Know What to Expect From Painting Contractors When House Painting in Danville

So you want to start house painting in Danville, whether you are building a new home, buying an older home or giving your existing home a freshened-up look. You have two options: doing it yourself or hiring a painting contractor. If you choose the latter, keep in mind that you don’t pick just any contractor. There are many painting contractors in Danville and the surrounding area, so it is good for you to investigate first which painting companies are legitimate, the ones who honor their contracts, and who does good quality painting.

Inviting a stranger, such as a painting contractor, to enter your property is stressful for many homeowners. So here are some helpful tips on how to choose a painting contractor in Danville.

While some painting contractors concentrate only on painting, others perform related tasks such as installing custom moldings, doors, and window casings. Custom Painting, Inc. will do those tasks as well as remove acoustic or pop corn ceilings.

The other difficult part of searching a contractor is to get them to actually show up at your property in order to give an estimate. Most painting contractors are happy to visit a home or business, have a look around the property, and later produce an estimate. This should really be the order in which the estimate is given. If the contractor is willing to provide an estimate first, then you may cross them off your list of your possible painting contractors to work with.

Make sure that the contractors are licensed, but determine first if your home state requires licensing, because not all states require it. Make sure also that the contractor is bonded and insured. This is very important in case the painter is injured or causes damage to your property while painting. If they are not insured, you are not responsible for the medical expenses or to pay for repairing the damages. The painter who is insured by his company will have the company to pay the expenses on his behalf.

Other questions you may want to ask painting contractors before you hire them include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Is the cost of the paint included in the estimate?
• What type of materials do they use?
• Do they also use non-VOC paints? If they don’t regularly use non-VOC paints, you may request that they use this type of paint for your painting project. Most painting contractors will honor that request.
• Once the project has been started, how long will it take before it is finished?
• Do the painters arrive on time?
• Do the residents have to leave the house during the painting job?
• When and how would they like to be paid?

So what would you expect a painting contractor would do? Most painting contractors will do a job, no matter how small or how big. They will paint your window frames, if that is all you would like to have done, or they will do a full-house painting job.

Assume the painters will do exterior painting. They may prepare the surface. This will include scraping old and peeling paint, washing and cleaning the exterior, removing the mold and mildew (if any), repairing any flaws such as cracks, holes or grooves. It would also include sanding the walls and priming them (if necessary) before painting. It depends on the contractor, though; if they are expected to do such tasks, or if you are expected to do the prep work yourself before they arrive. Some contractors may reduce the cost of painting the home if you do the prep work, but you will need to discuss this with them.

For the interior painting, you can expect the painters to do the following:

1. They may be the ones to remove the items from your room, or if they are immovable, cover them with drop cloths. They may also coverage other areas that will not be painted, including floors, windows, kitchen counters, and cabinets.
2. Some minor surface preparation, pretty much like exterior painting — scraping away loose paint, light sanding, tapping in a few protruding nails, and repairing any damage.
3. Removal of electrical plates, lights, doors, and other fixtures that can be an obstacle to painting.
4. Taping the surfaces that can’t be painted or will be painted with another color (e.g., trim, molding, and baseboards).
5. Priming new drywall or the current paint with a latex primer suited for indoor painting
6. Applying two coats of paint on the walls, and two coats of paint on the ceiling.
7. Painting the trim and the molding.
8. Doing the touchups of missed spots, or previous flaws that occurred during the course of the painting.
9. Cleanup and proper disposal of debris after the painting job has been finished.
10. A final evaluation done by the painting foreman and the homeowner.

These are some of the things that you can expect from contractors when they paint your home. Once you’ve hired a qualified contractor, you can feel confident in their ability to paint your home whether you are doing interior or exterior house painting in Danville.