Let’s face it, hiring professionals to paint your home or business is not something you do every day. You can feel clumsy and uncomfortable when you really don’t know what to look for and it is convenient to fall into the mindset that They are all the same. After all, if a painting company advertises its services somewhere, it must be professional, right? And if they are all professionals, the only difference left to choose from is price. Right?
If only it were that easy. The fact is, painters and painting contractors are as wide and varied as your food options at an international food court. So how can you tell the good guys from the bad guys? More importantly though, the wrong ones from the right ones for YOU? And wouldn’t you like the answer to these questions before hiring your painter?
The answers are in most cases in your written paint budget. Of course, price matters. But it’s the estimating process and the final written quote that tells you what to expect for your money. That is, if you know the signs.
7 caveats the written paint estimate is revealing about your painter
- Tea Painter Estimate. Do the details of the painting estimate reflect what you want or what your painter wants? You may have told your estimator where you want the painting to be done, but did you discuss how it should be prepared and with what materials? If you don’t know how to ask, you may find that your budget fills in the blanks with shortcuts and poor finishes that you didn’t expect.
- Tea Blanket Paint estimate. It is very common to see a painting quote where the statement is as simple as: we will paint all the rooms at this address for $ XXXX.xx. Sounds great! Everything in the house is going to be painted for a low price. Perfect! But is it? Be careful with quotes with too little detail. These are excellent escape routes for the painter as long as the painting does not live up to the vision he had in mind.
- Tea Brand Name Paint Estimate. Using the best brands always looks great on a paint budget. You’ve heard the name, so you feel like there’s a certain credibility associated with that particular paint making. And in many cases, you would be right. But did you know that the biggest and best paint manufacturers in the world make great and not so great paints? More specifically, does your painting estimate the detail of which of these are you getting in your paint job? Chances are, if you didn’t discuss it during the estimate evaluation, your written estimate will leave you open to interpretation (usually the painter’s interpretation is what appears on your walls).
- Tea Low ball Estimate. When the price is too good to be true … you know this one. Or at least this phrase should sound familiar. But when it comes to making the final decision on which painter to hire for your project, you get giddy to see that fabulously low price when everyone else “costs so much.” Now the excitement takes over you and you can’t stop saving all that money! But before you sign the painter’s estimate, ask yourself this: Do you really think this particular painter knows something that all other painting contractors don’t know to quit their job for a lot less? Did you seem more knowledgeable about information that others did not have? The chances are slim against you and it is not worth the risk.
- Tea No warranty Estimate. All the details sound good, but no recourse is offered if things don’t go well. Can you afford to repair and repaint the job now that you’ve paid for a paint job with no warranties? And even if you can afford it, do you really want to pay double and have your expected painting results take twice as long?
- Tea No standards Estimate. The workmanship standards should be detailed so that you have the same frame of reference as the painter in deciding what constitutes a properly painted surface. Otherwise, everything is subjective in the eyes of the beholder. There are paint industry standards published by PDCA (Painting and Decorating Contractors of the United States) that are used to protect both painting customers and painting contractors in a court of law if necessary. They maintain the bar set by the paint industry to better serve customers with a means of judging a professionally finished surface and defining the different levels of preparation and finish that a professional painter must meet. Even if you are not dealing with a PDCA member, these are the Paint Industry Standards and a good contractor will at least inform you about them so that you can examine your work fairly if it is ever in doubt.
- Tea Where is the proof? Estimate. The estimate of the painting reads as if the painter took the words out of his mouth and mind … and it should be! But if you’re not backed by other clients with similar paint projects to verify that they can do what they say, are you sure you’ll end up with that? There are many painters and paint contractors competing for your business. You owe it to yourself to make sure you’ve checked the references to rule out the pros of cons.
Happy painting!