How to hire a painter

Winter, in the dryer areas of South Africa, is the perfect time to paint your house, especially the exterior as rainy days will not interrupt the painting and cause delays.

Hiring a professional painter is more expensive than doing it yourself, but it is sometimes the best way to get the job done quickly and achieve a professional finished look.

Steps:

1. Firstly, decide which areas in your home require painting.

2. Consider any work that you want done before painting. For example, do you want to replace your cornices or skirting boards, do you want to patch damaged plaster or fill in holes or do you want to hang new doors?

3. Decide what colour and what paint you would like to use. You can get paint swatches from all the major brands at any DIY store. The painter that you hire may also have some colour and brand of paint suggestions; he will work best with his favourite brand and has experience in colour selection.

4. Ask friends, neighbours, builders and designers if they can recommend any good painters. If you still can’t locate a painter go to the www.homemakersonline.co.za directory to locate a painting contractor in your area.

5. Have the painting contractors look over the site and quote a price for the work required. Make sure the contractors are quoting on the same specifications – same quality and brand of paint, areas to be painted, number of coats and so forth.

6. Ask the painters for references and contact them. Were the customers happy? Did the painter complete the project in a timely and professional manner?

7. Select a painter based on price, track record and your impressions.

8. Draw up a contract specifying the work to be done, total cost, payment schedule, start date and estimated completion date.

9. Make sure the contract includes the paint brands and colours agreed upon to be used in each location, as well as the number of quotes.

10. Make sure that the contract specifies that the paint contractor is responsible for cleaning up and the removal of paint from all surfaces (windows, floors, etc.).

11. Remove all furniture and other moveable items before the painter is scheduled to begin. Anything not removed should be piled together in the centre of the room and thoroughly covered with dust cloths or a plastic protector.

A good-quality paint job typically consists of one coat of primer and two finish coats of your chosen colour.

If you intend to have customised painting done, such as sponging or other decorative painting techniques, first make sure that your painter has experience doing this type of work.

Be very wary if any of your chosen contractors asks for full payment up front. Try to make your payment schedule match the pace of work and material deliveries.