Choosing A Painting Contractor (Part 1) April 29, 2007
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Many of us opt to paint the house ourselves for a number of reasons. Some do it for pure satisfaction and for the sense of accomplishment. Others do it to save some money. However, not everyone has the luxury of taking a couple of days of leave from work to get the paint job done. 
And then there are many others, like myself, who believe that leave from work should indeed be "leave FROM work", not leave TO work at home. Painting is simple, but not easy. A single process which we call "painting" covers 50-100 smaller tasks ranging from paint selection, colour selection, estimation of paint required, purchasing paint, choosing roller and brushes, shifting of furnitures, taking down curtains, filling up holes, sanding off unevenness, masking the edges, etc, etc, to the actual painting of the sides, the painting of the ceilings and walls, the grills, the doors, etc, etc, to the cleaning up, moving the furniture back, putting up the pictures etc.. In the end we may find it better to give the job to the professionals. But how do you choose a painting contractor? These are the few key things we should look for in a painting contractor :
1) Skill Level - Well, the bloke must at least be up to the job. This is often overlooked. We tend to award the job to the lowest quote. Sometimes, the lowest quote is lowest for the very reason - total lack of skill. Yours may very well be his first job! 2) Reliability - Can the contractor be relied on to complete the job on time? I’ve come across projects that require weeks run into months. Another would be the painters ability to provide you with a correct paint system. I visited a customer’s house recently while painting was being carried out. To my surprise, the painting contractor used interior paint system for the exterior, and convinced the owner he was doing the right thing. 3) Honesty - This is now more important than ever, since colour tinting machines become commonplace. Some contractors tint cheap paint and pack into used empty cans of known brands, passing off as the real thing. The price difference between tinted cheap paint and premium ones is wide enough to make the exercise more than worthwhile for the contractor. 4) Accountability - When the job is done and paid, can you count on the painting contractor to return to assist should peeling or other problems occur? If the walls get dirtied when the furniture moved it, will the contractor do touch up work? If the contractor omitted certain areas, will he still answer your call to make good?
In the next post, we will list the things you need to ask your painting contractor before awarding him the paint job.
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