In this guide from Same Day Pros, you’ll learn what to expect from a professional house painter so you can minimize any surprises and help prepare the space for the big day so your painters can focus on painting, not stepping around furniture or moving valuables out of the way.
What to Expect From a Professional House Painter
When you find a professional house painter who does a great job, it can drastically change the way you see interior painters. The whole search will be worthwhile, and your home will look brand-new again.
It’s amazing what a new coat of paint can do for an old home, no matter if you’re looking to freshen it up for your family or trying to improve the value of your home for a sale.
There’s no mistaking a professional paint job for a DIY one, either. A professional paint job will feel like it fits perfectly with the home, with rich colors, clean lines, and perfect coverage.
Learn what to expect from a professional house painter in the sections below. You will learn about the whole process from start to finish, from what to expect before you hire them, while they’re on the job, and after the work has been completed successfully.
Before You Hire Them
Before you hire a professional painter, you should be provided with a consultation with one of their team members.
This consultation will allow you to go over any logistics of the process, as well as help you pick colors. A painter will also do a walkthrough of the home with you to discuss room options such as accent walls, half walls, and room access.
You should also receive an official quote either by email or on paper; this will provide you with a summary of work, itemized list of expenses or services, and the total cost with everything included.
Before you hire a painter, you should also discuss their policies and insurance with them so that you understand the details of using the service.
After Hiring Them
After you have hired the painting company and are waiting for the appointment, the painting company may ask you to help prepare the space by securing any belongings. This might include any furniture in the room, or valuables such as knickknacks, instruments, or electronic devices.
Once these are moved out of the room and furniture is moved away from the walls, it is ready for the painters to come in without worry of knocking over valuables, with plenty of room for them to place step ladders and paint supplies. This is a courteous step that helps ensure they have room to work while minimizing their time on the job and ensuring that your belongings are safe from any potential paint mishaps.
On the Job
When the painters arrive on the jobsite, they will assess their work areas and make note of which walls receive which color based on the consultation notes.
Once they are certain that they have room to work, they will begin putting tarps down to protect your floors, trim, and any items remaining in the room. Then begins the process of masking the trim and other areas that require protecting paint to ensure clean lines, as well as prepping the walls.
Prepping the walls is an important step in painting as it allows the company to paint on a clean and dry surface. This allows the paint to stick to the wall itself, rather than to any dirt or dust on the walls, ensuring it lasts longer.
Once that is finished, they will begin painting. Each coat will be given enough time to dry properly before they apply a second and third coat, and the paint may be sealed with an additional sealant over the top.
Clean up should be a part of any professional painting job. The painters will then clean up their supplies and leave each room as they found it, to the best of their ability.
After Job Completion
Once you have hired a professional painter and they have completed the work, you should do a manual walkthrough of the home either solo or with the paint consultant to ensure that all the work is done to your specifications.
If you find any mistakes, contact the painting company and have them schedule a time to come and fix the work; however, a good painting professional should do a walkthrough before the team leaves the jobsite to prevent an additional trip out to your home.
It is always important to rate and review the company you hired as well and provide honest feedback about your experience with them. This helps others in their search to find a professional house painter as well.
What Makes a Professional Painter?
To become a professional painter, the contractor must able-bodied and knowledgeable about their field. Interior and exterior painters often require licensing depending on the state and should have liability insurance at minimum.
Your painter should also be knowledgeable in the types of paint they are working with, and how many coats they will need to plan for. A professional painter will also have reviews from previous customers, which you can typically find online. Reading previous reviews is a great way to determine their skill and handiness as a painting contractor.
What to Ask a Painter Before Hiring
There are a lot of things you could ask a professional painter before hiring them for the job, but a lot of people tend to focus on the design aspect of the job. When you get quotes from a few different companies, be sure to ask them about how they plan to do the job as well.
A good, professional painter will be able to answer these questions, as well as other more logistical questions about the job such as how many coats they plan to use and how long the job will take to complete.
How Will They Paint?
Before your hire a professional painter, it’s important to ask how they plan on tackling the project. By this point, they will have surveyed the interior and will have an idea of the color and design that you are looking for. Will they bring in a crew, or will they have one or two people working on multiple rooms? Getting an idea of how they plan to work will help you establish an idea of their experience and competence in the job.
What Products Will They Use?
When learning what to expect from a professional house painter, you’ll notice that the more professional and experienced companies tend to stick with one or two lines of paint products explicitly.
This isn’t because they get some kickback or referral fee; it’s because they know the quality lasts well, and they have good experience with applying it. See which products your painting company uses and why they like it.
How Long Will It Take?
Asking about how long the job will take is an important question if you are vacating the home for the duration of the paint job.
Ensure that their estimate is the total length of the painting work including dry time, not just manhours, so that you have a clear idea of how long you will need to be careful in the space. Most painting contractors will not cover any damages or blemishes caused after they’ve left the job.
Are Their Painters Insured?
Any good painting company will make sure that their painters are insured, whether it is an umbrella insurance provided by the company or required that each individual painter holds their own insurance.
At minimum, this should be liability insurance, covering the contractor and company in the event of accidental damages to the home or belongings within the home. In many cases, however, the company may not accept liability for any belongings or furnishings that are not moved out of the way before the painters arrive.
Do They Have References?
Any good painting company will have references to past clientele that can provide them with an excellent review. Even if the references are not able to be contacted directly, they may provide a testimonial and a portfolio piece showcasing the work.
Asking for these references is a great way to ensure that they have a body of work and can provide examples of past clients.
Is There a Guarantee?
In many cases, when you are working with a professional house painter, it pays to ask after any guarantees that they provide.
Typically, they may offer a satisfaction guarantee or quality assurance guarantee. This often allows you to walk through the final work with a painter before they leave a jobsite to ensure that the work is done to your satisfaction.
Other guarantees they may provide may allow you to take pictures and document any splotches or blemishes left behind, and they will send a painter to touch-up small mistakes.
What is Their Cleanup Policy?
Any painting contractor should have a cleanup policy in place. This cleanup policy typically ensures that any mistakes in the paint job are identified and corrected, and that all tools, tarps, tape, and other items are removed from the premises before the contractors leave.
While the work is still ongoing, however, they may leave tarps, tools, and equipment in place so that they can resume the work quickly, rather than spend additional time setting the workspace back up, as that is a time-consuming part of the job.
Is a Professional Painter Worth It?
Yes, many homeowners will agree that a professional painter is worth every penny. Depending on the services offered by the painter, you may even be able to get a deal on renovating your home. (1)
Not only is painting a time-consuming and laborious job to take on yourself, but it can easily become just as expensive with retail paint prices skyrocketing.
Painters already have all the tools they need to get the job done right the first time, whereas you will need to purchase it all up-front which can get expensive quickly.
Services can vary; some only provide painting, and others can offer additional services such as plaster repairs, trim and molding and wallpapering.
– Forbes
Furthermore, a professional interior painter already has the knowledge and experience necessary to do a great job. No matter how much patience you have, DIY paint often has a shorter lifespan and often looks less clean than a professional’s work.
A professional painter can save you a lot of time, money, and energy with the services they provide. If you want to do a great job and improve your home’s interior appeal, have a professional do the work.
Having trouble finding a house painter in your area? Same Day Pros can help you find a professional house painter near you who can get the job done right in just a few clicks.
How Do I Know If My Painter Did a Good Job?
There are many ways you can tell if your painter did a good job. The first and most obvious way to tell is if they’ve double-checked the area for areas that they may have missed, or for any mistakes made along the way.
Mistakes happen! But a good pro will at least check it over to ensure they did the best job possible.
When learning what to expect from a professional house painter, it should always be the most courteous service possible. Pointing out areas that they couldn’t get to or doing a walkthrough with you to ensure that you are happy with the services is a clear sign of a professional and responsible painting company.
The only downside to hiring a good professional painter is that they may take longer than someone who uses shortcuts and rushes through a project. A professional painter should be meticulous in their masking work, prepping the walls, and waiting for dry times to ensure that the coat seals properly before adding any additional coats.
How Can You Tell If a Paint Job is Bad?
If your painter has missed corners, accidentally painted adjacent trim, or left paint drips by accident, it’s a clear sign that they haven’t done a good job. (2)
Another sign is if they skip steps such as preparing the walls, priming the walls, or rush to put on a second coat because of a time constraint.
Surprisingly, the biggest mistakes with painting often seem to happen because of minor oversights, such as not taking the time to pick out a good brush or rushing to paint a second coat of color on a wall.
– HuffPost
If you find see-through coats, missing areas of paint, or new damage to any part of the wall, you should contact the painting company to have them do a walkthrough, providing them with an itemized list of all discrepancies discovered.
In the case that it is an honest mistake, they may be willing to re-do the area to ensure that you are satisfied with their services.
We’ll Find You a Painter Near By… Same Day!
Finding a painter is always difficult, because you want someone qualified and licensed, but you also don’t want to break the bank.
At Same Day Pros, we’re professionals at helping you find the services you need in your area. No matter what kind of company you are looking for, we can help you skip the grueling research process and show you the interior painters who are available in your area right now.
From there, all you have to do is compare their services and find which one suits your budget and taste. Before you know it, they’ll help you bring the inside of your home to life, making bedrooms more relaxing, living rooms comforting, and adding a dash of personality in for good measure.
Give Same Day Pros a try today and you won’t regret it; we’ve helped hundreds of customers just like you find their perfect service professional match with this technology, and we’re certain it will help you find what you are looking for today.
References:
- Forbes, 6 Tips for Hiring a Painting Contractor, https://www.forbes.com/advisor/home-improvement/tips-hiring-painting-contractor/
- HuffPost, the 9 Biggest Interior Painting Mistakes, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/common-painting-mistakes_n_1453284
