There is a good reason why tradesmen prefer to quote with reputable brands. A large component of your cost will be the painter's labour. If you use a cheap, low quality paint, that has poor coverage , inconsistant colour from tin to tin, starts to bubble, starts to peel, etc, are you going to seek compensation from the cheap paint company (who probably don't have an office in Australia, and don't back their product), or go back to your painter, who will only blame the crappy paint you specified?

Cheap materials usually lead to a more expensive job as they often need to be reworked or redone, and it is the labour cost. If I was your painter and you insisted on using crappy paint I would charge a premium to cover my costs to get the job right.

Same goes with tiles, tiles are relatively cheap, but it is the skilled labour that costs. A good tiler can't do a great job working with tiles that are inconsistant in flatness, size, thickness and brittleness. You get what you pay for, but the labour still costs.

Best of luck Stingy Steve

Dr Retro

of Dr Retro House Calls.

You may have a point Dr Retro! I am on a fast learning curve on this subject. Your comment is consistent with painting posts on another group I read. Someone said in that forum that cheap pants, like Spring, also smell for a long time after they are applied.

Thanks Linda, there's one just down the road.