What to Look for in a Residential Painter

If you are planning to update your Northern Virginia home and you have decided to use a residential painting contractor, there are a bunch of things you want to consider to ensure you get a satisfying end result. This is particularly true if this is your first time hiring a painting contractor.

There are any number of painting services to choose from in Northern Virginia. But like all services, the level of professionalism and quality of service can vary widely. Don’t play Google roulette. As a leading residential painting contractor in Northern Virginia, All American Painting Plus wants you to know the areas you need to explore with a prospective painting company, including us, before you make a decision about hiring a professional painter.

Sometimes it seems the time and work involved in vetting a painting company is a burden. We would encourage you to focus on the pitfalls that you are trying to avoid. Selecting the wrong painting contractor can result in disappointment, wasted time, property damage, wasted money, a need to hire someone to redo the job, even exposing your homeowner’s liability insurance at risk. Trust us, time spent developing confidence in a contractor is a smart investment.

Is the Contractor a Responsible Business?

Are you dealing with a real, professional painting business or two guys with a pickup and a ladder? Contractor licenses for painters in Virginia are something of a gray area. But as the noted attorneys at Bean, Kinney, and Korman say about a painter’s contractor license “it is definitely better to have one and not need it, then to need it and not have it.”

Another indicator that you are dealing with a responsible company is its designation as an accredited business by the BBB. Active membership in professional industry organizations shows an interest in staying current on technology and painting trends. Is a warranty offered and if so for how long and what does it cover? Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, do they have a valid certificate of insurance for liability and workman compensation?

References and Reviews

Thanks to the internet, it has become much easier to determine how happy or dissatisfied customers are with the painting service they receive. Organizations like Angie’s List, Houzz, Google, Yelp, and others all offer consumers with the opportunity to praise or put down a service company. While you shouldn’t place a great deal of importance on a single review, it is fairly easy to see trends across several platforms.

How the Work Will Be Accomplished

It’s important that you get into the nitty gritty of how the job will be done. After all, you’re inviting strangers into your home. Let’s start with the painters. Are they employees or subcontractors or day laborers? What kind of background checks have been done on them. When will they show up? How will they protect your landscape or furnishings? Will they clean up after themselves at the end of the day?

The most labor-intensive part of a project for exterior house painters is preparation of the surface. It’s also the favorite phase to use shortcuts to reduce labor expense. Make sure you discuss how the surface will be prepared before painting the exterior of the house and if repairs to the siding are included in the price.

Is there a Detailed Written Estimate/Contract?

You will most likely be asking yourself – ‘how much do painters charge in my area?’ When it comes to house painting and interior painting costs, if there is no written contract there should be no deal. The estimate should detail the work to be performed including surface prep work, the materials used (for example how many gallons of paint are required and what type of paint), when the project begins and ends, final inspection, and terms and total price.

What you will expect to pay will vary based on all these factors including square feet covered and coats of paint required. The cost to paint a house is always a major factor in deciding on contractors, but we encourage you to evaluate just what you’re buying. If shortcuts are taken or if lower quality materials are used, you may be looking at a new paint job in 5 to 6 years instead of 9 to 10, which is what a professional job typically lasts.

Contact All American Painting Plus

Of course, we think you can make the process far simpler by calling us. We can talk through the process and cost guide with you.

We’re confident we can convince you of our professionalism, reliability, reputation and value. See what we mean by giving us a call now!