Yes, you should fire him. Two months is ridiculous.

Yeesh, my painter did my new house with two coats, ceilings and two two-story rooms in a week and a half. It's pretty big, too.

You sure have more patience than I do. It would drive me nuts having someone around that long.

Betty, do we have the same painter??? We went through the same thing back in November with our painter (Mike). Great guy, fine job . . . but he just kind of wandered away after a few hours every time he worked. No warning either! He was hired to paint after our complete kitchen and family room reno. Nice guy and we asked him to give us an estimate for the entire house. After the first three days,though, I was just praying to get through those two connecting rooms! There's no way I'd have let him do even one more room. DH thinks he wandered off to the casinos; I think he wandered off to get high.
From the sounds of it, I don't think your guy has the same problem, but I do think the amount of time he's spent and what he's accomplished is ridiculous! Your time is MONEY now with this new house. I'd find someone else tomorrow or paint it yourselves.

Ask him if he can work more hours and maybe even weekends. Stress your need to get the job finished up.

Ditto with Socks. Let him know it's taking too long and what kind of deadline you have in mind to finish up. If he still can't get more hours in and move things along, then move on to someone else.

I agree with socks and squirrel. Give him a chance, but don't wait too much longer before moving on!

Did you know he was going to work a light schedule when you hired him....i.e. did he give you a really good price because he'd only be able to work on his off hours?

In your small town, will you be able to line up another painter quickly? Otherwise, you may delay your project further during the search for a new painter. Maybe you could be inquiring about who else is available.

Meanwhile, I'd have an honest talk with your painter with calendar in hand and explain your time expectations and deadlines. Perhaps tell him he's got "X" amount of time to reach a certain level of completion. If he is unable to meet your clear instructions by a reasonable date, then he's outski.

This will give him an opportunity to devote more time to finishing your project. If he doesn't, there's your answer. But he had a fair chance to redeem himself.

Agree with the others 2 months is way too long. Have an honest chat, give him one more opportunity to make it right and then if he doesn't straighten up then it is time to move on.

Give him a deadline. "Finish x by xdate, or we will have to let you go."

Make sure it's very clear what you expect, and when, and what will happen if he doesn't comply.

Did you have a contract?

Do you remember the painter on Murphy Brown? He never finished the job, he was always there. It was funny -- on television.

Here is the thing. "You get what you pay for". Why did you pick him to paint your room. Did you get estimates from other painters? My husband is a house painter and has worked for himself for 21 yrs. His work is priced for the amount of work involved. He gives you a bid and he will tell you that it will take x number of days to finish. He also specifies exactly what he will do. Caulk all the gaps. Patch nail holes appling x number of coats and he cleans up after he is done. He specifies the products he uses and his work is gaurenteed. He isn't cheep but you can bet you will be pleased with the work when it is done.
So many people want a cheap cost on a job. They hire folks who are doing it as a side job, or a handyman, or a friend who needs the money.
This is YOUR HOME, it is where you put your heart into the way everything looks. You spend alot of $$$$$ for nice furnature, nice accessories, good flooring and then most people think when it comes to painting "Oh I can do it myself" WHY? If you want a beautiful room hire a professional.

Here is a link that might be useful: Farmhouse Treasures

Good questions. I hired him because I was told he did excellent prep work, which he did, and which is done. I also hired him because I totally trust him alone in my house, which is well founded.
But then it really slowed down. Like reeeeeaaaallly.
So, DH left him a pleasant message last night (he doesn't return phone calls either, which has become frustrating) and I'm going to leave him a schedule that lines out when other things are on the calendar, like hardwood floor installation, etc.
Hopefully that will help. He isn't irreponsible or anything like that, just slow. And no, we got no indication at all that it would take this long.

Those are very good reasons to try to work a better schedule out. And, even if his good prep work is done, you don't want someone else coming in and slopping it up with a poor paint job.

One thing that occurred to me is, at 3 hour work intervals, how much time he spends just setting up and cleaning up for the day. That could be pretty costly, and wasteful, if he charges for that time.

Does it make sense for him to work on all the rooms at the same time? Maybe focusing on one room at a time -- and just getting it done -- would be less disruptive overall, too.

Also ask him why things have slowed down so recently.