Your ready to paint your home now what?

You're ready to paint your home and now what?

Tips and pointers on how to get a great paint job and what to expect

You're sitting around your home and realize you haven't painted in ten years or you have a party or family gathering coming up soon and want to impress your friends so you decide it is time to paint but you have no time to do it yourself and it's so much easier hiring someone else to do it but you have never hired anyone before.

To some, this can be a scary proposition and once you start calling around it may get even more confusing sifting through the maze of qualified contractors. 

Here are some pointers.

• If you call someone and they do not get back to you in a timely manner pass on them if they are not responsive now what's to think that will change when the job starts or if something needs to be fixed?
• Look at their pictures and past work,  there should be similar projects they have done and most will have references. You should check references as everyone can have a fancy website filled with great pictures but are they real?
• Take the time to meet them in person and ask who will be doing the work, one trick of contractors is to sub contract your work to a totally different company and one who is much cheaper in price and may not be insured or have workman's compensation
• Ask what the process may be once you accept the project and when the project may be scheduled
• Will they help with color selections

Ok so you have called a few painters and most likely you called five maybe three called back and two will show up for the actual estimate, I had this same problem while looking for other contractors for my own home and on almost each estimate I go on they tell me of the other contractors who never call back or show up.

When the estimate day is here, make sure to be clear on what you want to be done and how you expect it to look when complete, this is the time to let out all those expectations to avoid issues once the project starts.

We will typically give a price on the spot or sometimes email the proposal, it is a great idea once you receive it to review it with the estimator to make sure it has everything you want in it or to make adjustments at this time.

Remember your not looking for the lowest price as the only option, you want to pick a known commodity and one that can deliver your expectations within your budget, that most likely is not the lowest and sometimes may not be the highest price either, I always choose the contractors I am comfortable with when meeting them, there is a reason the successful contractors are busy and in business, they can deliver the jobs as requested and if something should happen they take care of it right away, that lowest price may not be around in a few months to honor that warranty.

Price too high?

"Your price is too high?"

We do a ton of estimates each week, myself I probably do 6-8 onsite estimates and another 15 in the office from blueprints and one thing we hear often when we call to follow up is your price is too high.

We have qualified these estimates, sent literature explaining we may not be the lowest and still it comes as a surprise we may be higher than others. Could it be prices are high? Possibly but I will bet you the other companies are too low. I am referring solely to residential painting here as commercial is about the fastest systematic way to paint meaning generally the lowest price wins.

So out of three estimates you go with the lowest one, in the end, that low price could very well turn out to be the highest, a deal most of the time is not a deal, they can be deceptive, you may get cheaper materials, low-quality paint, uninsured painters who have no workers compensation which could be devastating should someone get hurt.

We chose not to play the price game and be in the race to the bottom and sell our value we can offer.

How many companies do you call and someone answers the phone calls you back or if you get that far shows up? We know exactly how each job will turn out because we have done them over and over with the same trained staff from the person who answers your call, to our follow ups and communication and that is before the job itself starts.

If you can't get someone to call you back what do you think will happen when the job starts and if something bad happens on the site such as spilled paint, damage or an injury where do you think that company will be? The answer is they will disappear and most likely without insurance your job will not be done and it will cost you more than hiring that higher price. Everyone makes mistakes and has an accident here and there, it will happen and when it does you want the accountable company working for you not the lowballer

At this point I shouldn't be suprised when I hear this but it does , when I shop for a dervice I look for the best service first, nto that price doesn;t matter but I will certainly pay more for great service and that is hard to find