Worked case: a vacant two-bedroom apartment repainted between leases, with doors — steps and cost

The scenario

Picture a landlord with a vacant two-bedroom apartment and a new tenant arriving in a few days. The previous tenants left it clean but not fresh: scuffs along the hallway, a few small holes where shelves hung, a dark smudge over the kitchen outlet and one wall where a bed sat for years.

In this example the unit is a rental, and the lease and the landlord decide what is painted and in which color. A neutral shade throughout keeps the result consistent from one tenant to the next, and the same color on every wall lets touch-ups match.

The surface to paint is about 950 square feet, a measure that combines walls and ceilings and lets a large vacant space be priced with a business-path rate, not with the home's room-by-room rate. The business interior rate sits below the home rate because an empty unit has no furniture to move, no one to work around and long straight walls.

The schedule is the real constraint. The unit has to be empty on the first day and ready on the last, and anything that lengthens the work runs into the next move-in. A painter checks the vacancy date and the move-in date first, and then plans the order: patch and sand on day one, prime and paint walls on day two, finish doors and trim on day three, touch up on the morning of the handover.

Seven doors are included: two bedrooms, a bathroom, two closets, a pantry and the entry. They are painted on both faces and edges.

The tenant's smoke or pet odor, if any, is a separate problem. A stain-blocking primer handles the smudge over the outlet, while odors need cleaning before painting. The painter says so in advance.

Because it is an occupied building, the painter works from the unit's entry, keeps hallway traffic clear and never leaves paint cans in a shared corridor. Ventilation uses the unit's windows, and the shared stairs are protected from drips.

The landlord keeps a short record of the paint used in the unit: brand and color name as plain text, sheen and the date. A tenant who nicks a wall in two years is then a quick touch-up, not a hunt for a match. Keys, a lockbox or a property manager's visit are arranged before the first day, and the painter reports any damage found under the old paint, such as a soft spot in the drywall by the bathroom, so the landlord decides whether to repair it before the walls are closed up.

If the building is a pre-1978 build, the lead-safe practices in the lead-safe page apply to any work that disturbs painted trim, and the landlord is responsible for that rule as well.

What the job involves

1. The unit is walked with the landlord, and damaged areas, color and handover day are noted.
2. Holes and dents are filled and sanded; smudges and stains are cleaned and spot-primed.
3. Walls and ceilings get two coats of a durable washable paint in one neutral color.
4. Doors, casings and baseboards are painted after the walls dry.
5. The unit is swept, windows and floors are wiped, and drop cloths are removed.
6. A final walk with the landlord lists touch-ups, and the unit is handed back.

Materials and tools

• Rollers on extension poles and paint sleeves
• Spackle, putty knives and sanding blocks
• Stain-blocking primer
• Drop cloths, tape and a stepladder

Add-ons often paired with this job

• Doors — +$80–$200. Seven doors are priced per door at the business rate; flat hollow-core doors go quickly, and doors with louvers or panels take longer.

Why it is done this way

A turnover job is a repeating pattern: the same unit type, the same neutral color and a short schedule. That makes it a good fit for the calculator's business path, where the rate is per square foot of surface and options like doors are added by the piece.

The schedule is a flag on the form, not a price line. A painter tells the landlord whether the work fits the vacancy window, and an owner with many units can ask for the same terms on each one.

The unit-to-unit rate falls when many units are done in a row, since materials and setup are shared. A single-unit price is the highest per foot.

What would change the price

• The unit has three bedrooms, a loft or a larger surface than 950 square feet.
• The unit is occupied and the work is phased.
• A dark accent wall must be covered.
• The previous tenants left heavy damage, such as water stains or large holes.
• Cabinets or bathroom surfaces are part of the job.
• The landlord orders several units at once.