Finding the best provider of residential painting services to work on your home is far more important than you might expect. After all, if you’re like most people, you will probably spend the majority of your time at home. This makes it important that your home’s paint job is up to par with your standards.
A bad paint job can be mildly irritating at best, and unsafe at worst, which makes it crucial that you’re able to get quality residential painting services. Here are 15 quick tips for ensuring the best possible experience with your painting contractor.Know exactly what you’re looking for
Many homeowners make the mistake of seeking out a residential painting service contractor before they’ve even decided what they want. At this stage, it may be good to consult with an interior designer or someone who has some knowledge about paints and colour schemes.
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Check out several different painters
Don’t hire the first painter you find. Look for at least three possible candidates to do the job so that you’re better able to compare your options.Be specific in your expectations
Give the painters specific instructions whenever possible. These instructions should ideally be written down for clarity and reference.
Try to check if the painters truly understand your requirements
Even talented painters may not necessarily know what you need or you’re looking for in a paint job. It might be a good idea to have them work in tandem with your interior designer to make sure everyone is one the same page.
Make sure they know what they’re doing
Do your homework and ask them questions if what they’re doing seems to be different from standard practice.
Check for certification
The residential painting service provider you hire should ideally employ certified tradesmen. Check to see if your candidates have the right certification and licenses.
Check for references
See if your candidates can provide you with references that you can call or check.
See if you can look at their past residential painting jobs
Your candidates may have already done a few projects in your neighbourhood. Try to take some time to look at these finished jobs.
Find out if you’re comfortable with the painter
This is important for any residential painting job, as there will be strangers working in your home. Also, these jobs may take an extended period of time to complete, so you wouldn’t want to have someone you don’t feel comfortable with inside your home.
See if you can get a guarantee
See if the painting service provider can offer an acceptable guarantee of their work, which will help protect your investment in case there is premature damage to the paint job caused by improper painting.
Choose the paint yourself, with the contractor present
Even if you have the right colour swatches, there can be deviations in the final colour that you might find unacceptable. To prevent this, choose the paint yourself, and make sure your painter is present.
Ask for an estimate
Don’t go with a contractor that cannot provide you with a cost estimate. You want to be able to know how much you can expect to pay, more or less, before you get started on any project.
Always expect the final costs to be somewhat higher than the estimate
The painters are not psychic. They will not know all the possible circumstances surrounding your project until they start working. For this reason, you should always budget more than the given estimate.
Get a contract
Make sure everything is written down, on paper, and above board. This will ensure everyone involved in the project is protected and has reasonable expectations going in.
Don’t give the entire amount in advance
Refrain from paying the entire amount until the job is done to keep you from being down a financial hole in case the contractor doesn’t do the job right. You should use your discretion to see how much you should pay in advance, though most experts will recommend somewhat less than half.
What other tips can you share? Tell us!