Why quotes for the same house differ by thousands
Three painters can walk the same house and return prices that differ by a factor of two. That is usually not a negotiating position. It is three different scopes of work described by the same word.
The largest single variable is preparation. Filling, sanding, caulking, retaping cracked joints and priming repairs can be more than half the labour on an interior job, and none of it is visible in the finished result. A quote that says “prep as required” has given you nothing to hold anyone to. Ask for the preparation to be described in sentences: what gets filled, what gets sanded, what gets primed.
The second variable is coats. Two coats over a colour change is standard. One coat is legitimate on a same-colour refresh over sound latex. Some colours need three. A quote should say which it has priced, and a painter who will not commit to a number in writing is leaving themselves room.
Indicative Ottawa ranges for 2026
No public authority publishes trade pricing for Ottawa, so every figure here is an indicative range drawn from what this market charges rather than a quoted price. Treat them as a way to tell a plausible quote from an implausible one.
Interior: a bedroom with walls only, two coats, commonly $450 to $800. The same room including ceiling and trim, $700 to $1,300. A whole-house interior with two coats throughout, $6,000 to $14,000 for an average two-storey.
Exterior: trim, soffits, fascia and doors only, $3,500 to $7,000. A full exterior including wood or engineered siding, $8,000 to $20,000. Stucco sits at the top of that range because a textured surface takes considerably more material.
Cabinets: an average kitchen of twenty-five to thirty-five doors and drawer fronts, sprayed, $4,500 to $8,000. Compare against replacement cabinetry in the same kitchen, which starts around $25,000, and the case for refinishing usually makes itself.
The things that push a price up legitimately
Oil-based trim. A great deal of Ottawa housing from before the mid 1990s has oil-based enamel on the trim and doors. Latex over it without a bonding primer fails. The extra primer and the extra sanding are real cost and should be a visible line.
Ceiling height and stairwells. A two-storey foyer or an open stairwell needs staging or a ladder-jack arrangement rather than a step ladder, and the labour per square metre roughly doubles.
Pre-1960 housing. Health Canada's position is that homes built before 1960 probably contain lead-based paint, and that sanders, heat guns and blowlamps should not be used to remove paint in older homes. Lead-safe preparation means containment, wet methods and slower work, and it costs more per opening than the same job in a newer house.
Repairs. Retaping a cracked joint properly is three visits over two or three days because compound has to dry between coats. Filling it in one pass is fast and comes back next winter.
The things that should not push a price up
A licence, because there is not one. Painter and Decorator (Commercial and Residential) is a non-compulsory trade in Ontario, so nobody is required to hold a certificate to paint your house and nobody is paying a licensing body for the privilege. If a quote references licensing as a cost driver, ask what licence.
A permit, because painting and decorating is on the City of Ottawa's list of work that does not need a building permit.
Paint supplied by you. Contractors buy at trade pricing, and the discount usually covers their markup. Supplying your own paint transfers the risk of running short or buying the wrong sheen to you and rarely saves money.
How to compare three quotes fairly
Put them side by side and make each one answer the same six questions. How many coats. What preparation, described specifically. Which primer, and where. Which product line, by name. How many crew, for how many days. What the warranty covers, for how long, and what voids it.
Then ask all three for a WSIB clearance certificate and a current certificate of liability insurance. Both are free for a contractor to produce and the request tells you a lot about who you are dealing with. Since December 2024 WSIB coverage is compulsory for most independent operators and sole proprietors in construction, with a narrow exemption for work on an existing private residence contracted directly by the occupant.
Finally, be suspicious of the lowest number rather than flattered by it. On painting, the gap almost always turns out to be preparation, coats, or a crew size that cannot finish in the days promised.