Having a professional paint your home is certainly easier than doing all the painting yourself. However, you will want to spend a little time learning about several different painting companies in your area before choosing one. There are a lot of great painting companies out there but look for one that can fill your particular needs. Here are some key questions to ask before hiring a painting company.
How much prep will the painting company do?
Some painting companies will patch major holes and even mud larger areas of drywall if needed. Others may do minor touch-ups only. And some painting companies strictly paint; they won't touch or prep the drywall at all. Ask what services the company offers to make sure your own needs will be met. If you're having a rather modern home re-painted, you may be fine hiring a company that doesn't do touch-ups. But if you have an older home with more drywall damage, you might need a company that will fix things up first. Otherwise, you'll have to hire a separate drywall contractor to come in first.
Does the painting company spray the walls or use rollers?
Most interior painters roll the walls. But some might use sprayers to paint. If you hire a company that uses sprayers, you want to make sure they do a really thorough job of taping everything off and covering your furniture beforehand. Otherwise, you could end up with over-spray on these items. If you're nervous about this or feel your home would be hard to tape off, then look for a company that rolls, rather than sprays.
What brand of paint does the company use?
Painters usually have access to higher-quality, professional-grade paint that the average homeowner cannot buy. In other words, you can be pretty sure a professional painter will use even better paint on your home than you would use. However, you should still ask what brand of paint the company uses so you can look it up and ensure you're happy with the quality. If the brand is known for giving off high levels of VOCs, or if you hear about other issues with it, you may want to ask the painters if they'll use a different brand. Or, you could hire a different painting company that uses a different paint.
How many days will they take to paint?
Painting a house involves a lot of waiting time between coats. Some painting companies will apply one coat and then apply the next coat as soon as the first one is dry. Other painting companies apply a coat and then come back the next day to apply the other coat — even though the paint has been dry for a long while at that point. Just be sure to clarify how many days the company plans on taking to paint your home so you can plan accordingly.
If you need to be in the home by a certain date, you may want to look for a company that can offer a shorter timeline. If you're not in a hurry to move in, on the other hand, you can hire a company that takes their time a bit more. More drying time between coats can lead to increased durability in the paint.
It's not a bad idea to have a couple of painting companies come out and give you an estimate. You can ask these questions as a part of that process. Then, you'll have both numbers and answers to consider as you choose the painting company to work on your home.
For more information about home interior painting, contact a local painting service.
