7 Things To Ask A Professional Painting Contractor in Arlington, VA
When you’re looking at having the interior or exterior of your home painted, you may want to consider going to a professional painting contractor to help you with the project.
Of course, there are so many professional painting contractors out there, and it is well worth knowing which ones would be best for you to hire and which would not be worth hiring.
As that is the case, here are seven things to ask a professional painting contractor in Arlington, VA.
1. Are You Licensed And Insured?
Though this is a seemingly obvious thing (and you would be right to presume that anyone out there presenting themselves as professional painting contractors would automatically be insured and licensed), this is unfortunately not the case.
It’s important for you only to hire a professional painting contractor that is both licensed and insured because not doing so could be putting your painting project in danger.
Without a licensed painting contractor, you’re risking having a painting contractor that isn’t doing the paintwork correctly.
Your contractor must be insured as well, as you do not want to risk having the cost of an accident cost you big money — and if there are an injury and your contractor isn’t insured, that is indeed quite costly.
2. Can I Get The Estimate In Writing?
As good as an estimate is, if you only have it via a conversation that you have had with the contractor, that means you don’t really have it at all.
It’s too easy for a conversation about how much a painting job will be forgotten or misremembered, but it is undeniable when you have it in writing.
The best thing you can do when you are looking to get an estimate is to make sure that it is written down.
3. Is The Price Of Paint Separate?
You would naturally want to think that when you get an estimate, it will consider all of the different parts of the paintwork.
This is not necessarily the case; unfortunately, as some paint contractors will bill separately for the paint or add it to the bill after the work is done and they see how much they really used.
Be sure that you have the price right by asking first if the price of paint is included.
4. Will You Clean Up Afterward?
You should be aware that many contractors will do painting work and then leave you to do the cleanup afterward — but others consider
cleanup part of the job.
The only way you will know the difference between which kind of contractor you are going to get is to ask first.
Of course, if you’re okay with the contractor not cleaning up afterward, this is just the kind of question that you can skip.
5. Can You Give Me Referrals?
It’s a good idea to ask your prospective painting contractor if they can offer you any referrals. If they offer you referrals, that’s a good thing — and you should try to reach out to at least one or two of them to see what they say about the contractor.
If they can’t offer any referrals, on the other hand — you have to wonder if they’re the right painting contractor for you.
6. What Kind Of Paint Do You Use?
It’s important to know what kind of paint your painting contractor will use when painting the interior or exterior of your home.
This is because there are so many kinds of paints that can be used, it’s well worth finding out what sort of paint will be used for it.
7. What Kind Of Training Do Your Employees Get
Since it’s your home that’s getting painted, it’s important to know the sort of training that employees of the
painting contractors are trained in.
It’s nice to know that they will be getting fully trained and ideally to get certified in some manner if that’s at all possible.
Of course, it would help if you knew if the people working on your painting project are specially trained for that particular kind of work.