Avoiding an Inexperienced Paint Contractor

Having your house repainted is a big decision and you will likely consider several different painters before deciding which one is the right person for the job. You will have many things to think about when deciding which one to hire and should take note of the qualities of each painter to weed out those who are not at the professional level you are looking for.

There are some definite signs of an inexperienced house painting contractor that you can look for to avoid hiring the wrong person for the job.

When you are first contacting a potential contractor, take note of whether or not they answer your call or if you are sent to voicemail. It is reasonable to assume that the contractor is busy if your call is not answered but then take note of how long it takes the contractor to return your call. If a few days or a week pass before the contractor returns your call, this is a sign of someone who is not at a professional level and who likely doesn't value your business enough to get right back to you. If the house painting contractor can not give a reasonable answer as to why it took so long to return you call, you may want to forget about them and move onto the next prospect.

When the house painting contractor gives you a price estimate for how much the project will cost, ask them to explain how they came to that estimate. If the painter can not explain why they have come to that price estimate, this is also a red flag. A professional painter will have a specific pricing method and should be able to give you a detailed description on the price estimate. If a potential painter can not give you this explanation, you should be cautious about hiring them for the job because you may end up paying to much for the job.

You can also ask the painter for home painting references that you can contact from previous painting projects they have completed. Newer painters probably won't have many references for you to contact and this is not a reason to disqualify them from being hired for the project because they may, in fact, be the best for the job. On the other hand, if a painter that states they have been in the home painting business for a while says that they do not have any references to give you, this is not a good sign. This could mean that they are lying about how long they have been in the business or that they have a history or mediocre work and therefore do not have any positive references.

If the house painting contractor works for a company rather than owning their own business, do some research on that home painting company. Find out how long the company has been in business and how long the individual contractor has been working for them.

When hiring a house painting contractor, you want someone with enough experience or training to complete the job to your specifications. With this in mind, don't settle on someone without fully investigating their qualifications and taking note of their traits during the decision process.