What Should I Look For When Hiring An Interior Painter In York PA?

Well, let’s start with the basics…

Personal referrals are a great place to start. After all, what better source is there than a trusted friend or co-worker that has already hired a painter and has a completed project in the books?

Look for someone who is highly rated by independent resources. This may sound simple, but remember that most contractor rating systems are actually paid advertisements these days. Angieslist.com, Homeadvisor.com, yelp.com, Houzz.com , and even the Better Business Bureau all require paid advertisement by the contractor to show up in their searches. Better sources for independent ratings come from Google.com and Facebook.com, as well as neighborhood apps such as nextdoor.com. And remember to ignore the outliers, one or 2 bad reviews out of several 50 positive reviews should not exclude a company from consideration (unless, of course, they say things like “This painter took my deposit and moved to Vegas”. Do give “did not return my phone call” type reviews less weight than serious offenses, especially for small businesses that get busy and may not have full time office staff.

Hiring someone who is capable of offering a written, detailed, bid for a pre-determined scope of work is preferred. Contractors who charge by the hour often times do not have enough experience to know how much something will cost, which can create issues for both those the customer and contractor alike. If you do end up with someone who charges hourly, make sure to double checks the specs in quote so there is not question about what the scope of work it, and have an agreement with a signature on from both parties. Side note: Wallpaper removal is an exception to the rule in the painting world. We did not put up your wallpaper, and have no idea what process and materials (glues, primers, sizing) were used when the paper was installed, so we can’t really attest to how it long it will take to come down. Also we don’t know what your wall looks like underneath all that paper – and paper is occasionally put up to hide imperfections or shoddy workmanship. (Please don’t shoot the messenger if we find something like this).

Getting multiple bids can be a good idea for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, you may want to meet with a couple of contractors to make sure you have someone you are comfortable having in your home. 2nd, you will want to look at mulitple proposals and compare what the scope of work is to make sure you are comparing apples to apples. And, of course, you will need to know what your project will cost. Don’t get caught up in with finding the lowest bidder. Generally speaking you get what you pay for. Craigslist.org is probably the best place to find lower-skilled, low-ball priced contractors for jobs that don’t need to be done correctly. We do NOT fall into that category, and feel that highly skilled labor is an investment worth making for our business and yours.

Ask any and all questions before your project starts. We would much rather tackle potential miscommunications upfront and avoid frustration down the road. Any respectable contractor will tell you the same thing because their reputation depends on it.

Never make a full payment for work before it has been completed. Yes, a deposit is typically required to schedule a project to help cover materials and keep cash flowing. But a contractor asking for full payment upfront is about as large of a red flag that anyone could ask for.

Trust your instinct. If you get a bad feeling when meeting your perspective contractor, don’t be afraid to walk away or “Just Say No”.

This one is cabinet refinishing/cabinet painting specific, but we felt the need to add it. Make sure to see and feel some sample doors from anyone quoting your cabinets. And also make sure they are quoting you with KCMA-rated industrial materials. We get calls to fix improperly painted cabinet regularly, and the fix is always more expensive than original quote. This also ties in with avoiding the “low-ball bidder”.

Last but not least, ask about insurance and a HICPA contracting number. Your contractor should be insured for the entire value of your home and all of its contents. The HICPA # is in a database that will make it easier for you the state to track down your contractor in the event that they disappear on your with your deposit.