Commercial bids are harder to compare than residential ones, because each contractor describes a different scope in different language. The prices below are the easy part; the scope checklist further down is the part that saves money.

The rates

HomeGuide commercial painting, Oasis Total Solutions (MA), Catchlight Painting (Boston hourly).

The spread is wide because “commercial” covers a 900 sq ft retail suite and a twelve-building condominium association. What moves a commercial number is almost never the paint:

• Access and hours. Night and weekend work costs more in labour and produces less per hour.
• Occupancy. Working around people, furniture and stock is slower than an empty shell.
• Height. Lifts, scaffold and staging, plus the certification to operate them.
• Surface preparation. Same as residential — this is where bids diverge.
• Specification. A washable epoxy or a high-build coating is not the same product as a flat wall paint.

The scope checklist that makes bids comparable

Ask every bidder to state each of these, in writing, per area:

1. Square footage or linear footage of each surface being coated
2. Product manufacturer, line and sheen — per surface, not one blanket claim
3. Number of coats, per surface
4. Preparation included: wash, sand, patch, prime, caulk
5. Working hours and days, and any premium attached to them
6. Protection and containment of tenant property and stock
7. Exclusions — this is where the cheap bid hides
8. Unit rates for likely extras, agreed up front rather than mid-project
9. Certificates of insurance including workers compensation, naming the right entities
10. Close-out documentation: color formulas, product data, photographic record

Associations specifically

Exterior painting for a condominium or homeowners association is a reserve item, and boards are usually working from a reserve study that assumed a repaint interval. In Massachusetts, seven to ten years is realistic for wood — but exposure varies enormously between buildings on the same site. A contractor who walks the property and tells you which buildings genuinely need doing this year, and which can wait a season, is worth more than one who bids the whole site because that is the bigger job.

How we scope association work → · Portfolio and turn pricing →

Payment

Note that the Massachusetts one-third deposit cap under Chapter 142A applies to residential home improvement contracts on one-to-four unit owner-occupied properties. Genuine commercial contracts are negotiated differently — but a progress-payment schedule tied to completed, inspected areas is the normal and sensible structure, and final payment should still follow a punch-list walk-through.