Tips For Finding The Best Exterior Painter Cincinnati OH
When it comes to home improvement projects, a homeowner’s time is always considered constrained or limited. You may be looking forward to spending your weekend going over repairs and maintenance at home but you can never tell if something more important will eventually get in the way. With time being an issue, it is rather obvious that you may need to hire an exterior painter Cincinnati if you have painting jobs at home.
Why Hire An Exterior Painter Cincinnati?
You can paint your own bedroom, family room, or bathroom if you like. Anyhow, most homeowners think there is little risk involved. But exterior house painting is another thing. It is a job that must be done strictly by a professional. Aside from the fact that using a professional painter will relieve you of the burden and stress of painting your own home, you also get the guarantee of good output and results. You should never do the exterior painting yourself especially if you haven’t done it before. You see, this type of job takes some good amount of skills, experience, and expertise. Therefore, a homeowner like you has to admit that exterior house painting is way out of your league.
In order to find the best people for the job, don’t forget to read and learn applying these tips:
Asking Around
The oldest trick in the book when it comes to finding and locating the finest exterior painting contractors is obtaining referrals and recommendations from anyone you know and you can trust. So, take note of your coworkers, friends, neighbors, and relatives. Expect that one of them must have a pleasant experience with an exterior painter before and expect them to give you a name and contact information. Asking around doesn’t cost you any harm so you might as well do it as long as you have the time.
But your search of referrals does not end with your friends and acquaintances alone. You can also get the same referrals from online review sites and forums. But be reminded that your search should be limited locally. Don’t hire painters that are based way beyond your area, city, or state.
Getting the Estimates
Be reminded as well that when you receive contractor estimates, they have to be in the same price range. What this means is that even if one painter offers a lower bid, the others should be well within the practical estimates. Therefore, if you receive an estimate from an exterior painter that differs widely to the rest, you have to ask what makes the different. In most instances, there are certain aspects of the painting job that’s not covered, hence, the low bid.
Set Up the Interview
Keep in mind that conducting an interview is a must. This means you have no choice but to do it. If you fail to do so, you will most likely end up hiring a bad or inexperienced painter, which in return means a big blow to your investment in improving your home.
In the interview, you must know what questions to ask. Some of the most important ones are provided below:
1 – How long have you been in the industry?
Most of the time, experience means a lot, especially in the house painting business. When you stumble upon a reliable painting contractor, it means they have extensive experience in the business, which also means they are most likely effective in dealing with all sorts of exterior painting jobs.
2 – Do you have insurance coverage and bonding? If so, can you show them?
In any kind of home improvement project carried out by an independent contractor, there is always the risk of injury as well as damage to property. The best exterior house painting contractors will not hesitate to disclose and show proof that they have insurance and bonding covering injuries that may be incurred by workers and damage property during the painting process.
3 – Can you show me your licenses and certifications?
This is likewise a very important question to ask. Do not trust verbal assurances and claims of being an award-winning contractor if they cannot support it with documents or any physical proof. There is no better proof than licensing and certifications.
4 – Can you provide a list of references including their contact information?
If a potential painting contractor willingly provides you with a list of references, it says a lot about their confidence in you talking to their previous customers. It means they have no secrets to hide from you.
Other Questions to Ask:
1 – Do you happen to be a member of any national or local painter’s association or organization? If yes, what are those organizations?
2 – Do you employ subcontractors for the exterior painting job?
3 – Can you provide written guarantees of your finished work?
4 – What are the products and materials you use?
Being Specific
One of the things that most homeowners overlook is being specific and particular about the exterior house painting project. This may mean you should walk each prospective contractor within and around the areas of the house to be painted. In this walkthrough, you have to discuss your specific needs as well as the particular aspects of the entire project that you want to integrate, along with those you want to exclude. Keep in mind that being specific means you can dictate the final price of the project, but in a rather positive way. You don’t necessarily have to haggle!
Finally, painting a house is something that’s quite serious and it takes a lot of time compared to other home improvement projects. That is why we can never stress more on seriously finding the best possible people for the job. The contractor should be willing enough to listed to the specific needs you want to be addressed including the surfaces and areas to be painted, paint color, and the finishes you want to be used.