Commercial Painting Contract Guide For Property Owners

A commercial painting contract should specify the scope of work, the price basis, the payment schedule, the timeline, the warranty, and who carries insurance. HBP prices commercial work at $3 to $10 per square foot.

That range only means something once the contract states which surfaces, how many coats, and what prep are included. For how the work itself gets scoped and staged, see our commercial painting page.

Below are the six things worth putting in writing before you sign. Then why the price range is as wide as it is, and where a contract crosses into a safety question instead.

Two limits on all of this. It covers what the paperwork should say. Whether you need the work done at all is a different question, not a paperwork question, and it also assumes a licensed, insured contractor is already at the table.

For what to verify about the contractor before you get to the paperwork, see what to verify before you sign.

Six things a commercial painting contract should specify

A pen resting on a signature line, representing a signed commercial painting contract — Get the six items below in writing before this step, not after.

A contract that names a price and a start date is not enough on its own. The six items below are what turn a page of numbers into something you can hold a contractor to.

Scope of work, surface by surface. Walls, ceilings, trim, doors, exterior siding or masonry, each one named. “Paint the office” is not a scope. “Paint the lobby walls and ceiling, two coats” is.
Price basis and payment schedule. Whether the number is per square foot or a flat bid, and when payments are due. A deposit, a milestone payment, and a final payment on completion are typical.
Number of coats and the product line. One coat and two coats are different jobs at different prices. Name the Sherwin-Williams line and sheen so the contract can be checked against what actually goes on the wall.
Timeline, with a real start date. A completion window, a start date, and what happens if the job runs long through no fault of the contractor’s.
The change order process. How a scope change gets priced and approved once work has started, in writing, before it happens rather than after.
Warranty terms. What is covered, for how long, and what voids it. A verbal “we stand behind our work” is not a warranty.

Insurance belongs in the contract too, but it is worth checking before you ever get to signing. Who pays if someone is hurt covers what to ask for and why the certificate matters more than the promise.

Why the price range is wide

HBP prices commercial painting at $3.00 to $10.00 per square foot. That bracket is wide on purpose, and the contract is the document that narrows it to a real number for your building.

Five things move the price inside that bracket. Scope complexity, coat count, the surface itself, the prep it needs, and the finish you choose.

A single-story interior refresh in a similar color sits at the bottom. A multi-story exterior with lead-safe prep or extensive repair sits at the top.

A quote with no scope attached to it cannot be compared to another quote. Two bids can be thousands apart and both be honest, because they are pricing different amounts of work.

When I walk a building for an estimate, the surfaces and the prep decide where a job lands in the $3 to $10 range, more than the color does. That is why the same square footage can price two ways.

What a fair commercial painting price looks like

Ask every bidder for the same itemized breakdown: surfaces, coats, product line, and what the prep allowance covers. A bid that answers all four is worth comparing on price. A bid that answers none of them is a number, not an estimate.

When a bid lands well under the range, ask what was left out rather than assuming it is the better deal. The most common answer is fewer coats, less prep, or uninsured labor. None of those show up until the job is already underway.

Questions property managers ask

Six things: the scope of work by surface, the price basis and payment schedule, and the number of coats and product line. Also a timeline with a real start date, the change order process, and the warranty terms. Insurance belongs in it too, confirmed before you sign.

HBP prices commercial work at $3.00 to $10.00 per square foot. Scope complexity, coat count, the surface, the prep needed and the finish chosen all move a job inside that bracket. The scope matters more than the rate alone.

Yes, regardless of job size. A verbal agreement leaves the scope, the price and the warranty open to two different memories of what was promised. Ask your contractor for the terms in writing before work starts.

A change order documents the new scope and its price before the work happens, not after. A contract with no change order process leaves both sides guessing what a mid-project addition is worth.

What is covered, for how long, and what voids it, all stated in writing rather than promised verbally. Ask the contractor how a warranty claim actually gets handled, not just what it covers on paper.

Not automatically. When a bid lands well under the range, ask what was left out. Fewer coats, less prep and uninsured labor are the usual answers. None of them show up until the job is underway.

What to do next

In order, before you sign anything:

Get the six items above in writing.
Ask for the certificate of insurance to come from the insurer directly, not forwarded by the contractor.
Confirm the age of the building, so the lead rule that applies is settled before quotes come in.
Compare bids on the same scope, not just the same total.

The page above is not for a contractor drafting their own paperwork. If that is what brought you here, Housecall Pro’s contract template guide is built for that side of the job; this one is written for the property manager or business owner hiring one.

HBP has painted commercial buildings around St. Louis and St. Charles County since 1983, using our own employees rather than subcontracted labor. The company has been BBB accredited since 2012 and works in Sherwin-Williams products.

Finished projects are in the gallery, and the case studies walk through full jobs, contract to completion.

Want a written estimate that already answers all six? Book a free on-site consultation. Someone walks the building with you and gives you a real number against your own property, itemized surface by surface. It costs nothing and there is no obligation. Or call 636-544-1254.