There are few things that can make your home or place of business look better and more inviting than a new coat of paint. When you hire a good professional painting contractor to give your home a facelift, it brings more curb appeal and increases value. According to Zippia, the United States has 5,424 painting contractors, which means you likely have several to choose from in your area. It is important to make sure you do your homework when selecting a contractor to paint your home, place of business, or other property. Here are 11 things that you should look for to help you choose the best one.
1. Years in Business
You don’t want painters without experience working on your property because they are more likely to do poor work than a painting business that has been around for several years. You need a professional painting contractor who has a history of successful projects that will help show they do good work. After all, a contractor that does poor work likely won’t stay in business for very long. The longer a painting contractor has been in business, the more likely it has painters with the experience and skills needed to do quality work.
2. Customer References
A good contractor that has a lot of experience should have done a lot of work on other properties in your community. You should ask a contractor to give you a list of references that you can contact to confirm the quality of work and general satisfaction that prior customers have received from the same contractor. A good contractor with ample local connections and former clients should have at least some homeowners and others who are perfectly willing to take your phone call and discuss how the work was done, as well as affirm the professionalism of the work crew and its supervisors.
3. Positive Online Reviews
Another way to find out what others think of a particular professional painting contractor is to check online reviews. Google and Yelp are commonly used resources that you can locate by entering the contractor’s business name in a Google search. The results should give you access to Google reviews and Yelp reviews if any are available. Those reviews should provide details and possibly photographic evidence of the work that others obtained from the professional painting contractor. You can’t expect every review to be positive, but a large majority of them should be for a good painting service.
4. Insurance
It is important for a professional painting contractor to protect its clients and workers with insurance. Liability and worker’s compensation insurance should protect the painting crew and supervisors against accidental injuries that otherwise might trigger a liability claim against you. Painters will also work with flammable materials, such as paint thinner, that might cause extensive damage or destroy your home if an accidental fire occurs. With insurance, you’ll know you’re protected against the costs of potential damage or the destruction of your home that the paint crew might cause.
5. Work Examples
You definitely should try to see some examples of work to help choose a good contractor. Photos of prior projects and short videos of walk-throughs can show you the kind of work that a contractor provides for its customers. The work examples should show the jobs of which the contractor is most proud of and help to show any special expertise that the contractor might provide.
6. Modern Painting Equipment
A truly professional painting contractor should be capable of getting work done quickly and well. The contractor should have modern equipment, including spray equipment, that enables the work to get done faster without sacrificing quality. The contractor is certain to have paint brushes and some rollers for touchup work, but the majority of painting work should be done with spray equipment that enables even coats and accurate placement of the paint. The faster the contractor can complete the job while doing quality work, the less disruption you will experience.
7. High-Quality Paint
Cheap paint generally does not last long and is not worth the cost because it often will fade and peel quickly. You should ask about the types of paint that a professional painting contractor would use for your home or other painting project and their general cost. Find out why the contractor recommends certain brands and types for the job that you intend to do. The contractor might have a particular brand that it likes to use and should be able to explain its advantages and why it would be the best one to use.
8. Experienced Crews and Supervisors
An experienced painting crew and supervisors are another asset that a professional painting contractor should make available for your painting project. Inexperienced painters are more likely to make mistakes and cause accidents to happen while doing a generally poor job. When you have experienced painters who have lots of experience and are supervised by highly experienced painting professionals, you are going to get better work that is done faster and keep the total costs at reasonable levels.
9. Guaranteed Work
A professional painting contractor should have a lot of confidence in the people who will do the painting and the quality of work that they will provide for customers. A satisfaction guarantee affirms that confidence and helps to ensure you will be satisfied with the final product. If there are minor issues that you want to be fixed, the contractor should be willing to send an experienced painter to your home to do any touchup work or make other changes that will raise your level of satisfaction. If some contractors offer work guarantees and others don’t, you should choose among those that guarantee their work.
10. Detailed Work Estimate
You can’t make a fully informed decision on which professional painting contractor to hire without obtaining a detailed work estimate. The estimate should detail exactly what kind of work will be done with a cost breakdown for each item. The estimate also should show the types of equipment, types of paint, and labor costs for doing the work. You should know which materials will be used and every aspect of the estimate to do the job that you have in mind. The contractor will need to inspect your home or other property that you want to have painted and should give you an estimate that includes the timeline to complete the job.
11. Cleans Up When Done
You don’t want to have to do extensive cleanup after a painting contractor has completed the job. Depending on the size of the project and how long it takes, it might create a significant amount of waste and debris. Instead of watching the painting crew leave a mess of masking tape, paper, and discarded buckets of paint, they should agree to clean up after the work is finished and leave you with a relatively clean property. The most you should have to do is move items in and out of rooms to allow the painting crew to do its work.
These are some important qualities to look for to help you choose the right painting contractor. If you’re ready to transform your property, contact Bounty Painting today for a custom quote. We’re professional, experienced, and courteous, and we stand by the quality of our work!