Paul is going to have the exterior of his home painted. Painting USA charges $75.00 to come out and evaluate the house plus $25.00 per hour of labor. Upscale Home Painting does not charge to evaluate the house. However, they charge $40.00 per hour. If it takes 25 hours to paint Paul's house, the most cost effective company will be? The cost of painting the house will be the same for both companies if the number of hours required to paint Paul's house is?

CP - the cost of painting the house for Painting USA company [$]

cP = 75 + 25 * 25 = 75 + 625 = 700 [$]

cU - the cost of painting the house for Upscale Home Painting company [$]

cU = 0 + 40 * 25 = 1000 [$]

cP < cU

The most cost effective is Painting USA company.

n - number of houres required to paint the house if the same cost for both companies

75 + 25 * n = 40 * n

40 n - 25n = 75

15n = 75 / : 15

n = 5

The cost of paining the house is the same for both companies if the number of houres required to paint the house is 5.