House Painting Contractor Quest - 10 Important Criteria

 Since I started my house painting contractor business (Homeowners First Choice Painting) in 1983, I've heard about every reason a homeowner can give for going with the cheaper price for house painting and home repair work. However, I often get calls from homeowners who say they wish they had paid a little more for quality service. Many in the end, have to pay more money just to correct problems created from their previous contractor.
What I have found through the years is that most homeowners do not know how to properly evaluate a painting contractor before hiring. Just because a contractor is cheaper doesn't mean you're getting your money's worth. When it comes to hiring contractors, cheaper priced services often end up costing you a lot more.
The following 10 attributes will help you better qualify your candidate.

1. How long has the house painting contractor been operating his business in your area. Instability is common in this industry. Some painting contractors work a few years in an area then start to feel the heat from dissatisfied customers, so they move on to another city and start the whole process over again. If professional house painters have been working in an area 10 or more years then generally it is an indication of stability.
2. Try to determine how the painting contractor pays his help. When I first started my business in 1982, I paid my house painters by the hour. After about 7 years of paying by the hour and being dissatisfied with their performance, I decided to switch to paying on a percentage basis. I found I could get higher quality work in half the time. The mindset of the painter is totally different when being paid on a percentage basis. The painters now have a special interest in the quality and timeliness of their work. Better performance means a smaller punch list at the end of the job and in less time, resulting in better pay. Be sure and ask the contractor this question. This is merely a suggestion. Obviously, there are some painters that work by the hour that have a good work ethic. I personally will never go back to working men by the hour. I have been able to provide a higher quality service overall since paying on a percentage basis.
3. Does the painting Contractor present a well written and organized contract for you to sign that outlines what he is going to do? This is a good indication of how organized he is. If he is well organized, in most cases it will carry over to his crews. Well organize people are very uncomfortable with disorganization and generally will work to maintain well organized projects and crews.
4. Does the contractor ask for a deposit up front? Although the size of a project may dictate whether a deposit is appropriate or not, for the average size painting and repair project ($3,000 to $8,000) I strongly recommend not paying a deposit. The ability of the painting contractor to finance the project is an indication of financial stability and more importantly his desire to operate at peak performance making sure you are happy. I have heard many stories through the years of homeowners who have given the deposit only to have the contractor leave after a day or two of work never to be seen again.
5. How well has the contractor communicated with you since the first time you contacted him? Is he prompt in his response to your questions and request? Most quality professional contractors put a premium on communication. This is another indication of the core values, by which he operates. During your project, you will definitely want good communication.
6. Are the painters working for the contractor covered by workman's comp? Be sure of this because many painters say they have liability insurance, but liability insurance is not the same thing as workmen comp and will not cover the painters if they are injured on the job. Another consideration you should pay attention too is, even if the contractor has workman's comp, if the contractor is paying his painters under the table there is no history and the insurance company may not cover their injuries. This can put you at considerable financial risk. This is another indication of the core values that govern the contractor's performance.
7. Be sure and check their references. Even though they will give you their best references, you can still get a feel for qualities such as neatness, timeliness, communication, and overall opinion of quality of the job. Keep in mind though, everybody has their own opinion of what constitutes a quality job so don't make a decision based solely on their references.
8. Be leery of the aggressive cut throat, as they are more volume oriented. They have to bang out as many houses as they can to turn any kind of profit. In most cases there aren't any core values driving the quality of their work. You only stand to suffer from this type of contractor.
9. Make sure that it is understood that there is to be a walk through between you and the head of the crew to take care of touch ups and any issues before you pay for the services. This is very important, both for you and the contractor. It assures that you are happy with their work and helps eliminate warranty issues for the contractor, saving him time and money. Seasoned contractors who really care about their customers know that this is the best approach for finalizing a project.
10. Be sure and check for other important things such as: business license, Better Business Bureau for unsettled complaints, how long they have been in business, how many crews work for them, written and detailed warranties.

As with so many things in life, you get what you pay for. The painting industry is labor intensive and when a painting contractor prices his work way short of the average for the industry then be very careful. They are cheap for a reason.