Painting is the finishing which ties together the beauty of a house's design. It is therefore important to make sure that you have professional painters for the project. If it is a first time project, and especially if large spaces have to be painted, you might have to look for a contractor to bring on board several people to handle the painting. However, with so many people advertising their services online and through other avenues, sometimes it can be challenging to pick the best suited painter for your job. Here, are a few of the tips which you ought to consider when looking for a professional painter to handle your project.
1. Compare two or three contractors
The first step in the hiring process should be consulting friends and other people around you who have had their painting work done for them. Take time and look at the results of their work. If you like what a certain contractor did, get their contacts. Look for two more contractors through advertisements and online sources. Narrow down the list to two or three contractors, and then start comparing and contrasting their services and rates. Contact the three of them and give them a detailed description of the job. Look at the estimates and quotations that they give you before deciding the person to engage in the process. Remember that any quotes which you receive and they sound too good to be true may not be genuine.
2. Look at their license and insurance
Another consideration which you need to make is whether the contractor is running a registered and legal business. The specific requirements for running any form of construction work varies from one state to the next, but it is important to ensure that your hiring process is legal in the state you are in. If a contractor is needed to have a registered business and a license, make sure to demand for the license before you start any business negotiations with the contractor. However, some states like Texas where licenses are not a must have for contractors, just make sure that people can vouch for the contractor and if their work is good, go ahead and hire them. Also, if you are hiring a large scale contractor, you need to make sure that they have a contractor's insurance and bonding. When the contractor has insurance, you are assured that any injuries which happen in your workplace will be covered by their product and that you will not have to bear liability for the same. Look for a contractor who has membership in one of the local or national painters associations such as the Painting and Decorating Contractors of America.
3. Invite them for an interview
The only way you will get the contractor to understand the scope of your work and give an actual estimate on the budget and the time is if you invite them for a one on one interview. Take them to the site that has to be painted and show them everything which needs to be done from the molding, the trim, and other parts. In addition to that, show him all the plants and other things which you want protected during the painting process. This is also the time that you will explain the specific ideas that you have for the paintwork. Let the contractor know whether you want one coat and one finish, the colors that you are thinking about and ask them whether they can recommend great places to source the specific paint shades which you want. Make sure to ask them other questions such as how long they have been in business, whether their crew is paid hourly or subcontracted, what personal protection equipment they use when painting and especially if they have to access parts of the building that are high above the ground. A professional painter will answer these questions with ease and confidence. Experienced contractors know that these questions are part of the hiring process and therefore, they will not get defensive about their business.
4. Contact the references
After you have interviewed the contractors that you selected and heard their views about the project, you need to make sure that their entire story checks out. The only way to make this happen is by contacting the people they listed down as their references. Always remember that sometimes and especially in the digital era, you do not even have to contact the specific people a contractor listed. You can ask on twitter, check the better business bureau or look at the commercial painting contractor's reviews and testimonials online. Most of the times, these sources of information turn out to be more useful than the prescribed references.
5. Make sure they understand the scope of the work
One of the many mistakes which happen to contract work is when the parties involved do not fully understand the scope of the work involved. Before you hire a painting contractor, you need to write down a list of the things which need to be done before, during and after the paintwork because this is what will determine how smooth the work will flow. The lists could include activities such as:
- Details on the preparation and cleanup before painting
- What is to be painted and the colors recommended
- The start and finish dates of the entire project
- The daily start and finish times
- Applicable warranties
- Who will be expected to clean up after the project
- How much the contractor will be paid
This is the document that you will refer back to as your agreement in case anything happens contrary to the laid out plan.
Those are the five important steps to follow when looking for reliable painting contractors. Lastly, it is crucial to remember that the success of your project will depend on how well you communicate with the painting contractor throughout the process. If you are able to keep open lines of communication, you can tell them when something is not being done to your specifications and they can also consult with you on any minor changes they feel would bring out a better outcome in the project.
