What should I consider in selecting an Exterior House Painting Contractor?
Painting your home is a very important decision. And because your home is one of your biggest investments, you will be improving its quality, style, and overall value. However, a poor exterior paint job can actually lower the value of your home, as well as make for an expensive fix down the road. For these reasons, you have to hire the right painting contractors to provide the services you need. Here are a couple of things you need to consider when hiring an exterior painting contractor.
The Basics
Once those basic items are taken care of you want to find out.
1. Do They Even Paint Exteriors?
Believe or not, there are painters out there that don’t paint exteriors. Either they are afraid of heights, don’t have the man power to take on the extra work in the summer or just don’t like all of the scraping and sanding that they require.
2. How Much Exterior Paint Preparation Will They Be Doing?
When quoting a job, it is really the preparation details that add up. Most painters can basically put paint on at the same rate, and do preparation at the same rate. The difference in price often comes down to how much preparation are they really planning to do?
How much masking and covering will they do? How much scraping and sanding will they do? Will they prime with a bonding or stain blocking primer? Will they apply caulking? How thorough do they power-wash? Will they repair rotten wood? Will they mask the site lines on the windows?
All of these details are important to know in evaluating the cost difference between quotes. Do yourself a favor and ask questions and read the quote.
3. What Kind of Exterior Paint/Stain and Primer Will They Be Using?
The type of paint that should be used for exterior painting varies based on what is being painted. For instance: rough cut cedar should get a solid stain (preferably urethane reinforced); Smooth milled composite siding should get a premium acrylic exterior grade paint. Exterior metal should be painted with speed enamel.
Primer is very important as well. Some painters simply prime with the paint they will be using for final coat. This is incorrect. Oil-based stain blocking primers should be used on old exterior lumber. Bonding primers for trouble areas or hard to stick surfaces.
4. How Long Is The Exterior Painting Warranty and Can They Actually Support It?
Any reputable painting company will have a warranty. The length of warranty can vary based on what is being painted. For Instance, we offer a 5 year warranty on siding and stucco, and two years for anything else (excluding decks and fences).
The next question becomes can the company reliably support the warranty? If the company operates from their kitchen table I wouldn’t put as much stock in their warranty as a company with a bricks and mortar office location with spray shop like ours.
5. Have They Put The Exterior Painting Details In Writing?
A good contractor will give you a written estimate with a descriptive scope of the work explaining what will and won’t be included, what will be done for preparation how many coats, cost for additional cost if required, what paint will be used and the details of the warranty. The estimates should be able to cover everything such that he will not ask for more money except for an approved increase is scope by you.
6. How Long Will The Exterior Painting Take?
Take a look at the timetable that is proposed by the painting contractor for painters . When would they begin the painting, and when is the predicted conclusion of the painting? What will happen if they cannot finish the painting in the specified timeframe?
Examine how the painting contractor present themselves when you meet them. Are they always on time for meetings? Are they faster in receiving and replying your phone calls relating to inquiries? Are they covered in paint or are they professional and tidy? What is the state of their vehicle? Is it clean with decals or covered in paint with a crooked magnet? If the replies are slow and they are always late for meetings then these can tell you about the quality of their task. Maybe they are not the greatest painting contractors for your needs.
Select a company that only does residential painting: You will find they have friendly staff with a specific skillset for the painting you need. It is good to hire a painting company that offers all of the residential painting services you will ever need so that when they do a great job for you, you won’t have to do the legwork to find a company when you need painting services again. Make sure they do Interior and Exterior Painting, Cabinet Painting and Refinishing, Faux Finishing, Fine Finishing, etc.
Finally, review the following to reinforce your decision:
Want to know what other Painting Services we offer in the Calgary region? These include interior painting, stucco painting, commercial painting, cabinet refinishing and more.
Cal-Res Coatings prides itself on producing high quality work for its client and establishing long-term working relationships with construction and design professionals, home builders, renovators, and interior designers. We are experts in our field and we use our expertise to your advantage. Beyond quality our motivations are simple, make you look good to your clients.
“We treat your clients almost as good as you do.”
Combine top quality and customer service with excellent availability and responsiveness to your timeline, we really can’t be beat.
We Have High Quality Exterior Painting and Staining Solutions That Respect Your Bottom Line
When it comes to exterior painting, longevity is the desired goal. The ultimate question is how can we deliver higher quality at a comparable price. For Cal-Res Coatings the solution is simple. Use higher quality products and work more effectively.
“Pre-finishing and pre-staining is the means to higher quality, longevity, and less maintainence at a comparable price.”
Cal-Res Coatings can take care of all of your exterior painting and finishing needs without ever stepping foot on site.
Cal-Res Coatings is your first and only stop. Just ask Mountain View Building Supplies, or The Cedar Shop.
We have helped customers like Prowest Exteriors, Tony William Roofing and Exteriors, Alec Williams Construction, NISSA, Door Design Studio and more streamline their construction process, improve client relations, increase quality of finish.
