[ewingpainting.net]

Int. Only, Ext. Only or All The Above

I was doing a bid the other day for a mortgage person. They told me they wish the knew me two weeks ago because they have been using a painter that only does ext. and they been turning away all their int. work. I don't quite understand why someone would choose to only do ext. or int. You just cutting your market in half. Like this painter that only does ext. now he is potently going to loose it all just because he wont do a int. may be some of you can help understand this thinking.

 

[ProWallGuy]

I do only interior work, no exterior at all. :no:
Mainly because I am a paperhanger by trade. But then again, when I did exterior, I always got screwed by Mother Nature. I didn't like any outside forces ****ing with my schedule. Now I never have down time due to the weather, and my job site is climate controlled. I work all year long. Only downside is I have a hard time catching a tan in the summer.
I have a mutually beneficial relationship with another paint company in town. I give them all my exterior leads, and they give me all their wallcovering leads. It works for me.

 

[daren]

I have a mutually beneficial relationship with another paint company in town. I give them all my exterior leads, and they give me all their wallcovering leads. It works for me.

from a different perspective, you are not turning it down. You are trading it for the work you want.

I prefer exteriors because the money is usually better and I'm outside. That being said my ext. to int. ratio is about 60/40.

 

[daArch]

When I first started, I was interior-only. I was a single man shop. Exterior, IMO, is not practical or safe for a single. Sure, I would do small outbuildings or "garage doors", but no extension ladder work or weeks on end.

Eventually I partnered with two others and evolved into doing both as I found I was turning away work.

 

[mistcoat]

I do interior & exterior.
Altho', exterior is mostly hit and miss in the UK due to our weather being so unpredictable. I'm sure we get four seasons sometimes in one day
Exteriors are more profitable.

I enjoy interiors more due to the fact that I'm always near the kitchen for a good old cuppa tea :whistling2:

mistcoat(UK)

 

[TooledUp]

I do interior & exterior.
Altho', exterior is mostly hit and miss in the UK due to our weather being so unpredictable. I'm sure we get four seasons sometimes in one day
mistcoat(UK)

Yeah true enough. I've got heaps of exterior to get through before the summer (what summer?) is over. The clients are still phoning me, asking when I'll be there to do their outside . We haven't had a day where it hasn't rained for about 5/6 weeks now. The long tem forecast looks good though. It says it's only going to rain between showers for the next few weeks

 

[mistcoat]

The long tem forecast looks good though. It says it's only going to rain between showers for the next few weeks

Oh you're such a bundle of joy :thumbsup:

It is dire at the moment ain't it?

mistcoat(UK)

 

[ewingpainting.net]

Oh you're such a bundle of joy :thumbsup:

It is dire at the moment ain't it?

mistcoat(UK)

All that missing in this is a dear.
"Oh you're such a bundle of joy :thumbsup:
It is dire at the moment ain't it?" dear

 

[mistcoat]

All that missing in this is a dear.
"Oh you're such a bundle of joy :thumbsup:
It is dire at the moment ain't it?" dear

OR...

'Ere luv make us cuppa tea".
or
"'Allo missus do us a brew".

:thumbup: Thumbs up Guv

mistcoat(UK)

 

[JNLP]

I can understand somebody doing only interior & not exterior. Know of a few like that. One man shows who can't tackle outsides by themselves, or are afraid of being on a ladder, or simply can't afford the equiptment.

Doing exteriors only though is kinda odd. Maybe they have a bad cut line?

I like both. I rather be on an interior, but enjoy being outside when the weather is right.

 

[TooledUp]

I can understand somebody doing only interior & not exterior.

I haven't heard of any painters here in the UK who'll only do one or the other.

There are some who can't hang paper but the paper hangers do paint. If you're in business I think you've got to be versatile. You really need to be a good all-rounder. You don't phone a plumber and expect him to say "Oh, I only fix leaks in water tanks so can't fix your leaking bath".

I offer a service that covers all of the decorating trade. Paint, spray, paper, special effects (wood graining/marbling etc). My van says I'm a painter & decorator and that's the service I offer. It's a one-stop shop for the customer. Imho, they don't want to be finding 3 different contractors, one to do the exterior, one to paint the ceilings and one to hang the paper.

 

[mistcoat]

I haven't heard of any painters here in the UK who'll only do one or the other.

There are some who can't hang paper but the paper hangers do paint. If you're in business I think you've got to be versatile. You really need to be a good all-rounder. You don't phone a plumber and expect him to say "Oh, I only fix leaks in water tanks so can't fix your leaking bath".

I offer a service that covers all of the decorating trade. Paint, spray, paper, special effects (wood graining/marbling etc). My van says I'm a painter & decorator and that's the service I offer. It's a one-stop shop for the customer. Imho, they don't want to be finding 3 different contractors, one to do the exterior, one to paint the ceilings and one to hang the paper.

Well said Dear... What, What, What.
Bravo!!! :clap: :euro:

How's that ewing??? :lol: :thumbsup:

Stiff upper lip old boy. Hahahahahaha!!!

mistcoat(UK)

 

[PVPainter]

I agree with a few of the previous posts in terms of doing as much interior work as possible, simply because it is a fixed schedule. One thing that hasn't been addressed though is the profit margin between the two. I may be bidding wrong and need to come up on my interior stuff, but I can almost double my profit margin outside vs. inside on the right job ( not to say its every one because some interiors a high bid is a must). The way I see it the labor/risk involved in exteriors warrant a much higher profit margin, I mean really, who wants to be 35 feet off the ground scraping and covered in oil primer. The higher up I need to go, the higher the price goes.

 

[Dave Mac]

Exterior in terms of managing I feel is much easier and less stuff to worry about.
I love doing both, variety is the spice of life lol. If I was painting I would much rather just do interiors, if im managing, I much rather manage exteriors. But we do both and always will. Some people dont have the skill or patience to do interior, to each their own, do what works for you

 

[ewingpainting.net]

Well said Dear... What, What, What.
Bravo!!! :clap: :euro:

How's that ewing??? :lol: :thumbsup:

Stiff upper lip old boy. Hahahahahaha!!!

mistcoat(UK)

Ha lol ha :thumbup:
I'm all smiles.....

 

[ewingpainting.net]

My real question is why would someone leave money on the table? If one can do an ext. they would have the tools to do a int. And on the ext. you deal with more lines than the average int. So if your doing one and not the other you have the capability to do both. I can understand if your a wall paper hanger, but if one call themselves a painter then I would think of one that paints int or ext. If you dominant the market in one more than the other I don't think you would say I only do this and not the other. I am amazed how often I get the question "oh you do ext. too?" or "do you paint int. too?" There is profit to be made this is a business its not based on what I feel or what I prefer to do, its what can make my business more profitable. I just happen to love what I do no matter what coating I use and what I am applying it on.
And WHY would you leave money on the tabel.

 

[Dave Mac]

why not ask the contractor your talking about

 

[TooledUp]

At best guess, I would say that the guys who say "only exterior" aren't good enough for higher quality interior work. If that is the case, then at least they're being honest to themselves and the customer.

 

[vermontpainter]

I dont know if this thread is a veiled critique of anyone in particular, but there are obvious positives and negatives to doing interior or exterior.

If I was a one man show, I dont know how jacked up I would be to do large exterior alone. Handling the 32 footers, having no support, setting up roof rigs and keeping the side of a house wet alone could be discouraging. So many companies are small, it could be a labor issue. Also, if you are a small company, the weather can create alot of downtime that some arent prepared to deal with.

I prefer to do both these days. Although after a rainy summer a couple of years ago, we basically took last summer off from exterior. Its nice to do both, and I do agree that if you are efficient on exterior it can be a bit more profitable.

 

[MAK-Deco]

I am in that boat now Scott, started a large ext... lost my summer guys and no reliable full timer had to call in another contractor to help on it. Can be frustrating...

On another note when I started out we did a lot of exteriors town home complexes etc... A lot of people never asked me about painting interiors thought that's all we did was outside... I always was surprised when they said that.. did they think I went on vacation all winter long?? The painting season in Chicago is not that long...