A fresh coat of paint is the cheapest way to make a house look like a different house. It's also one of those jobs where the difference between a $3,000 painter and a $6,000 painter shows up in the details: clean lines at the trim, no drips on the hinges, and a finish that holds up after the first rain instead of bubbling off the siding six months later.
Here's who Morgan Hill and Gilroy homeowners recommend.
Luis' Painting
Luis has been painting homes in the South Valley for over a decade. He's one of those word-of-mouth guys where you hear his name from three different neighbors and figure you should call. He does interior and exterior, and homeowners mention his prep work specifically. He tapes, covers, and sands before he ever opens a paint can. The result is clean edges and smooth finishes that last. He's usually booked 2 to 4 weeks out, so don't call him on Friday expecting Monday. Pricing is fair. Mid-range for the area.
Where: Morgan Hill, Gilroy, San Martin Best for: Interior repaints, exterior refresh, detail work Price range: Mid-range; competitive for quality of prep
CertaPro Painters of South San Jose
CertaPro is a franchise, which means corporate-backed insurance, standardized processes, and a warranty you can actually enforce. The South San Jose franchise covers Morgan Hill and Gilroy. What you get with CertaPro is a project manager who walks the job, a written estimate with no surprises, and crews that show up on schedule. What you pay is a premium, usually 20-30% above a solo operator. For large exterior jobs or commercial work, the structure is worth it. For a single bedroom repaint, you might be overpaying for overhead.
Where: Morgan Hill, Gilroy, and South San Jose Best for: Large exterior jobs, commercial, multi-room interior projects
What Interior Painting Costs
Single room repaint (walls only): $400 to $800. Depends on room size, ceiling height, and whether the painter is doing trim, doors, and closets too.
Full interior (3-bedroom home): $3,000 to $7,000. Includes walls, trim, doors, and hallways. Ceilings add $500 to $1,500.
Cabinet painting: $2,000 to $5,000 for a standard kitchen. This is a specialty job. The cabinets need to be degreased, sanded, primed, and sprayed (not rolled) for a factory-like finish. Not every painter does this well. Ask to see photos of previous cabinet jobs before hiring.
Paint quality matters. Cheap paint ($25/gallon) looks fine for the first year and then fades, scuffs, and chips. Mid-grade ($40-$55/gallon, like Benjamin Moore Regal or Sherwin-Williams Duration) lasts 7 to 10 years on interior walls. Your painter should be using mid-grade at minimum. If they're quoting with contractor-grade paint ($20/gallon), the low bid makes more sense, but you'll be repainting sooner.
What Exterior Painting Costs
Exterior repaint (single-story): $4,000 to $8,000 including prep, primer, and two coats. Stucco homes (common in Morgan Hill and Gilroy) need to be power-washed and any cracks patched before painting.
Exterior repaint (two-story): $7,000 to $14,000. The ladder and scaffold work pushes the price up.
Trim and fascia only: $1,500 to $3,500. If the body color is fine but the trim is peeling, this is the move.
Best time to paint exterior in the South Valley: March through November. The dry season is ideal. Avoid painting when temperatures are above 95 (paint dries too fast and doesn't bond properly) or when morning dew is heavy.
The Prep Work Question
Ask any good painter what separates a 3-year paint job from a 10-year paint job and they'll say the same thing: prep. Scraping, sanding, patching, priming. On an exterior, that means caulking gaps, replacing rotted trim before painting over it, and putting primer on bare wood. If a painter's estimate skips prep or bundles it into a suspiciously low total, the paint will look great for one season and then start failing.
Got a painter in the South Valley you'd recommend? Let us know at [email protected].
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