has the most availability. Kitchens before the holidays should be booked by early autumn.

(224) 944-8652
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