Painting your home, whether you’re doing it after building a new space or if you’re just trying to liven up your house, is a great way to make a big impact with relatively little money. However, if you’re like most people, the idea of painting your home yourself isn’t one you relish, and likely one you’re afraid of if you know it’s going to be a big job.
When it comes to painting the interior of your home, who you hire is essential. While many painters will tell you they can do the job efficiently, under budget and in the time allotted, the truth is that many simple don’t live up to their promises. That’s why interviewing painting companies and understanding who they are and how their business runs is essential.
Use these tips to help you interview a painting contractor so you can find the right one for your interior paint project.
Understand Your Needs
Before you start interviewing painting companies to do work in your home, it’s important that you understand what you’re going to be talking about and why. That means taking the time to make a list of rooms that need to be painted and what particular design scheme you’re going with.
You don’t need to know all the technical details of the project – that’s the job of the contractor you’re going to hire. You do need to be able to express what it is you want and what your budget is before you involve outsiders.
Ask For Referrals
If you’re like a lot of homeowners you don’t know where to start when looking for a painting contractor. In most cases, asking for referrals from trusted friends and family members is a good way to start the search.
Talk to them about the experience they had with their painting contractor and make sure it was a positive one. Make sure the job came in on time, on budget and the work was done in a satisfactory manner.
You might also consider asking other companies you’ve worked with for referrals. For example, a contractor that worked on your landscaping or built your kitchen cabinets might know somebody that could do the work for you.
Chances are if they did a good job in your home so will the people they refer, but you’ll still want to interview them.
Seek Multiple Estimates
Once you have a list of at least three painting contractors to do your work you can go ahead and schedule interviews and estimates. You’ll want to set these up on the same day or within a day or two of each other whenever possible so opinions of the meetings will be fresh in your mind when it’s time to make a decision.
When talking with a painting contractor, make sure you ask the following questions:
- Are you licensed to work in this state and area? Can you provide proof?
- Are you insured and bonded? Can you provide proof?
- Do you have referrals for residential work you’ve done?
- Do you do the work yourself or do you hire outsiders?
- Can you guarantee your work in regards to price, time frame and quality?
Hiring a contractor can seem like a complex task, but the truth is that most painters who can positively answer the questions above will do good work for you. After all, painting homes is their livelihood, and doing a bad job could result in bad word of mouth in the area – something that can be a killer for a local painting company.
Take your time and compare estimates. Cheapest isn’t always best, so make sure you weigh the cost against references and professionalism.
Parts of this article can be found at http://www.harrishousepainting.com/blog/
Image courtesy of adamr at FreeDigitalPhotos.net