What are the top ten questions to ask your painter before you hire one? Of all the queries we get, these are the most frequently asked ones and the most important ones you should know the answers to before you hire a residential painter
Question #1
Are You Doing One Coat or Two? What Thickness Are You Applying the Paint?
This is actually the most important question––and I have found that it is rarely asked! The thickness is every bit as important as how you apply it.
All paint cans have instructions that recommend two coats and how thick they should be. But paint is typically not applied at the proper thickness because it takes longer and uses more paint.
I think of paint like a latex glove. You can have a thick one or a thin one. A thick one holds up to sun, wind, rain, and winter elements much longer.
Question #2
Are You Licensed and Bonded?
We’ve had clients who have called us because their most recent painter had a license, but wasn’t bonded. Or a painter had insurance, but not a license.
If you are licensed, you also have to have insurance. We have always had both to protect our customers.
Question #3
What does a painter’s license mean?
- Enables the county to recognize that you have a nominal amount of experience, plus certain ethics that you’re responsible for.
- Is another set of safety nets for our customer in case something goes wrong.
- If a painter falls off a ladder, he will want to sue somebody and if your painting contractor is not insured, that painter may want to sue you.
- Does Your Bay Area Home Contain Lead? Until 1978, just about all paints contained lead. So if your home was built prior to that year, there’s a very good probability that your house has been covered with lead-based paint. The good news is that we can encapsulate your house by painting it over with lead-free paint to eliminate any potential health risks.
Question #4
What Kind of Estimate Can I Expect?
After a 60 to 90-minute walk-through of your property, we will discuss colors, tell you about our painting process, ask about your needs, and talk about a timeline.
We will then send you a simplified estimate of your painting project, including the types of paint we recommend for interiors and exteriors.
We can even let you speak to our colorist, who can come to your home or business for a separate fee. This step has proven to relieve hours of stress for our clients.
In addition, we will provide you with our contractor’s license, insurance information, and references from a variety of residential and commercial clients.
Question #5
How Often Should I Paint My Home’s Exterior and Interior?
For exterior paint, we expect a good quality paint job to last 15 years.
For interior paint, it depends on you––it may not need repainting at all for many, many years since the interior is not exposed to the elements. So the real question is, “Are you getting tired of looking at your walls?” If so, then it’s time to consider an interior painting project.
Question #6
How Long is Your Warranty? Does it Include Labor and Paint?
We prefer to use Sherwin-Williams Paints because they offer a lifetime guarantee, low- and no-VOC levels, as well as superior quality. We apply their paint according to the proper manufacturer’s specific thickness.
Because of this, our work––for every project––is warrantied for seven years for both interior and exterior paint.
Question #7
Do You Use Your Own Employees or Sub-Contract from Others?
Our founder has over 15 years of painting experience. Meanwhile, our crew of 25 full-time employees has well over 100 years of expertise in painting houses and commercial properties.
In fact, we have completed over 2,000 projects since 2005, which is an average of about four projects per week, year after year
Question #8
What Does It Mean That You’re a Bay Area Green Business?
We’re proud to be the first certified green painting company anywhere in California.
Today, we’ve actually pioneered ways to recycle most of the painting products and materials that we use.
We also created a better way to dispose of jobsite waste.
Question #9
What is Your Safety Record?
We’ve only had two minor instances through 11 years and more than 2,000 painting projects.
That’s why we’re able to maintain the highest ranking for Workers’ Compensation Modification in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Question #10
What Kind of Paint Do You Recommend?
We recommend the highest quality paints that last the longest.
Paint is such a small percentage cost of a total painting project, there’s no reason to skimp on it.
Bonus Question #11
What More Advice What to Ask a Painter Before You Hire One?
These are only the top ten questions that we most often receive, and there are more. I bet you might have a question or two that is specific to your home painting needs. You can give us a call at 888-977-2468 or fill out the contact form and we’ll be more than happy to answer them.
