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How to Hire a
Painting Contractor
-Family Living Magazine, 1997
There are many painting
contractors out there but few that are qualified to do the work for you. Many painting
contractors are in the profession they are in due to the lack of opportunity given them in
the years immediately following high school.
"Painting? I’ve painted my bedroom before, I know how to paint." Not
necessarily so; many of these contractors who missed out on college or military service,
acquired their contracting license during the amnesty period offered by the Registrar of
Contractors during the later part of this past decade.
Following are some things to look for in hiring a painting contractor and are good tips
in general when hiring any contractor no matter what trade they might be contracting for.
First and foremost, make sure the prospective painter is licensed and insured. The
license number is a 6-digit number that must be shown on all forms of advertising. This is
not a number with several numbers and letters; these are usually business licenses and not
to be confused with a state contracting license. Insured means liability and
worker’s compensation insurance.
This coverage protects your home and the contractor’s employees from the
consequences of mistakes. The contractor’s personal, medical, or automobile insurance
does not do you, the homeowner, any good. To find out what and how much insurance any
contractor carries, you can require him or her to have their insurance carrier mail you an
insurance certificate, which usually is a service most carriers offer free to charge to
the contractor.
Once you have found a qualified contractor make sure that the contractor enjoys what he
or she does and the work he or she will produce is acceptable to you. Have the contractor
give you a resume of past experience—college, if any, is nice also—and a
reference list of their past 20-30 jobs or so; not their best 10 or 20 jobs—anyone
can do that.
Call the references. Some things to ask: is the contractor going to be doing the
work or are persons whom you have never met going to do the work? Are the employees clean,
honest, and qualified workers? Are the materials the best that can be applied in your
home? Does the company leave you house at the end of each day so that you can live in an
orderly and clean environment? Finally, ask the references if there is anything
they can fault the painting contractor on.
Good luck in your pursuit to find the right painting contractor for you. For more
information contact Joe Lane at 760.758.5118 [back to
"In the Media"]
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