Hiring a painter can seem like an impossible task. Many of these companies are very busy and are not great about getting back to potential clients and you might not even know where to start to pick the right painter for your needs. This is not an uncommon issue to run into when you are in need of a painter and some people even put off painting their home or business for years just to avoid having to find a painter.
If you have been dreading engaging a painter for your needs due to this kind of concern, there are some mistakes that you can avoid making while you are looking for and hiring a painter. Being aware of the common mistakes that lead to issues for people who hire commercial painters can improve the chances that you will get the right painter for your needs and be thrilled with their work.
If you are ready to learn more about the common Dallas commercial painting mistakes to avoid, read on!
What is a Commercial Painter?
Commercial painters are painters that have experience painting for business clients rather than residential clients. It can be confusing to find the right commercial painter because many people do not realize that there is a difference in the way that commercial and housing painting is done. If you are looking into painters and are only looking at residential painters, you will be frustrated when you try to find someone for your commercial painting job.
Commercial painters will be able to demonstrate that they have the experience, as well as the size of the team that is needed to take care of your job from start to finish. You should make sure that any commercial painter that you are researching states clearly that they are able to paint commercial buildings. There is no point in contacting a residential painter for a commercial painting job.
Commercial painters will have access to the equipment and tools that are needed to paint large buildings like warehouses and more, and you will not have to worry about having the interior and the exterior of your business painted at the same time. This is why working with a commercial painter is important for your business needs. You do not want to have to hire a commercial painter and a residential painter for the same job.
Commercial Painting Mistakes That You Should Avoid
These mistakes can make the job of finding and contracting a commercial painter difficult, or even impossible. Saving yourself the frustration of hiring the wrong painter can make all the difference in your commercial painting job experience. It should not be a struggle to find the right painter and you can avoid a lot of common pitfalls by making sure that you do not make the mistakes on this list.
1. Hiring Commercial Painters Outside Your Local Dallas Area Can Lead to Mistakes
This might not seem like it is a big issue, but you really should not hire a painter that is not in your local area. You do not need to hire people that work right down the street from you, but staying within the towns near to you will help make sure that your painting team can get to your location with ease and that they do not charge you additional fees related to traveling to your location to take care of your service.
When you work with a painter that is not local to you, you will often find that they will send a very small team to do the work and this can add days or even weeks to the job overall. Working with a company that is not very far away will make sure that you will get good service and a team of painters that is large enough to take care of your painting job with ease.
2. Getting Only One Estimate
You should always make sure that you look into more than one company before you decide who to hire for this process. You will always be more likely to gain access to the right company if you are willing to take the time to look at the pricing that is being offered as well as the services that are included in the quote. You might think that a company is really expensive and then when you see the quote you will find out that they are offering more included services for this price.
Working with at least a few companies to get estimates will help you to get the best price for your commercial painting job and you will be able to be sure that you are going to get all the included services that you need for the job. Trusting a simple phone conversation to cover all the details of a job that you need to be done is not a great practice since you need to be sure that you are getting good information. Estimates have all the details in them so that you can refer back to them if there are issues with the job later.
3. Going With the Cheapest Commercial Painting Quote in the Dallas Area Can Mean Disaster
Just because an estimate is affordable does not mean that it will end up being the right choice for your needs. Cheaper jobs are often cheaper because the paints and products that are being used are not as high quality as they should be. While this might not bother you, you should be aware that this is a possibility related to this kind of bid.
You should not feel forced to pick the most expensive estimate just to get quality services, but the cheapest bid may not have all the right included services or the best products associated with it. Weighing out how much to spend on this kind of job can be tough but you will have a much better chance of getting a good painting service for a great value if you consider more estimates than just the cheapest one.
4. Not Asking About Insurance
This is one of the things that you should always do when you are working with a painting company. You will want to be sure that they can provide you with proof that they are insured. There is nothing that offers a bigger risk to your business than having people or a business who are not insured properly working on or around your property.
You want to be sure that the company that you are working with is insured to take care of any medical bills that might happen due to an accident and that they have liability insurance as well as coverage to pay for damages that could occur while they are working. Having to pay for repairs to your buildings or covering the cost of a worker’s medical bills due to issues with insurance is not an acceptable risk to open yourself up to.
5. Not Explaining the Project Well
One of the reasons that many people are not happy with the painting job that a commercial painter completes for them is that they did not communicate the scope of the job or the details of their expectations well. You will need to discuss every detail of the job with your commercial painting company and make sure that everyone is on the same page. The estimate is a good place to start for this discussion, but you will want to have the complete details of the job in writing.
Being clear about what you expect the painters to do and work on when they are on-site is very important. Anything that is not discussed ahead of time is open to interpretation and additional charges. This is something that can be avoided by making sure that everyone is clear about the requirements of the job well in advance of the work being done.
6. Not Asking For Licenses and Certifications
All commercial painters will need to be able to provide proof that they are licensed and bonded as well as certified for certain processes. If they cannot provide proof of these details, you will need to find another commercial painter to work with for this job. Not working with a licensed painter can lead to all kinds of issues that could come back on you if there are ever legal questions about the work that was done on your property.
You might also find that licensing can be predictive of the quality of the work that you will be paying for. Taking the time to be licensed and bonded indicates that the company is professional and takes its work seriously. Being sure that you can gain access to this licensing information is important so that you can make sure that you are working with a qualified company that will do a good job.
7. Hiring a Company That is New
It might seem like a nice thing to do to hire a new company to do a commercial job, but without any information about this company, you might want to be conservative about doing this. If you can get the right licensing and insurance information from the company and you like their quote or estimate, you might still be able to pick them for the job at hand. You should remember that these pieces of information are not everything that is needed to make a good painting company.
If you want to take a chance on a new painting company, it might be worth making sure that you give them a small task for the first job to see how things go. It can be a good bet to get a good price on these jobs since this could be one of their first jobs as a company, but you might want to be conservative about the size of the job that you hire them for at first.
8. Not Getting a Written Contract for Your Commercial Paint Project in Dallas Can Lead to Mistakes
You should never work with a painting company that will not provide a written contract. This is the way that you can verify that the company will deliver what you agreed upon and this is the way that the company can explain best what services they are going to provide for you. Without a written contract, you cannot be sure on either side of the agreement that the job will be done correctly.
A written contract is an important part of the process of making sure that the company that you have chosen will take care of your needs precisely as ordered. A written contract is a very important part of engaging any painting company to work on your commercial property and you should not skip this step of the process for any reason.
9. Ask About the Details to Avoid Commercial Painting Mistakes
If you just assume that the painters will know what kind of colors you are expecting doors and other items to be painted, you are probably wrong. Leaving things up to chance like trim painting and preparation for areas that should not be painted is important. The more detail that you discuss with the painting company, the more likely you are to get precisely what you want from working with them.
If you are not sure about the details that you should ask about, consider the items that are currently painted in your building or on the outside of your building. You should point out all of the small details of the job when you are talking to the person providing the bid. Making sure that you ask about all of the surfaces that you are wanting to be painted will make sure that the details of the job do not get neglected.
10. Not Looking at Reviews
A painting company might sound perfect when you talk to them on the phone, but if they have lots of bad reviews, you should avoid working with them. Always check out the reviews for commercial painters to make sure that you do not see lots of bad reviews from prior customers. You should be wary of any commercial painter that has many bad reviews posted online as this probably indicates that they do not care about the quality of the work that they do overall.
Reviews are more informative than you might think and you can find out a lot about both positive and negative things with ease when you are researching companies just by looking at reviews. Even reviews on Yelp can be helpful. You will of course have to ignore some of the very unpleasant reviews that are probably not fair overall, but the reasonable reviews will tell you a lot about the work that a company does overall.
This will save you the time that you might waste getting bids and estimates from companies that will not fit your needs and do not have a good reputation.
What Else Can You Do to Make Sure You Find the Right Commercial Painter in Dallas?
You might be worried that you will not know how to sort out the best painters from the mix. Part of the process of finding a good painter is to ask the right questions when you are discussing the job with them. Knowing which things to ask can help you to get paired up with the right commercial painting company for your needs.
Questions to Ask Painters:
- How Will You Ensure My House Remains Clean?
- When is Your Starting Time Each Day?
- What Kind of Painting Prep Do You Do?
- What Materials Do You Use?
- Can you Explain the Content Covered in the Warranty?
These are some of the best questions to ask because you want to be sure that you know how your business will be prepared for paint and you want to know that you will be able to work with the painter’s schedules. You should also make sure that you find out what warranties are offered for their work and what kinds of paint and products they are going to use.
Being clear about all of the details is essential for both you and your painter to be sure that everyone knows what the expectations of the job are. The work that is done painting is as important as the work that is done to prepare the building for paint and you need to be sure that you will get the benefit of both kinds of work from your commercial painter.
Hiring the Right Dallas-Area Commercial Painter Doesn’t Have to be Tough
If you have been struggling to find the right commercial painting company for your needs, you should use these tips and tricks to be sure that you are able to get the right painting company for your needs. Being sure to ask the right questions and getting the contract in writing are both very helpful steps that you can take toward getting the right painting company on your side.
Commercial painters should be experienced and licensed and you should make sure that you look at reviews of the company before you engage them for the job. Taking the time to make sure that you look at more than one company can make sure that you find the perfect commercial company for your painting needs.
At Omega, we provide high-quality commercial painting for customers all over Texas. We also offer a wide variety of services to keep your business looking great and ensuring that it’s well-maintained. Contact us today for a free quote on your next project!
