Home Renovations Company
Choosing The Right
Residential Painting
Contractor
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
Choosing The Right Residential Painting Company For Your Home
Choosing the right residential painting contractor or company to paint your home requires careful research, due diligence and effort, but it is worth it to give your home a beautiful and long lasting aesthetic and protection from the elements. It is important to take your time to find a painting company that will deliver quality work along with a stress-free experience.
This article will go over the key factors to consider when looking for and choosing a residential painting contractor or company to paint your home.
1. Define Your Needs And Expectations
Before you start looking for a contractor or company to paint your home, you should consider what the scope of the project is going to be. You will want to think about and ask yourself questions regarding what you want done. Some questions might be something like:
Are you going to want the exterior or the interior of the house painted, or both?
Will you need specialty services like cabinet painting, wallpaper removal, or textured finishes?
What areas need to be and are to be painted, e.g, the living rooms, dining room, outside of the house, outdoor patio, etc.?
Knowing what you want done, knowing what needs to be done and your priorities will go a long way in choosing the right residential contractor or company to paint your home.
Do you have a desired timeline that you would like the project finished by?
What is your preferred budget? Do you have any budget restraints, or money not really a big deciding factor?
Do you have any preferences on the brands of paint or paint finishes? Do you require or prefer that they be be eco-friendly or water based?
Having clear vision of what you want and what the expectations are will make it easier to communicate with potential painting contractors or companies.
2. Gather A List Of Painting Companies
You should start looking for and researching the local residential painting contractors and companies in your area. You can easily do this by doing a quick search on a search engine such as Google or a directory type of website, for example, Angie’s List or All Contractors Near Me.
Start learning what kind of experience they should have, what licenses they will need, what type insurance they need and how much it will need to cover, etc. This will help you be able to make a better judgement call on who to hire later.
You will want to look at their websites, look at reviews and testimonials of theirs, for example, check their Google reviews, and also look at the Better Business Bureau to check for any negative feedback on them.
You should look at their portfolio of work and their services, especially work that they have done that is similar to what you want done. You want for everything to come off as being professionally done, especially the actual work that they will be doing.
You should start making a list of the residential painting contractors or companies that you will want to contact about
taking on the project.
3. Verify Their Credentials And Experience
Once you have made a list of residential painting contractors or companies, it is essential that you verify their qualifications.
You will want to make sure that the painting company is licensed to operate in your area if that is required by local regulations, as well as make sure that they carry liability insurance and workers’ compensation to protect you from potential accidents or damages.
Any painting contractor or company that you consider should have a proven track record in residential painting, specifically in doing the type of project that you want done at your house or home. Choosing a residential painting contractor or company that specializes specifically in what you want done might be a good idea.
You will want to look for certifications from local painting organizations in your area to help indicate some level training.
Ask for proof of these on your first time talking with meeting with any of the painting contractors or companies on your list.
4. Request And Compare Quotes
Contact the residential painting contractors or companies on your list and request detailed, written estimates. These should include:
A breakdown of the costs, which should include labor, materials and any additional fees.
The scope of the work that is to be done, which should include surface preparation, priming and number of coats.
The type of paint and the brands of paint that will be used.
An estimate of the timeline for completion or a timeline of the stages of completion if it is to done in stages or a bigger project that might take some to get completed.
You need to wary of any unusually low bids overpromising on the timeline of when work can be done. You should also be looking out for any use of subpar products that you don’t agree to. Compare quotes based on the value, not just the price.
5. Check References And Past Work
Ask the contractors or companies that you talk to provide you with references from previous clients and ask if you can reach out to them about their experience using them. Some things you may want to ask about are:
The professionalism and reliability of the crew and their attention to detail.
The quality of the material used.
Whether their project was completed on their agreed upon budget and timeline.
Were there any issues or concerns, and how did the contractor or company deal with them.
Also, ask for before and after pictures of the work that they did.
6. Evaluate Their Professionalism And Communication
The way in which a contractor or company communicates and interacts with you is a good indicator or their overall professionalism and usually carries over to their work as well. Some things to pay attention to are:
Their responsiveness. Do they answer or respond to your phone calls, texts or emails in a prompt and timely manner? Are they thorough when get back to you?
Their knowledge. Can they explain the process, including surface preparation, paint selection and cleanup? A residential painting contractor or company that knows his trade in and out, can easily answer these and other questions.
Contracts. Can they provide a clear, written contract outlining the scope of the work, payment terms and any guarantees or warranties? Avoid any contractors or companies that try to pressure you to sign quickly or offer any vague agreements.
7. Understand The Painting Process
A professional paint job involves more than just applying some paint to an area. It is a good idea to know the process of what you want done and also to ask the potential contractors or companies about the process and some of the details of the project, for example:
Proper preparation of the surface area or areas involve proper cleaning, sanding and priming. Ask how they handle issues like peeling, mildew or drywall repairs.
Ask about the types of paint and also the brands of paint that can and will be used (e.g., Sherwin-Williams, Benjamin Moore) and ask whether they recommend specific products or brands for your home.
Clean up of the site of the project is also part of the job. Confirm with the contractor or company that they thoroughly clean up after the project is done, including disposing of debris and any other materials that come with the project.
8. Ask About Warranties And Follow Up
Just as important as having a project done correctly, is what happens afterwards. Ask the contractor or company about any warranties on labor and materials, which typically range from one to five years depending on the project. Be sure to have any warranty in writing.
Be sure to have it be clear what the warranty covers, for example, does is cover peeling, fading or bubbling paint? Also, ask about the process for addressing any issues and how to go about them taking care of.
9. The Final Steps
The final steps are to get everything in writing, ensuring that all of the agreements, including the timeline, costs and
warranties are documented in a signed contract.
You should get prepare the area of your home for the project to be done by removing any furniture, decorations or any other items that may be in the way, specially ones that wouldn’t want damaged in any way.
It is a good idea to physically check in every once in a while to make sure that everything is being done professionally.
10. Trust Your Instincts
You should trust your instincts at every step of the way and allow them to guide you to choosing a residential painting contractor or company that is right for you and your home’s project. It is especially important for you to avoid any contractors or companies that seem pushy, evavise or unwilling to provide any of the details that you ask about.
Conclusion
Choosing the right residential painting contractor or company to work on your home requires some research and due diligence, but is necessary to have work done that is professional, long lasting and beautiful.