Thinking about spicing things up with a new coat of paint? It’s always best to go with the pros when it comes to painting your home or business. Hiring professional painting contractors saves you the hard work and time. Plus, you won’t have to worry about quality or safety.
How do you know what to look for when hiring a painter? These 7 tips will help you make the best decisions for your property.
Start your research online! Find the reviews and experiences of previous customers. The best way to get an idea of a business is to see what their customers have to say about them.
There are multiple places that you can find honest reviews. Google, Facebook, Yelp, HomeAdvisor, Angie’s List, and so on are wonderful places to start. If there are bad reviews, pay attention to any responses left by the owners. This can reflect their customer service practices.
Beyond online reviews, ask your friends and families is they have had any experiences. Personal referrals may be the best way to get honest opinions.
A well established painting contractor will have a website. Their website will give you a much better idea of their quality of work, who they are, and services. Most will have photos and videos of their previous work. They might also include testimonials from previous clients.
Any awards, specializations, or certifications may be found here as well. You might find out that they are the perfect fit and specialize in exactly what you were looking for. This can give you a better idea about who their clients are as well.Overall, their website is the perfect place to get to know the company before you get involved. Some may post about the owners, giving you an idea about who owns the business. It’s a much more comforting feeling when conducting business with someone that you feel you know.
If your home or business was built before 1978, there is likely lead paint present. Certain requirements have to be met to deal with lead paint.
The EPA’s website has information about its Renovation, Repairs, and Painting Program. You must let your painting contractor know about any lead paint concerns so that they can deal with it appropriately.
Lead paint can cause toxic environments if not handled correctly. Simple renovations can create dust that is harmful to everyone who enters your property.
After you’ve decided on a contractor, talk them through your expectations. It’s important to be clear about what your ideas are. Following your discussions and interviews, ask for a detailed proposal or quote on the work to be done.
Having a detailed description of everything will help both parties involved realize what is expected of each. In this description, ask for hours, rates, paint types, materials, and time estimations. You’ll want to know what you’re paying for
Going into the process, you need to have an idea of what you have available to spend. It’s best not to enter into a project that you may not be able to afford. Before entering the process, research what it costs to do the interior or exterior of a structure. Be upfront when talking to your painting contractors.
You don’t want to be halfway through a project and run out of money or need to take out a small loan. Your contractors are there to serve you and your needs. When compromises need to be made, your painters will have the best options and alternatives to recommend to you.
There may be little to nothing required of you in the process but in other cases, you might be responsible for a few things. Ask your paint contractor what they need from you to be successful in their job.
You might need to move some of your furniture. These objects will probably be covered up with plastic but you need to ensure that they can move around and get to their required work areas. You’ll also want to remove any wall decorations.
Again, some companies might take care of this but you may need to clean your walls. Clean, even surfaces allow for a better and smoother paint application.
If you have pets, you’ll need to put them in a secure location. Not only can they be a hazard for painters but they can cause a real mess.
When you hire a painting contractor, there are standards that you can expect. Firstly, they are timely and considerate. That means that there are established hours of operation in your home or business. Starting too early or leaving too late can be a huge inconvenience. That’s why it’s important to establish expectations.
You can also expect that before they give you a quote, they will want to do a walk-through of the job site. It’s hard to estimate how much a job will cost if you haven’t even laid eyes on the area.
Expect for them to ask you what you want. Picking a specific shade of color and finish is important to your satisfaction and that is their goal. Even if you want a specific brand, they can accommodate. However, if you are having trouble making decisions they can offer an expert opinion.
A professional will have insurance and proper licenses. They should provide this to you. You’ll both feel better about being protected if there is an accident.
Finally, if you aren’t happy or there are things you don’t like, they should provide touch-ups. They can work with you through any issues that may arise.
Hiring professional painting contractors is the best decision when it comes to getting quality paint jobs. It saves you time and money while providing high-quality work and safety.
If you need help with your next painting project, contact us for great service!
Are you looking to repaint your home?
First impressions are a big deal, and this goes for our homes as well. A clean, attractive paint-job can go a long way in making your home the talk of the neighborhood. But with so many colors to choose from, it can be hard knowing where to start.
Don’t worry, we’re here to help! Read on for our guide on how to pick a paint color for the exterior of your home.
Consider how your home fits into your street and the surrounding landscape. Is it sitting back from the road in a cluster of trees? If so, you might want a lighter color to make it pop and stand out. If it’s close to the sidewalk, or out on a rocky outcrop, a darker color may help it recede back and not look so stark.
So, when picking an exterior color scheme there are three major parts. These are:
The ideal scheme will use a trim color that contrasts against the field color. If your field color is dark then consider a classic white trim or a different, light shade. And vice versa with a light field color. You want a crisp, clean, dramatic effect. As for accent colors, this is where you can let your creative side go wild. But don’t go too mad. Painting your door bright red or citrus yellow can add a beautiful, statement piece. But carrying that bright color onto your trimmings will be a little too much statement.
Unless you’re going for a full renovation, elements of your exterior will stay the same. These are things like:
Don’t fight them, instead work with them and fit your color scheme around these elements. Look at what undertones they might have to inform your palette choices. Are they warm (brown, khaki, beige, etc.) or cool (grey, black, blue, white, etc.)? Go for colors that complement these undertones and bring them together in harmony.
Sample the colors you’ve chosen on the areas they will apply to. Choose areas at the side or back of your house where these samples won’t affect the look of your home. Then, check them in the morning, afternoon, dusk, and night.This is a crucial step so don’t skip it. How a color looks on a tin can vary from how it looks when painted on your home. Also, the environment can draw out weird undertones a paint card can’t show.
So there you have it! If you follow our guide, you’ll know how to pick a paint color for your home’s exterior with ease.
Consider the features you can’t change and work with them, not against them. You want to tie everything together in harmony, using no more than three colors.
If you need a quality contractor to refresh your exterior paintwork, contact us today at JCN Painting & Drywall. Whatever your painting requirements, we have the skills and experience to get it done quickly, efficiently and to the highest possible standard.
