Painting and Wall Covering Contractors

Industry Overview

The US painting and wall covering contractor industry includes about 40,000 companies with combined annual revenue approaching $19 billion. Major companies are privately owned regional operations, including units of commercial and residential builders. The industry is highly fragmented: most companies are small; about 70 percent have fewer than five employees.

The industry includes companies that primarily paint building interiors or exteriors or that install interior wall covering, but excludes companies that install wood paneling.

Competitive Landscape

Building construction, renovation, and maintenance drive demand. The profitability of individual companies depends on efficiency of operations. Large companies can have advantages in efficiency by working multiple projects concurrently. Small companies can compete effectively by specializing in unusual or difficult applications and providing superior customer service. The industry is labor-intensive: average annual revenue per worker is under $80,000.

Products, Operations & Technology

Major services are painting the interiors and exteriors of buildings, and installing or removing wallpaper ("paperhanging"). Painting produces 90 percent of industry revenue. Other services include wall surface preparation and repair.

Painters use brushes, rollers, and/or sprayers to apply a base coat of primer and usually two coats of paint. Skilled contractors achieve special finishes by hand or by using paint with texture-creating ingredients like sand. Paperhangers apply sizing to walls and measure and cut wallpaper into long strips. Surface preparation readies walls for paint or wallpaper, typically includes cleaning, and may involve removing old paint and wallpaper. Most painters fill and sand surface irregularities. Many contractors work only on walls that are paint-ready or that require minimal preparation. Job-specific metrics are number of rooms or square footage; for example, a 7-room or 2,000-square-foot home. A common annual metric is total number of workweeks deployed on jobs.

Larger contracting companies supplement full-time staff with specialty finishers or part-time help as needed. Smaller companies typically consist of the owner and one or a few employees. Contractors obtain paint, related materials, ladders, and scaffolding equipment from paint and hardware stores, home improvement centers, mass merchandisers, or, in the case of large companies, directly from distributors. Most materials are readily available and some, like scaffolding, are rented. Custom paint colors are mixed in the store, but unusual paints, like non-toxics, are available by special order or from special sources. Small companies usually buy paint from a single source, to qualify for discounts.

Paint prices vary with the cost of petroleum - a key raw material for oil-based paint, removers, and thinners - and with market demand. Paper prices influence the cost of wallpaper. A gallon of interior or exterior paint can cost between $20 and $40. A roll of wallpaper costs from a few dollars to over $100, although the average price is under $20.

Many companies use software to bid, book, schedule, and bill projects. Smaller companies vary greatly in their use of technology, which usually reflects the skills of the owners. Technically advanced firms use mobile computers to provide quotations onsite, and rely on email or text-messaging communications. Technological advances help improve paints and related products, but don't significantly affect productivity in this labor-intensive industry.

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