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How To Hire A Reputable Painting Contractor

How to Hire a Reputable Painting Contractor

How can you be sure you are hiring a good painting contractor?  Well, you can’t always be sure 100 percent of the time but there are many things you can do to increase your odds.  When hiring a paint contractor to perform services at your home or business there are a number of ways to insure you are protecting yourself and your family from a bad paint job and potential legal problems.  

Many people take hiring a painting contractor for granted and simply grab the lowest bid when shopping for a contractor. The lowest bid may not be the best option for your job and could prove to be the most expensive option if you spend time redoing or repairing low quality work.

Factors to consider
•    You should consider the expertise required for your application (painting over brick that has already been painted, painting metal that is exposed to high temperatures etc…)
•    The quality of the materials being used
•    Whether or not subcontractors are going to be used
•    Whether or not the contractors employees are legal to work in the United States

Locate a good painting contractor

One of the best places to start your search for a painter is to ask friends and family for referrals.  If any of your friends or family had a good or bad experience with a painter, they will let you know. Another great option is to search on-line for local painters in your area. Most reputable painters will have a professional website that provides information about their company and their expertise.  

Once you have a list of 2 or 3 painters, you can move to the next phase. Regardless of how you found your list of painters, make sure you look up each contractor on-line prior to calling. If you can’t find a painting contractor on-line, the contractor may just be someone who moonlights as a painter and you will likely have better luck and work with a more knowledgeable painter if you stick to someone who paints full-time.

Qualify your painting contractor

When you sit down to call your list of contractors, have a list of questions similar to the ones listed below.
•    How long have you been in business?
•    Do you have current Workman’s Compensation and General Liability insurance and does it meet the State requirements?
•    Do you have a current business license?
•    Do you have local references?
•    Do you have your own people or do you subcontract your jobs to other contractors?

If you feel comfortable with how your painting contractor answers your questions over the phone, set up a time to meet and look at the job together. Ask them to bring copies of the above information you asked them about over the phone.  Pay attention to weather or not they show up on time and if they do what they said they would do.
When you meet with your contractor in person, before you start asking questions, let the contractor tell you how they would approach the job and give you the details of how the work would be approached and completed. If you don’t know much about painting, letting your contractor talk about their approach to your job will give you an education about details that you may not have considered. If you hear the same things from each contractor regarding a priming coat or the number of coats of paint they think is necessary and what prep work is involved, you will feel assured that the work being done is necessary to ensure a great result.

Other resources to verify your contractor is legitimate

•    Call their insurance agent to verify that there Workman’s Compensation and General Liability is still current.

•    You can also try looking on-line at your contractors Better Business Bureau rating and see if there are any serious complaints about the company you are about to hire.

The Hiring Decision
After you have met with your potential contractors in person, verified a couple of their references and gathered all the quotes; your gut should guide you to the hire the contractor you feel most comfortable with. Often times, your contractor will be working around your family or around your office and you want to feel assured that you are working with a reputable painter.