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Painters set a minimum charge because every job has fixed costs, however small. Travel, setup, protecting floors, waiting between coats and cleanup take time on any job. Great North's minimum is $750 + HST, one crew-day. A bedroom's walls start at $450, so one small room booked alone is billed at the minimum.
What does a painting minimum charge cover?
It covers the parts of a job that don't shrink with its size. Travel, protection, prep, two coats with drying time between them, and cleanup can fill most of a day. That holds even for one small room. The minimum makes sure that day is paid for.
Here is how a single small room uses up a crew's day:
- Load ladders, drop cloths, tools and the paint tinted for your colour.
- Drive to your home, park and carry everything in. A condo adds a booked service elevator.
- Move and cover the furniture, and protect the floors.
- Clean, patch, sand and prime where the walls need it.
- Cut in and roll the first coat.
- Wait for it to dry to the recoat time on the label.
- Cut in and roll the second coat.
- Clean up, walk the room with you and touch up anything missed.
Crew-day: one painting crew's full working day, spent on a single job.
The drying time is the part people forget. Every wall paint has a recoat time on its label, and the second coat has to wait for it. The crew can't start another home across town while your first coat dries. Our post on how long paint takes to dry and cure explains the difference between dry and ready.
Materials have a floor too. Even one room needs its own tinted paint, and tinted paint usually can't be returned.
Why does a small paint job cost more per room?
Because the fixed costs are spread across less work. On a whole-home job, travel and setup are shared by many rooms. On a one-room job, that one room carries all of them.
You can see it in Great North's published prices. A bedroom's walls cost from $450 as part of a bigger job. The whole interior of a 3-bedroom home runs $4,800–$9,500. One small bedroom on its own is still billed at the minimum, because it still ties up the crew's day.
GTA traffic makes travel a real part of any job. Downtown condos add parking, loading docks and elevator bookings. Great North builds travel into its published ranges wherever you are in the GTA. It never appears as a separate fee. Our guide to how long it takes to paint a house interior shows what one day of painting covers.
How much is a painter's minimum charge in the GTA?
Minimums vary from company to company, and some painters charge by the hour for small jobs instead. Great North's minimum job is $750 + HST, one crew-day, stated before you book anything. Whoever you hire, ask for the minimum in writing before you book.
A minimum should buy the same standard of work as any other job. At Great North it includes what every price includes:
- Furniture moved and covered, and floors protected
- Every surface cleaned, patched, sanded and primed where it needs it
- Two coats of the paint named in your quote
- The work area cleaned up at the end of every day
- A walkthrough with touch-ups on the spot
Interior work also carries the written 5-year workmanship warranty, whatever the size of the job.
Which small jobs usually fall under the minimum?
Single rooms, a ceiling, a short run of trim or a drywall repair often come in under one crew-day. On their own, they are billed at no less than the minimum. Together, they can fill the day.
| Small job | Published price | Booked on its own |
|---|---|---|
| Bedroom walls | from $450 | At least the minimum |
| A ceiling | $200–$400 added to a room | At least the minimum |
| Baseboard, casing and crown | $2.50–$4.00 per linear ft | At least the minimum |
| A few interior doors | Quoted with the job | At least the minimum |
| Drywall repair | quoted per project; usually bundled with painting | Billed at the minimum |
Small jobs like these cost least when they ride along with a bigger one. The full price list is on the pricing page. Our guide to the cost to paint a room covers single rooms in detail.
How can you make a painting minimum work in your favour?
Fill the crew-day. Before you ask for a quote, walk your home and list every small painting job you have been putting off. Anything that fits in the same day adds work without adding a second trip.
Good candidates to add:
- A second bedroom or the hallway
- Ceilings that have yellowed or carry old water stains
- Scuffed baseboards and door casings
- Interior doors with chipped paint
- A closet, laundry room or basement stair
- Nail pops, cracks and dents that need repair before painting
Repairs are the classic bundle. Patching a hole is quick, but the filler, primer and paint each need drying time. Booked with a paint job, that waiting happens while the crew works elsewhere in your home. Drywall repair is usually quoted this way, as part of the painting. See how the work is done in our post on fixing nail pops and cracks.
Ask the crew lead what fits in one day when you send your photos. In a condo, bundling also means fewer elevator bookings with your building.
When is a minimum charge not worth paying?
When the job is tiny and you can do it well yourself. A few nail holes, one scuff or a single touch-up rarely justifies a crew-day. Save the minimum for work that needs a painter's tools and time.
Touch-ups go better with the right paint. Keep the brand, line, sheen and colour code from your quote. Store leftover latex paint sealed, somewhere it won't freeze. An unheated garage in a GTA winter can ruin it.
If a touch-up still shows, repaint the whole wall from corner to corner. A full wall hides the join that a small patch of fresh paint can leave.
How do you get a price for a small painting job?
Text photos of the room or the damage, or use the estimator for a price range in about a minute. A named person replies within 1 business hour. A crew lead quotes from your photos, and your written, itemized quote arrives within 24 hours of seeing the job.
The minimum is stated before you book anything. The quote is itemized, so you can see what each added job costs. Start with interior painting to see what's included.