Whether it’s your home’s exterior, interior, deck or kitchen cabinets, painting is an extremely transformative, efficient and inexpensive way of upgrading your home. If you’re planning to sell your home, painting not only adds value but also helps you sell your home faster.
Well, that might be true, but the value of any paint job depends largely on the quality of the job and materials used. A poorly painted set of kitchen cabinets or home exterior in the wrong color can, in fact, reduce the overall value of the painted item. So it would appear that apart from choosing quality painting materials, you need to hire a trained, skilled, reliable and experienced painting contractor.
As you would imagine, not all professional painting contractors are created the same. We’ve all run into unpleasant experiences with a contractor at some point. And there is nothing more frustrating than hiring a dishonest, unreliable and sneaky contractor. Which is why we’re dedicating this article to help you avoid just that. Here are the top five things to look for when hiring a painting contractor.
Online Reviews
If the painting contractor has been around for a while, they must have some online footprints. Other than asking for recommendations from family, friends, and neighbors, chances are you will go searching local painters online. Before you favor any of them, look for reviews about their services on platforms like Google My Business, Yelp, Social Media and local home improvement blogs. If the company has a high number of negative reviews and feedback, run!
Licensing and Insurance
However small your painting project might seem, you want to keep things legal and safe from the very beginning. Only consider working with painting contractors that are insured and duly licensed to work within your state. Some licenses are for only residential or only commercial properties, while others are for small jobs, so make sure the painter is appropriately insured and licensed for your type of job.
Additionally, they need to have a sufficient business liability insurance cover, as well as cover for the crew on the ground. This way, if something goes wrong while they’re painting, you’re protected from liability.
Check for References
If you’re hiring the painter for the first time, you want to verify their skills through some references. Most companies will have a gallery of previous jobs on their website for you to sample, but it doesn’t hurt to get in touch with one of their previous clients. If it’s a local painting contractor in Clinton Township, for instance, request them to refer you to some of the local works they have worked on.
Experience
Having painted residential houses for decades doesn’t automatically mean that the company will offer the best quality. However, if they’ve been around for a while and generally have a positive standing and reviews in the community, it means they’re doing something right. The longer the company has existed, the more likely they have perfected their trade. Having at least five years of experience is a good beginning.
A Detailed Estimate
Once you’ve narrowed down to 2-3 painters, you would want to invite them over, separately and request for a painting estimate from each of them. The estimate should be well detailed, capturing important items such as project scope, labor, materials to be used (including brands), timelines, number of coats, surface prep process and so on. If the painter hands you a sketchy estimate on a paper napkin, move on to the next contractor.
Bottom Line
Finding a reliable and experienced contractor shouldn’t be that much of a hassle. However, if the above process still seems somewhat tedious, we welcome you to try out our high quality, reliable and flawless painting services at Eason Painting.
We currently serve the areas of Macomb Township, Washington Township, Ray Township, Rochester, Rochester Hills, Romeo, Armada, Troy, Shelby Township, Chesterfield, and Clinton Township, MI. Give us a call if you have any more questions.
By DYB Virtual