Your home may eventually need to have its look updated and house painting in Pleasant Hill will do the trick. If you don’t have the time or the knowledge to do the house painting yourself, hire a painting contractor to take care of the work for you. It isn’t good to just pick any painting contractor. You want to thoroughly investigate your choices before hiring one to make sure you’ll get the quality job you deserve. The following are some tips that will help you make sure you have the information necessary before you hire a qualified painting contractor.
1. First, determine what kind of painting needs to be done. Do you want interior painting, exterior painting, or both? How many rooms would you like to have painted? Would you want some additional tasks like installing crown molding? What type of paint do you prefer and do you have the colors chosen? These questions need a definite decision before painting begins.
2. Find out in your area if contractors are required to have a license. If your home state does hold such rule, then ask every contractor you’re interviewing to be sure they have the required licenses. You may even want to verify this by asking every contractor to show their licenses to prove that these are valid and current. Most painting companies display their license number the sides of their trucks, website, business cards or letterheads.
3. Contact at least three painting contractors who service the San Ramon and surrounding areas. Provide your address and ask them to come to your location and walk through the property, let you define your painting needs, and then provide you with an estimate. Letting contractors walk through your property will let you know if there are damages in some parts of your house that need to be repaired before they begin painting. You want to avoid hiring contractors who want to offer the estimate before walking through your property because their estimate will likely change once the work begins.
4. When you verify the painting contractor is licensed, ask them if they and their employees are bonded or insured. This is important in case of an accident befalling the house painter or damage to your property caused during the painting. If they are not insured, you will be liable to pay for the damages or shoulder his medical expenses. A bonded and insured painting contractor, compared to one that is unlicensed or uninsured, will give you peace of mind.
5. You also want to ask for references from painting contractors you interview. Ask for the names and contact details of local customers. It is ideal if you ask for references for a recent painting job along with painting job were done in the past (last year, for instance). Ask to see examples of their most current work and their past painting jobs to see if they work has done well in withstanding against time and natural elements such as the sun, wind, and moisture.
6. You may also want to ask about the paints they use, especially if you are sensitive to paint odors, or environmentally conscious. If you want your painting contractor to use only non-VOC paints, be sure you stress that during your interview. Most painting contractors will use those paints if they are specified.
7. Ask the painting company if they employ their workers, or use subcontractors to the job. Why is this important? It is better that the painting contractor have its own employees than subcontract the work to others. Using subcontractors means the painting company may not be able to guarantee the quality of the subcontractor’s work. The subcontractor may also choose not to honor the painting contractor’s word.
8. Once you have a written estimate from every contractor you have interviewed, be sure to read the estimates closely, take some time to compare them. The estimates should all contain similar information:
- Materials to be used and labor costs
- Estimate of how long it will take to do the job from beginning to end- What rooms or surfaces are being painted
- Which paint colors to be used on which surfaces
- Their guarantee
- How your property will be protected during the course of the painting job
- Preparation and cleanup details
- Details on the payment to the contractor
All of these items should be present in each of your potential candidates’ estimate. If these items are not included, it may be a good idea to remove them from possible painting contractors for your job.
With these tips and information, you will be confident in choosing a qualified contractor to do house painting in Pleasant Hill. Remember that it is your property and you want to hire the right company to beautify your home.