Painting contract, 8 Harlow Crescent interior repaint

Painting contract template with a colour schedule and a coats standard

Most painting disputes are really arguments about how many coats went on and what counts as preparation. This contract writes both down before the first drop sheet comes out, puts every room, colour and finish in a schedule, and leaves a touch up window open for 30 days after the furniture goes back.

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Tonal Painting
24 Mercer Street, Northbridge · 0438 220 715 · hello@tonalpainting.example
Painting contract · 8 Harlow Crescent · job TP-0416Page 1 of 4
Painting contract · 8 Harlow Crescent · job TP-0416Page 2 of 4
Painting contract · 8 Harlow Crescent · job TP-0416Page 3 of 4
Painting contract · 8 Harlow Crescent · job TP-0416Page 4 of 4
Painting contract

This contract is made on 6 October 2026 between Tonal Painting, of 24 Mercer Street, Northbridge, called the Painter, and Elena Sarkis of 8 Harlow Crescent, called the Owner. It covers the interior repaint of a three bedroom house and the two exterior doors.

$8,600
Price
2
Payments
9 Nov 2026
On site
30 days
Touch up window
1. The work
1.1
What is being painted
Walls, ceilings, doors, door frames, window reveals and skirting throughout the house, and the front and back exterior doors. Wardrobe interiors, the garage, the ceiling of the covered deck and the window frames on the outside are not included.
1.2
Colour schedule
The schedule below is the agreed colour and finish for every surface. A colour change after the paint is mixed is a variation under clause 4. All products are the brand and line named, and no substitution is made without the Owner agreeing in writing.
Room
Surface
Colour
Finish
All ceilings
Ceiling
Chalk White
Flat, ceiling grade
Living and dining
Walls
Linen Haze
Low sheen
Kitchen
Walls
Linen Haze
Semi gloss, washable
Bedroom 1
Walls
Harbour Grey
Low sheen
Bedrooms 2 and 3
Walls
Linen Haze
Low sheen
Bathroom and laundry
Walls and ceiling
Chalk White
Semi gloss, mould resistant
Throughout
Doors, frames, skirting
Vivid White
Gloss enamel, water based
Front and back doors
Exterior face
Deep Forest
Exterior gloss enamel
2. Preparation and coats
2.1
Preparation
Furniture moved to the centre of each room and covered, floors covered with drop sheets and taped at the edges, switch plates and door furniture removed, walls washed where greasy, nail holes and cracks filled and sanded, loose or flaking paint scraped back to a sound edge, and all filled areas spot primed.
2.2
How many coats
Ceilings two coats. Walls two coats over the existing colour, three where a wall goes from Harbour Grey to Linen Haze or the reverse. Doors, frames and skirting one undercoat and two finish coats. The exterior doors one undercoat and two coats. A coat is not counted unless it covers.
2.3
What good looks like
Straight cut in lines at the ceiling, the skirting and every corner, no roller marks or holidays visible from two metres in normal daylight, no paint on hardware, glass, floors or switch plates, and edges that are sharp enough that the Owner does not have to look for them.
3. Price, payment and programme
3.1
The price
The price is $8,600 for the work in clauses 1 and 2, including all paint, sundries, drop sheets and the removal of the Painter's own waste. It is paid in two parts: $2,580 on the first day and $6,020 on completion, each payable within seven days of invoice.
Payment
Due
Share
Amount
On the first day on site
9 Nov 2026
30%
$2,580.00
On completion and walkthrough
On invoice
70%
$6,020.00
Total
$8,600.00
3.2
Programme
Eight working days from 9 November, working 7.30 am to 4 pm on weekdays. The Painter tells the Owner by the previous evening which rooms will be worked the next day so furniture and pets can be moved.
3.3
Weather
The two exterior doors are not painted in rain, in direct heat above 35 degrees, or when the surface is damp. A day lost to weather moves the finish date by one day and is not charged as a delay to either side. Interior work continues in any weather.
4. Variations
4.1
Changes in writing
A colour change, an extra room, a feature wall or a repair beyond ordinary filling is priced and agreed in writing, including by text message, before it is done. Unquoted extra work is charged at $65 an hour plus materials at cost plus 10 percent.
4.2
What is not ordinary filling
Water damaged plaster, loose cornice, a wall that has been patched with a different texture, and any surface that needs a full skim coat. The Painter points these out before starting and prices them separately rather than painting over them.
5. Completion, touch ups and insurance
5.1
Walkthrough
On the last day the Painter and the Owner walk every room together in daylight and write a single list of anything to fix. The list is cleared before the final invoice is issued, and the Painter reinstates hardware and switch plates and returns furniture to where it was.
5.2
Touch up window
For 30 days after completion the Painter returns once to touch up anything on a single written list from the Owner, at no charge, including marks found once the furniture is back. Damage caused after completion is not a touch up, and the Painter leaves a labelled sample pot of each colour.
5.3
Workmanship, damage and insurance
The Painter warrants the work is carried out with due care and skill and that the coats in clause 2.2 have been applied. Damage to floors, fittings or furniture caused by the Painter is repaired or replaced at its cost. The Painter holds public liability cover of $10 million and gives a certificate of currency on request.
6. General
6.1
Ending the contract
Either party may end this contract by written notice if the other is in serious breach and has not fixed it within five business days. The Painter is paid for the rooms completed and for paint already tinted to the schedule.
6.2
Whole agreement
This contract and the colour schedule are the whole agreement and replace the quotation dated 22 September 2026 and anything said at the site visit. A change to either takes effect only in writing.
For Tonal Painting
Name
:
Date
:
The Owner, Elena Sarkis
Name
:
Date
:

Section by section

What each section is for, so you can keep the ones you need and drop the rest.

Parties and key terms
Painter and owner, then the price, the payment count, the start date and the touch up window.
1. The work
What is painted and what is excluded, and the eight row colour schedule that governs.
2. Preparation and coats
The preparation standard, the coat count per surface, and a written description of good work.
3. Price, payment and programme
The $8,600 price in two payments, eight working days on site, and the exterior weather rule.
4. Variations
Changes in writing including by text, and what is not ordinary filling.
5. Completion, touch ups and insurance
The daylight walkthrough, the 30 day touch up return, workmanship, damage and cover.
6. General
Ending the contract for breach, and what this contract and the schedule replace.
Signatures
A block for the painter and one for the owner.

Clauses in this document

How to adapt this agreement

For an exterior repaint, replace the colour schedule rows with elevations, add a substrate line for each, extend the weather clause to cover surface moisture and dew point, and add access equipment and height safety to the programme clause. For a commercial or strata job, swap the two payment structure for progress claims against completed levels, add out of hours work and a site induction, and name one contact who can approve a colour on the spot. For a landlord repaint between tenancies, cut the touch up window to 14 days, add a clause on protecting floor coverings that stay in place, and make the final payment conditional on the walkthrough list being cleared.

Who this contract is for

A painter quoting a whole house for an owner who is living in it, or an owner who has had one job go wrong and wants the next one written down. It suits a fixed price job of one to two weeks where the rooms are known and the colours are chosen, which is most residential repaints. It is less suited to a new build, where the painter works to a builder's programme and claims against stages, or to a strata block, where access and common areas need their own clauses. The part worth keeping in any version is clause 2, because preparation and coat counts are what separate a quote that looks cheap from one that is.

What makes this document work

The coats are counted, surface by surface

Clause 2.2 gives ceilings two coats, walls two over the existing colour and three where a wall changes between Harbour Grey and Linen Haze, and trim one undercoat plus two finish coats. It also says a coat is not counted unless it covers.

The colour schedule removes the question entirely

Eight rows pair a room with a surface, a colour and a finish, including semi gloss in the kitchen and mould resistant in the bathroom. A colour change after the paint is mixed becomes a variation, which is stated rather than assumed.

Good work is described, not implied

Clause 2.3 sets straight cut in lines, no roller marks visible from two metres in normal daylight, and no paint on hardware, glass or switch plates. That is a standard a walkthrough can actually be measured against.

Questions people ask

What should a painting contract include?

The rooms and surfaces covered, the exact colours and finishes, the preparation and the number of coats, the price and when it is paid, the dates, what counts as a variation, a completion walkthrough and a touch up period. This contract has each of those as a clause.

How many coats of paint should a painter apply?

Two on ceilings and on walls staying in the same colour family, three where a wall changes tone significantly, and one undercoat plus two finish coats on doors, frames and skirting. The contract says a coat only counts if it actually covers.

What counts as preparation in a painting quote?

Moving and covering furniture, taping drop sheets, removing switch plates and door furniture, washing greasy walls, filling and sanding holes and cracks, scraping flaking paint back to a sound edge, and spot priming every filled area. All of that is written into clause 2.1.

What is a touch up window?

A period after completion when the painter returns once, at no charge, to fix anything on a single written list. Here it is 30 days, which is long enough for the furniture to go back and for marks to be noticed under normal light.

Can a painter charge extra for repairs?

Only for work beyond ordinary filling. Clause 4.2 names water damaged plaster, loose cornice, mismatched patch texture and anything needing a full skim coat, and requires the painter to point them out and price them separately rather than painting over them.

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Sources

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