Five Steps to Hiring a Painting Contractor

Ready to paint?  Well...not that ready.  You've decided that DIY is not for you, so you need to hire a painter to do the job.  Here are five steps to finding and hiring the best professional.

#1 Assess the Job

First, consider the goal of the work to be done.  Are you putting your house on the market any time soon?  Or is this your forever home?  Knowing what you want out of a paint job - whether it's a quick spruce-up that will likely be painted over by new owners, or a job that needs to last a long time because you considered your colors carefully and just want to live your life - is really important.   

It's also important to think about a budget up front.  Many homeowners have no idea what it will cost to paint their home and you'd be amazed at the range of prices you'd be quoted if you asked a handful of painters you find in the phonebook.  Here is a little calculator that may help you start to think about what this project will cost.

#2 Ask Around

It almost goes without saying....but I'm going to say it.  Ask your friends, family and neighbors for recommendations.  Likely, your Color Consultant or Interior Designer will have a list of trusted contractors, but your  friends and family know YOU best.  If you are familiar with your neighbor's standards, and feel they are similar to your own, using her painting contractor would probably be a good bet.  

#3 Make the Phone Calls and Start the Process

Once you have a list of 5 - yes FIVE - painting contractors you want to consider, make the calls and ask the following questions over the phone:

How long have you been in business?  (You want someone who's been around a while.)

What paint brand do you use the most?  (Big Box Store brands need not apply.)

Will you send out a crew and/or be here on-site personally?  (How long will the job take and how many people will be buzzing around your home?  And who's going to be watching?)

Remember, this is the Courtship Stage of your relationship, a time when your prospective contractor should be going to great efforts to win your confidence.  Is she courteous?  Does he call when he says he will?  If he does not return your calls now, just think about how the relationship will go once he has landed the job.  I always tell my clients they should never have to beg someone to work for them.  If a contractor - any contractor - doesn't bother to call you back, scratch them off the list!

#4 Time to Meet In Person

Having determined that several painting contractors might be The One, it's time to have them over to see the house and talk about their process.  Ask them about prep and clean-up.  Ask about how they deal with problems when they arise on a job.  (It is a rare project that doesn't bring up an issue or two.  Mistakes happen, but how they're handled is what distinguishes the pros from the hackers.)  Ask them how they determine price, by the project or by time and materials.  Ask them how often they come in on time and on budget.  (The sad truth is that some contractors will land your job with a lowball price and then once they are there they'll start adding on all those extras that they kind of forgot to tell you about.) 

The most important part of this step is to figure out how you will feel about having this person, and his or her crew, in your home for the duration of the project.  Even more important than what it will cost in dollars, you need to be certain you're comfortable with the team you hire and won't pay an undue emotional cost because they are not professionals.  

Now for a radical proposal!  I am going to suggest that you do not automatically ask every contractor who visits your home for an estimate.  Your goal is to compare apples to apples, which means that, having assessed your specific needs  (see #1 above) and figured out which of the contractors can best meet those needs, you then ask for quotes ONLY from contractors you'd actually hire.  Apples and apples.

If you are not happy with the way the painting process has been described - maybe it feels like they're going to cut corners, and this is your Forever Home - then a price from that particular contractor is irrelevant.  It is likely that he or she will come in low, which will skew your sense of what the job, done properly, should cost.  Similarly, if you're just painting to sell, then the guy who talks about his meticulous prep will probably not be the right choice and that price would also be irrelevant.

Building an estimate is time-consuming and I think the flow respect should go both ways between a homeowner and contractor.  If you really don't think this is the guy for you, and therefore the price he quotes is irrelevant to your decision, please don't ask him to waste his time or yours.

#5 Last Step: Ask For a Price 

Finally, when you have decided which of those first five painting contractors might be right for you, it's time to ask for an estimate.  You may have ruled out all but one in steps #2 and #3, and I think that's okay.  So long as you did your due diligence back when you created the list, it really is just fine to just get one quote from the one contractor you truly feel most confident about.  Hopefully, you can work together to satisfy your budgetary requirements and find that sweet spot where the job will feel like a success on both sides.

Last but not least, remember this old adage from the construction industry...

Good luck and please drop me a note to let me know how it goes!

Dear Amy: Advice and Etiquette for Exteriors

I don't know about where you live, but last summer, here in New England, we saw a lot of rain and a whole lot of exterior paint jobs were delayed by weather.  What does this mean to you?

Well, if you are thinking of repainting your exterior this year, you need to line up a painting contractor...um...yesterday.  Why?  Because they may already have jobs leftover from last year and because the good painters will book up fast.

So, call for quotes, line up your team, and start to think about color.  Here's how...

#1 Architecture

While today's architecture can often be a "mash-up" of styles, most of the homes here in New England fall into a distinct category -- Colonial, Victorian, Farmhouse, Bungalow, Arts & Crafts, etc.  Each style has a range of colors from which you should not stray too far without professional help.  You can push the envelope a bit, but I believe that on a deep level, we expect certain architectural styles to carry certain color schemes and when they don't, things begin to feel off.

Cottages are happiest done up in cottage-y colors (not beige, my friends, even though that feels easier).  Mediterranean Revival homes really look their best in shades of white, terra cotta or umber, colors that mimic the natural stucco from which they were originally constructed.

Colors used in Colonial times were far brighter than we think of them today.  This bird egg blue house in Historic Deerfield is accurate to the original in 1747.  But, the truth is, we are more comfortable today with the muted colors we consider Historic.  In other words, if you live in a Colonial, don't try this at home!

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While we do expect a Victorian to show up polychrome, à la The Painted Ladies of San Francisco, here is an example of pushing the color envelope just a little too far.  Of course, your mileage may vary...

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Paint companies like Sherwin-Williams have brochures featuring exterior color schemes suitable for a range of architectural styles and they are a very good place to begin for many homeowners.  While using an "out of the can" color palette is much less personal than choosing your own colors, it is a safe way to explore the possibilities without getting into too much trouble.

#2 Context

They say, "context is everything."  Right....who are they anyway?  In this case, they are the neighbors.  Nothing will annoy your neighbors quite like painting your home a color that sticks out like a sore thumb.  So, see if you can find colors that feel individualistic enough while still playing well with others.  

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Back in 1991, when I lived in New Jersey, a certain couple scandalized the small historic town of Haddonfield by painting their home three shades of day-glo purple.  Word on the street was "outraged," "aggravating," and "terrible."  By 2005, more than a decade later, the house had become a landmark in town as people calmed down and affection for the quirky color scheme grew.  Here's my advice...don't be that person...unless you really must!  Just be ready for the slings and arrows.

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#3 Individuality

I know I just warned you away from being too "out there" with your color scheme, but I also want to suggest you look around the immediate neighborhood and make sure you choose a palette that is different enough from the colors your neighbors are using.  Next to day-glo purple, the most annoying thing you can do is copy your neighbor's color scheme.  It's hard to imagine, but I've heard of people asking their neighbors for paint color info and then using the exact same color right across the street.  Trust me, this form of flattery does not go over well!

When I worked with the Northampton family living in this Foursquare, they were leaning towards blue.  When we walked the neighborhood, there were at least three other blue houses within direct eyeshot.  So, we had some work to do!  The result was a grayed-down teal on the upper portion of the house, balanced by khaki below.  This scheme fits beautifully into its extremely colorful neighborhood while maintaining its individuality and originality.

Amy on Houzz.com

#4 Inspiration

I strongly suggest you DO move beyond your immediate neighborhood and look for houses you love, check to see whether the color schemes make sense with your architecture and take photos.  I have knocked on doors and written notes to homeowners to try to find out a color when a client needs to have that color!  These kinds of inquiries have always gone over well.  Most people who own beautiful homes are happy to share their colors with admirers (so long as they don't live across the street!)  So, don't be afraid!

Look around you, at the natural features of your property - the stone, tree bark, the plants and flowers you tend to like - and see if these elements make any color suggestions to you.  My clients' front doors have been inspired by things like hydrangeas and river rocks.  Just make sure that you are working with the surroundings and not against.   In other words, no blue exterior paint for a lover of hydrangeas...they'd just get lost!

For more color inspiration, both interior and exterior, stop over and visit me on Houzz or my Website.  And if you have any questions or would like to discuss your upcoming exterior paint project, just leave them in the comments below so we can connect and chat!  You can also find me doing more colorful things on Facebook and Pinterest!  Please do stay in touch!

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