Professional painting contractors, who operate their business for many years, know how to prepare a contract that states all the items that will be performed during the painting of a home. But not every contractor who shows up on your door step of your residence to give you an estimate is a professional. It is up to a home owner to make sure his interests are protected and sign only contracts that are clearly written and are fair to all the parties involved.
There are some of the things to consider when signing a contract for painting of your home.
1. Type of paint that will be used.
In any paint store there are grades of paint that will effect how long the paint job will last. Some people make a mistake assuming that if it is a brand name paint store, it will carry only premium paints. Not so. After being quoted the price and paint that will be used on your house, it is a good idea to call the paint store and find out the price of the paint being quoted, as well as the price for the most and least expensive paint from this store. This will give you an idea of the quality of the materials the painter is using. If the painter, or estimator did not specify the grade or name of the paint that will be used for the project, chances are – he was giving you a quote based on the least expensive paint he can get his hands on.
2. Start and finish dates.
Someone taking painting business seriously will have paint jobs lined up for a couple weeks in advance, and will have commitments to his customers with exact dates of completion. It is not unusual to have a delay due to bad weather, if a project is outside, or simply because the amount of work was slightly underestimated, and in order to finish the project properly the painter needs to spend a few extra days and reschedule the next painting project. A few days behind the schedule is not an indication of a bad painter just yet. May be quite the opposite – a perfectionist, that is willing to spend extra time to finish the project the way it should be. However, if the person is unwilling to set a specific date to start and finish your painting project, he may be new to painting and simply not capable of calculating the time needed to get the painting done.
3. Description of work that will be performed.
No need to assume that if the house needs to be pressure washed first, or cracks need to be fixed, it will be done. If the person do not include those items in a painting contract, he may not be planning on doing them. If you want something done, no matter how small the item is -get it in writing. A professional painter will not get offended. He understands – business is business. Never sign the contract on the first visit of the estimator, salesman or painter. Take the time to research the information presented to you on a painting bid, and compare the price with at least two other painting contractors. Get at least three bids, if not for the sake of the price, but to see how the knowledge of the painter that you consider doing business with, compares against other people in the painting industry. Never judge the book by the cover. The most professional painter will not be the best salesman. And a very smooth talking salesman probably is not very good at painting. Although you may find a lucky combination of the both.