Certain home improvement projects absolutely require a professional. I cannot think of many homeowners who are ready to install their own HVAC, pour a foundation, or build an addition. Other projects, like painting, just seem to be begging for the do-it-yourselfer. After all, who isnt capable of dabbing a brush in paint?

But painting is more difficult than it looks. So, it is with great pleasure that many DIY painters decide that it is now time to hire a painting contractor to take on the job. Let us find out what painting contractors do, how to hire them, and how to negotiate the best price for your painting job.

The other difficult part is getting a painting contractor to show up. While this generalization does not apply to every painter, personally I am extremely grateful if I can get a paint contractor to show up to look at the house and to later produce a written estimate. I hardly fault the painting contractors, because I think it is a combination of the contractors being smaller operations along with a high demand for their work.

Because it is next to impossible to find out information about local painting contractors on the Internet, the old adage talk to neighbors applies here. Some painting contractors display signs on the lawns of houses they are working on, but you find this more with general contractors and siding and replacement windows companies. So, other than the painters white panel van out front, you often do not know what is going on inside your neighbors houses.

Urban areas often have local magazines (i.e., in Seattle, there is Seattle Magazine), and many of them have features on renovated houses. These pieces will list the names and phone numbers for the contractor and sub-contractorsbut be warned, these sub-contractors are usually very high-end and expensive.

A few topics you will want to discuss:

Most paint contractors will give you an estimate based on their experience with similar jobs. While this estimate cannot be tied to specifics, it is usually a reasonably good figure. For you, the homeowner, the only way you will know if this is a good estimate is to compare it to quotes you get from other contractors.

A whole-house interior paint job like the one described in this article can easily cost around $10,000 or more.

Read the rest here:
Painting Contractors - Painting Contractor

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December 3, 2013 at 12:57 pm by Mr HomeBuilder
Category: Painting Contractors