Cost & Pricing
$22K or $3K to Paint Oak Trim? A Real Homeowner Case Study
David Cook
David Cook has run D'Franco Painting & Wallpaper in Huntley for 20+ years and has filmed more than a thousand videos on real jobs, so you can see the work before you pay for it.
Reviewed by David Cook · Last updated October 25, 2026 · 8 min read
A St. Charles homeowner got a $22,000 quote from us and a $3,000 quote from another company to paint the same stained oak trim. We did not get the job. The gap comes from what each number covers, so here is exactly what was in ours, piece by piece and step by step.
The short version
- The house is in St. Charles, about 2,500 square feet, built in 1998, with stained oak trim throughout.
- David counted about 825 linear feet of base trim, 60 door slabs, 53 window frames and 112 stair spindles.
- Our $22,000 covered six steps on every piece: protect, clean, sand, fill and caulk, bonding primer, then two coats of urethane trim paint.
- The materials alone come to about $600 before any labor.
- When two trim quotes are far apart, ask what each painter counted and which steps are in the scope.
The house and the homeowners
The home is in St. Charles, Illinois. It is about 2,500 square feet and was built in 1998.
The family lived in the house the whole time. It was furnished, there was a dog, and the stairs were in use every day.
The homeowners started painting the trim themselves. The scope turned out to be overwhelming, so they decided to hire it out partway through. They found us through Google Local Services.
What David counted on site
Trim is priced by the piece, not by the size of the house. So the first job on site is counting. Here is what David wrote down.
- About 825 linear feet of oak base trim
- About 30 doors, painted on both sides, so 60 door slabs
- About 60 door frame sides
- About 53 window frames
- About 112 stair spindles
- About 48 linear feet of handrail
- Two stairwells, an upper hallway and loft, and an open two story foyer with open sightlines
Why painting oak white is different
Painting stained oak white brings its own problems. These are the ones you are working against.
- The grain telegraphs through the paint.
- Paint struggles to bond to it.
- Tannins in the wood bleed through.
- Chips show fast.
- Adhesion fails over time.
Oak jobs rarely fail on day one
A shortcut on oak trim usually looks fine the week it is done. It shows in a year or two. That is why our scope had six steps on every piece, and each one is below.
Step 1: Protection and masking
Floors get covered and taped, including the carpeted stairs. Walls get masked around 60 door frame sides and 53 window frames, plus the spindles, the handrails and the stair treads.
The stairs also had to stay usable every day, because the family and their dog were living in the house.
Step 2: Cleaning every surface
Paint and primer do not bond to dirt or old cleaning chemicals. So every piece of base trim, every door, every door frame and every window frame gets cleaned first, so the primer bonds.
Step 3: Sanding every oak surface
Every oak surface gets sanded: doors, door frames, window frames, handrails, spindles and base trim. The sanding is for adhesion, not looks. It makes sure the primer bonds to the stained oak.
Step 4: Filling and caulking
Nail holes get filled. The base trim gets caulked to the wall and to the quarter round. Both sides of every door frame get caulked, and so do the window frame seams.
With drying time, this step alone can take days.
Step 5: Bonding primer
All of the oak gets a bonding primer. Once it is dry, we sand the primer smooth and HEPA vacuum the dust, to leave as little mess as possible.
Step 6: Two coats of urethane trim paint
Two coats of urethane trim paint go on, with a sanding between coats. On this house the spindles were a different color.
After the masking comes off, we do the final cut ins, so the wall color meets the new trim in a clean line.
A materials reality check
Before anyone is paid for a single hour, the materials for a house like this cost real money.
| Material | Cost |
|---|---|
| Tape and masking paper | $150 to $225 |
| Caulk and fillers | $75 to $110 |
| Primer | $175 to $245 |
| Urethane trim paint | $200 to $350 |
| Minimum materials, before any labor | About $600 |
The review
The homeowners hired another company and left us a two star review on Google. Here it is, word for word.
Dave was very nice and came out the same day we spoke to give an estimate. Unfortunately, that’s where the positives stop. We were quoted $22,000 to paint the trim, doors, and baseboards in a 2,500 sq ft home built in 1998. I honestly thought it was a joke. I was told, “I don’t know what you were expecting with the pricing.” I was expecting something reasonable — not a number that would require taking out a loan just to paint trim. For comparison, we hired another reputable painting company who did the same exact work for $3,000 total. Please do yourself a favor and get multiple quotes. This pricing is wildly out of touch!
David's reply
David answered her publicly on Google. Here is his reply, word for word.
Hi Morgan, we appreciate the feedback- we are glad you found someone who was able to meet your budget. You could have let us know we were not a good fit when we tried to follow up with you as well. BUT!! Thanks for the review here, as this will help people understand pricing for projects of this type and size. We work to have as many pricing articles and comparisons about cost for painting homes on our Website and YouTube channel as possible, and you will help other people understand pricing better and our efforts to be upfront transparent and open about our pricing as possible. The price we gave you (all labor, primer and paint) was to cover your wood floors, tape off floors and stairs, mask the walls around each door frame (60), window frames (53), spindles (112 is what i wrote down), and stair treads. We would have cleaned all the oak basebards (I had 825 linear feet) , clean all the door frames, clean the doors, clean the window frames, of the dirt on these items to prevent primer and paint from sticking to them. Then we would have sanded all the door frames, doors, window frames, handrails (I had 48ft), spindles and base trim, to make sure the primer bonded to the stained oak. Next we would have then filled all the nail holes in all the trim above, aa well as caulked all the base trim against the wall, against the 1/4 round base trim, caulked the seams of each side of each door frame, and caulked the seams of each windowapply a bonding primer to all the oak. Once dry we would have then sanded that same primer smooth, as well as vaccumm all dust from sanding, to leave as little mess as posisble with our HEPA Sanding Vac Units. Then we would have applied the 1st coat of urathane trim paint to all the base trim, door frames, doors, window frames, handrails, and spindles -oh and i had painting the spindles a different color. We would then have sanded all of these areas again, before then applying a 2nd coat of paint to all these areas After that - finally-- pull all the paper and masking so we could use paint brushes/retaping the base trim and recut in the wall paint to the newly painted trim to make perfect lines from wall color/sheen to trim color/sheen. We know what it takes do the job right that will last for a lifetime- which is why we offer no peel guarantee, and lifetime touch ups. How someone was able to do all that for $3,000, I do not know, but again, glad your found someone. We wish you all the best, appreciate the opportunity the meet you, and again sorry we could not help with your house project.
The written warranty today is five years on painting, with the terms on your estimate.
What to ask when two trim quotes are far apart
Ask both painters the same questions about the same house. The answers tell you whether the two numbers describe the same job.
- How many pieces of trim did you count?
- Is cleaning in the scope?
- Is sanding in the scope?
- Do you use a bonding primer on the oak?
- How many coats?
- What happens to the masking lines at the end?
Your next step
Price your project yourself in about a minute. No form, no sales visit needed to see a number.
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