NJ House Painter: How to Match the Painter to the Job

While you may think a NJ house painter is a house painter, think again.  There are many things to consider when hiring a NJ painting contractor.  You want to match the contractor to the job.  When looking at painting contractors you will find that most have some sort of specialty.

You don’t want to be disappointed in the work performed, only to find that you hired the wrong contractor to paint your home.  Industrial painters differ from commercial painters which differ from house painters, each possessing different skills, experience and expertise.

A Quick Review of Types of Painting Contractors

Commercial painters use specialized equipment to reach the heights required to paint hotels, casinos, movie theaters and malls, and they usually employ large crews of workers.  They may be involved in painting multiple buildings at the same time, so they may even have to work at night in empty buildings.

Industrial painters generally work on storage tanks, steel structures, bridges, water towers, etc. Their expertise lies in applying protective coatings, sandblasting surfaces, abrasion, steam cleaning, chemical treatments and other methods that homeowners will probably never require.

New construction painters can be sub-contractors that work for builders and general contractors. Their main focus is spray painting interiors - using off-white builder’s solution/paint throughout the entire building to hide various surface imperfections.

And last, but not least, there are residential house painting companies who specialize in custom finish painting.

Residential custom finish painters work directly with the homeowner.  This requires excellent customer service and communication skills, high quality standards and attention to detail, as well as an understanding of the homeowner’s needs and concerns.

Such painters work in fully furnished and occupied houses.  It’s important that they be skilled in working around the homeowner’s daily life.  They must keep the work area contained, being careful to protect furniture, flooring, decorations and other surfaces not scheduled to be painted.  On a daily basis they must clean up the area.  There should be no loud music, and they should schedule work on consecutive days, stick to the schedule and meet the promised deadline.

Residential painting contractors must be knowledgeable in products and materials for different surfaces and situations.  On any given job they may be painting wood or aluminum, a beat-up exterior or a new-born baby room and everything in between. A residential painter needs the ability to apply any kind of finish such as wood staining, faux finishing and others that help personalize a house and make it feel more like a home.

Obviously the four sectors are very different.  It's impossible to be an expert in all of them, even though some painting contractors claim will they are.  Take the time to investigate what the painter specializes in since your satisfaction depends on matching the project to the appropriate type of painting contractor.