Hiring a painter in Montréal: quote, prep and licence

Good painting work depends above all on surface preparation. Two quotes at the same price can hide two very different jobs: one includes washing, filler and primer, the other two coats rolled straight onto damaged walls. Read what is included before you compare the totals.

1. What the quote must specify

• The rooms or surfaces: walls, ceilings, trim, doors, stairs, exterior.
• The preparation: washing, filling cracks and holes, sanding, primer.
• The paint brand and line, the finish (matte, eggshell, satin, semi-gloss) and the number of coats.
• Protection of floors and furniture, who moves what, and the clean-up at the end.
• The total price, the deposit, the schedule and the warranty on the work.

2. Questions to ask

• Who will do the work: the company or a subcontractor?
• How many days, and at what hours? Can you stay in the home during the work?
• What happens if a second coat is needed to cover a dark colour?
• Who supplies the paint, and what happens to the leftovers?

3. The licence

Painting is part of finishing work (RBQ subclass 9). Check the company’s licence and make sure its name matches the one on the quote. Even for a small job, ask for a written quote: it is what defines what is included.

4. Older homes: lead paint

According to Health Canada, a home built before 1960 probably contains lead-based paint, and the exterior of a home built between 1960 and 1990 may contain it; houses built after 1990 should not. Health Canada advises against removing paint in older homes with sanders, heat guns or blowlamps (page Reduce your exposure to lead). Ask the painter how those surfaces will be prepared without spreading dust, especially if young children or a pregnant person live in the home.

Painting in Montréal, Laval or Châteauguay: permits, façades and scaffolding

Repainting indoors generally needs no permit in Greater Montréal. The City of Montréal lists repainting walls among the work that needs no permit (montreal.ca guidance on interior work); Laval and Châteauguay say the same about painting (pages Rénovation résidentielle intérieure and Permis pour rénovations extérieures ou intérieures, both in French).

The outside takes more care. In Montréal, a heritage building or one in a significant area may be subject to extra standards, and scaffolding set up on the sidewalk or in the lane needs a temporary permit to occupy the public domain (article Rénovations : quoi faire avant, pendant et après, in French). In Côte-Saint-Luc, work on a visible façade falls under the PIIA (architectural integration) by-law (page Rénovations intérieures et extérieures, in French). Before choosing a façade colour, call your borough or city, then ask the painter who handles the scaffolding and its permit. To find companies near you, see companies in Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, renovation companies in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce or those in Laval.

5. Traps

• A very low price with no preparation planned: the paint peels sooner.
• A large deposit paid in cash before work starts.
• No written quote, or a quote with no number of coats and no paint brand.

See also: comparing quotes. For a specific job, you can describe the rooms to paint and ask for quotes.