What Your Painting Contract Should Cover

For a small interior job a detailed quote is usually enough. For a full exterior repaint, which on a Wellington home can be a five-figure job spread over several weeks, it is worth having something more complete in writing. Not because you expect trouble, but because writing it down is how both sides find out they were assuming different things.

Here is what a contract or a properly written quote should cover.

The scope, in specific terms

It should say which surfaces are included and, just as usefully, which are not. Walls, soffits, fascia, spouting, downpipes, window joinery, doors, garage door, decks, handrails, fences and any outbuildings are all separate decisions. A quote that says “exterior of house” leaves each of those open to argument.

Excluded items should be listed rather than left out. A short exclusions list is a sign of a careful contractor, not an evasive one.

The preparation, described

Washing, scraping, sanding, filling, sealant replacement and priming should each appear. Where the extent is genuinely unknown until work starts, which is common on older homes, the contract should state an allowance and the rate that applies beyond it.

The products and the number of coats

Brand and product name for each surface type, plus the number of coats. This is what makes two quotes comparable, and it is what you check against if the finish underperforms later.

How variations are handled

Rot behind a sill, a wall that needs a third coat over a dark colour, a section of cladding that turns out to be unsound. Extra work is normal on a repaint. What matters is the process: that you are told before it is done, given a price, and that you approve it in writing. Text or email is fine.

The clause you want prevents a bill arriving at the end for work you did not know about.

Timing, and how weather is treated

A start date, an expected duration and a plain statement that exterior work is weather dependent. Nobody can promise fourteen straight days of paintable weather in Wellington, and a contract that pretends otherwise is either unrealistic or sets up an argument.

Payment stages

Progress payments tied to completed stages are standard. What you are looking for is that the amounts are proportionate to work actually done, and that a meaningful final payment is held until after the final inspection. That last payment is your only practical leverage to get a snag list finished.

Insurance

Public liability insurance should be named, with the insurer and the level of cover. Ask for the certificate and check the expiry date rather than accepting the answer. If subcontractors are being used, ask whether they are covered under the same policy.

The guarantee

The contract should state how long the workmanship guarantee runs, what it covers, what voids it, and who honours it. There is a real difference between a guarantee that rests entirely on the contractor continuing to trade and one backed by an accreditation scheme. We are a Master Painters member for that reason, and there is more detail on our Master Painters in Wellington page.

Note what a paint guarantee normally does not cover: fading on a dark colour, damage from a leak or a moisture problem in the building, or surfaces that were painted against advice.

Health and safety, and access

For anything above single storey, the contract should say how the work will be reached and who is responsible for the scaffolding. If your property is shared, or if the work affects a neighbour’s access, that should be written down as well.

What happens if there is a disagreement

A short clause on how defects are notified and how long the contractor has to put them right settles most disputes on its own. For household work you also have rights under consumer law that a contract cannot sign away, but having an agreed process usually means never needing them.

Before you sign

Read the exclusions. Check the products. Check the insurance dates. Make sure the payment schedule leaves something meaningful until the end. Then keep a copy somewhere you will find it in three years.

Our quotes are written to cover all of this. If you would like one for your property, get in touch, or read more about the painting services we provide across Wellington.