longhall,

I am not saying you may not have understood the color issues with the builder. Have you read this in the contract anywhere?

There is a possibilty you may be able to go with a ONE COLOR THROUGHOUT the home and then have all of your trim,doors,windows a white.

The reason I say there may be some kind of misunderstanding is because I am a decorative painter and do work for builders also. I find it hard to believe that a builder would use a flat finish (which is typical for new homes) on doors and all the trims in the home.

At the same time, I find it hard to believe that a builder would use a satin or semigloss(which is typical for trim work) on all the walls in the home.

This is why I would go back to the builder or look at the contract again to see if there is just a slight possibility the builder's understanding is to ALLOW ONE color throughout the home and then ONE color only for doors/trim.

It is not unusal for builders to have an up charge on paint color changes in the home and it is not unusal for a builder to charge more for trim color changes; in addition to the color one might choose and also the sheen a customer goes with.

Funcolors...I KNOW!!!!!! I have thought all this through and that is more what bothers me even more then having one color on everything!!!! The house is 2200sqft and I know it would be a lot of work to cut in and paint everything separate, but come on!!!
Decorativewalls...I wish I were wrong!!! In the last house that we bought the builders did the same thing, so I went with white thinking I would just paint walls when I got the chance. It was such a pain!!!! Swore I would never do that again! By the way...I do need to ask what sheen they are using because that is a bit ridiculous to use the same for every surface!
Anyways, thank you both for your comments. SO FRUSTRATING!!!!!

3K...over the lifetime of a 30 year loan...is NOTHING. I vote for #2.

I'm sure that the trim is some shiny paint and everything else is flat. This is very common. Builders offer this as standard for a ton of reasons. First, flat construction grade paint hides the best and it touches up the best of any paint available on the market. When you build a new home you have tons of touchups...think of what 16 trades that don't give a crap about the paintjob can do. These guys all come in after the painting is complete to do their work. Also, flat paint hides. Basically, the construction grade paint enables a builder to get the home to look great at closing. I'm not talking about colors....talking about delivering a home that looks good without touchups clearly showing and bad drywall highlighted by a shiny paint on the walls.

Also, people that buy new homes are often tapped out financially...they don't know what window treatments they are getting or furniture so prior to closing may not be the best time to choose colors. Also, the year end touchup works best with paint that actually touches up which is the cheapo construction grade flat. Many satins, eggshells, semi glosses, etc will not touch up well, especially a year later. Sure, your house may not crack and pop and there may not be many repairs but then again it could crack and pop everywhere. Every house is different and it usually has very little to do with the actual quality of the builder. I'm just trying to point out the other side. It would be a shame to pay the 3K on the front side and then have to pay it again in a year because you need to do mass repainting.

2,200 is average size - significant square footage, but not huge. Remember the house will be empty and the cost of labor for *painting* is already figured into the price of the house. Painting an empty house is markedly different than painting a house with occpants and belongings. "Painting" is probably being a bit generous in reference to how your builder wants to coat the walls and trim/doors of your house.

It'd be funny, altho not really feasible, to tell him to CREDIT you $3K off the price of the house and just leave everthing bare, raw and you'll take care of painting after close. lol! :D Just leaving it the heck alone is especially tempting if....

Seriously do ya'll think he's planning on using ONE sheen for e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g? OMG!!

If he is planning on switching from flat for walls to some sheen for trim/doors, the labor is going to have to switch equipment/tools for the sheen change any way -- so what's the justification for the $3K except that he's using color as emotional collateral to extort more money. Gosh, what a nice guy.

I know someone who recently had a house built and the contractor allowed them 3 different paint shades for the walls and one shade for all the woodwork. They thought that was stingy, but I guess they were getting the royal treatment.

I was told by a builder that painting an average sized house (like yours) would cost $6,000 total. I didn't ask how many different colors that would include. It's amazing that it would cost 50% more ($3,000) just for one different color.

I would try to negotiate. If there's no wiggle room, if I were you, I'd just ask them to paint it all satin in the color you like best for trim (white or off-white). Then once moved in, repaint the rooms to your specs. Depending on the size and number of windows and doors, you can often double coat the walls of an average bedroom (12x12, e.g.) with one gallon of paint (two at the most) which will cost you $50-$100 for premium quality paint.

Paintguy,
that is exactly my point on what you have posted. Most builders offer one color for walls and one for trim(standard) and flat being the most feasible for walls for things you mentioned. I don't know where the most of you come from, but in the states I have lived and being involved with seeing & working around new construction, you can 99% of the time count on mishaps after the walls or trim has been done. It never fails. That's just part of it (sad, but true). You have flooring people, carpet people, cabinet people, plumbing, electrical, etc. coming in after the painting has been done and if anyone thinks that a sheened paint can be touched up to perfection IMO they live in a magical world. It just don't work that way. That's why most builders prefer to use flats and that is not saying the builder is inadequate at all. If people want different colors or different sheens on their walls they will need to live with the aftermath.

So again, as I mentioned up above IMO I just find it difficult to believe a builder would use one color one sheen for all walls and trim. Flat walls I can see; flat doors and trim - Nope, just hard to swallow

Same with using a satin or semi for doors and trim; and then using this for all walls - Nope, hard to swallow.

Colors and sheens do make a difference in price change. It would be important to know exactly word for word or line for line what is being relayed or in contract.

yeah as paintguy points out, it would be a shame for homeowners to pay an addl. 3$ up front for sheened paints and at the year end walk through and punch list to know that those particular sheens cannot be perfected. It just don't work that way.

2200sq.ft and if one has molding you can betcha that is more labor, time and materials; not to mention how high the ceilings could be.

forgot one thing: lets not forget the differences in being sprayed, brushed or roller or different person's technique and trying to get the same perfection. Man I need to try and find this magical world to live in.

The main reason adding a custom color to the standard paint package costs so much is because of the spraying. When a house is being built and the drywall is complete, I will go in and spray all the walls once (or prime) and the ceilings will get two coats so that they are complete. After the trim is installed and finished, I will cut and roll the walls. I don't have to cut in ceiling lines because that area has already been sprayed when I finished the ceilings so all I have to do is roll up to it. If you change the wall color, now the painter has to double cut the ceiling lines throughout the home...adds quite a bit of time. Plus, when a customer upgrades the paint package to a color, they often will upgrade the paint itself to something washable which means two coats. The cheap contractor grade flat is $10 per gallon. Good washables cost $25 per gallon or more. It's really easy to justify the extra 3K. I have painted a lot of 2200 square foot ranches and the upgrade for me is usually around $2600. I guess I'm cheap!

I think she's good with the ceiling and walls all being the same neutral color and finish -- not looking for extra cut-ins or work or color there; spray or roll walls and ceiling all the same is fine.

It's the trim and doors that I think is the issue.

I have this picture in my head that they are they planning on installing everything including trims and doors doning a baggy space-man-looking suit and just spraying everything that isn't moving interior all the same flat sheen and builder's white color.

I think if she wants her trim/doors a different color and sheen than the walls/ceiling it will cost her $3K.

If that is indeed how it is, then randita's suggestion would really be the best recourse to avoid flat trim and doors and end up with acceptable color & sheen on the walls. She can always repaint the satin walls way easier than going back to *fix* a flat finish on trim and doors:

I would try to negotiate. If there's no wiggle room, if I were you, I'd just ask them to paint it all satin in the color you like best for trim (white or off-white). Then once moved in, repaint the rooms to your specs. Depending on the size and number of windows and doors, you can often double coat the walls of an average bedroom (12x12, e.g.) with one gallon of paint (two at the most) which will cost you $50-$100 for premium quality paint.

Hmmmm...

This is kind of a 3-edged sword!

...BUT...I'm tempted to just have them do the minimum (included) paint package; and you doing the rest, at your leisure!

You'll have a lot more time to peruse colors, choose sheens, and budget for MUCH better quality paints/primers!!

Doors/Trims...
I WOULD investigate how much it would cost them to do a Satin on these.
Flat paint on trim would suck!! Check what sheen/quality-level they'll use there.

DO plan on re-priming everything though...!

Faron

Thank you everyone for the great information! Gives me a lot to think about. We have our meeting today, so I guess I will know what we are going to do by tonight!:( Thanks again!