Whether we’re building a new home, re-selling or renovating there comes time when some painting needs to be done. Many people, especially newly-wed couples think painting together is a cute bonding experience when it actually comes with a heap of challenges and potential setbacks.

Due to the size of many painting jobs a lot of people will choose to hire a professional painting contractor to carry out the work on their behalf. This means getting access to an trained and experienced professional who will ideally complete your job to the highest standard at a fair price.

However, many people know that hiring and working with contractors isn’t always a piece of cake. Let’s take a look at the top tips for hiring a commercial painter.

How to find one

Most of the time the painter you hire will be a local person running their own business but there may be other sources of painters that work for a larger firm. While they are primarily painters they are often able to perform drywall repair and wallpapering amongst other minor services.

The best way to source a reputable painter it to get a recommendation from family members, friends or colleagues. If they are recommending them to you it means that they were satisfied with the work their painter did for them and they can safely refer them to you.

How to communicate with them

Once you have chosen a painter you will need to begin discussing things about the job with them. Unlike electricians, you don’t need to use a lot of technical jargon to converse with them and painters are usually good at explaining things to lay people.

Some of the topics you might raise are:

  • Is the cost of paint included in the final estimate?
  • What type of paint will they use?
  • How many coats will they lay?
  • How will they tackle non-paintable areas?
  • How long do they expect the job to take?
  • Should the residence be vacated during the work?
  • Will they use masking tape or the cut-in method for the trim?

Determining the cost

Painting can often cost more than people expect so you’ll need to be prepared for a fairly robust fee. Most painters will use a formula to determine how much paint per square foot they will need to complete the job and adjust their price based on that.

The cost of painting, especially on large scales probably explains why so many people opt to do it themselves. However, the work of a professional is going to be much better than whatever ran amateur can do.