When it comes time to paint our home’s interior; the first decision we have to make is whether to hire a professional house painter or just do it ourselves. For some of us it is an easy choice! But if you fall into the “others of us” category….keep reading! There are pros and cons to both- so let’s jump into it!
Price Point: Doing the work yourself will cost less money. Usually this is still the case even if you have to buy a ladder or tools!
Your Time: You can do the work on your schedule, whenever it is convenient for you. No rush. No strangers in your house!
End Result: You can be as picky as you want to be! The job is not done until you say it is done! 😉
You Da Boss: You’re in charge of everything: surface prep, masking, paint selection, material costs, you name it! You want to skip a step? No one can stop you!!! Muahaha!
Cons
Price Point: Doing the work yourself will cost more time. Which currency is more important to you? Time or Money?
Your Time: Youwill spend more time on this project than a professional will, due to lack of experience and efficient tools.
End Result: Moooost of the time the end result is not going to be as nice as it would be if a professional were to paint for you.
You Da Boss: It can be a lot to make sense of: which materials, how much material, and where to even begin! Don’t forget to give yourself a good warranty! …wait! 😉
While the painting itself might be totally up your alley; a lot of other work goes into an interior painting project that often gets overlooked… at first… Things like moving or covering furniture, masking or removing light fixtures, sanding and cleaning trim…. Knowing which materials are going to work best for you is a whole other pile of research you will need to do if you don’t want to waste money on things you don’t need. However, some people really enjoy this process and love the sense accomplishment and capability at the end! And then there are the “others of us” again…. hahah Just keep reading if that is you!
Interior Painting by Professional
Pros
Efficiency: Professionals have a system they follow day to day. They will get a lot of work done in a short amount of time.
Knowledge: They already know which methods and products will work best for reaching your project goals.
Experience: Skills improve with consistency! You get good at painting in a straight line when you do it every day!
Tools: Ladders, Paint Sprayers, Hand Maskers, Extension Poles, Vacuum Sanders, Drop Cloths…. They have what they need to do the job right. This is Especially beneficial if your home has tall walls and ceilings or other challenging obstacles.
Warranty: Most professionals have a warranty on their work, and if something goes wrong they will take care of it- sometimes for years!
End Result: Crisp and Clean! (disclaimer: it DOES matter WHO you hire – if you’d like some tips about that click here!)
Cons
Price Point: It will cost you some dollars. You could probably try and fail to paint your own house a couple times before it cost the same amount of money.
Personal Space: You will have painters and plastic all up in your face and in your doorways. You might not have doorknobs. This doesn’t have to be a con though… Its an excellent time for a vacation!!! Or fun conversations with painters!
You Da Boss… with limitations: You and the contractor will put together a plan based on what your goals are. You still get to make decisions but there is a point at which you can no longer change your mind “for free”. They have a schedule to stick to; and as much as they will try to accommodate you, they have already made and agreed upon plans with other customers too. If you have big changes or additions, they might have to be scheduled at a separate time.
When you hire a professional to do your painting, there are a lot less things you have to figure out alone! Some professionals will even send out a color consultant to help you choose your paint colors. They have everything they need to come in and do the job efficiently and effectively. They have insurance in case anything Were to happen (idk about you but I (the wife) am much more likely to spill paint on the floor than my husband, the painter 😉 ).
Either choice can be a good one depending on what your goals are and who You are. If you have a particularly challenging job with damaged walls or peeling paint or some other obstacle that makes it so you can’t just roll it out; give us a call at 541-600-2025. We would love to come out and give you an estimate so you can make the decision that is best for you! If you’d like to book an estimate with us online- click here!
Oh I wonder, wonder What’s in a warranty! Who knows what surprises a warranty can hide! Yummy nestle chocolate with candy shapes inside!… Wait that’s a wonderball…. 😉 If you don’t remember wonderballs- just ignore this part. In all seriousness though, sometimes the warranty we pay for with our paint job can be full of surprises too! I’m here to show you what to look for before you sign that contract… Not all warranties are created equal and a good one can add significant value to your paint job. Let’s go over the two main types of warranties you will see.
Manufacturer’s Warranty
Many paint contractors will not have their own warranty. Instead, they will just advertise the 12-15 (ish) year warranty on the paint itself that comes from the paint manufacturer. This only means that if the paint on your house fails within that time period (for a reason that can be clearly defined as an issue with the paint itself and not the application, weather, etc… )that the cost of new paint will be covered. This does not mean the cost of labor to repaint the house will be covered. Different paint manufacturers have different lengths on their warranties, but for the most part, they aren’t adding any Real value to your paint job.
Lazy Contractor’s Warranty
You might also see this manufacturer’s warranty being used as a selling point by the contractor. They just slap their name on the manufacturer’s paperwork instead… Here is what to look for when you see something resembling “12-15 year warranty” from a contractor.
Does it say anywhere that it covers workmanship?
If it does cover workmanship, how long exactly? (Surprise! Probably not 15 years!)
Does it define what is a defect?
Does it have exclusions? What are they?
Are there extra stipulations? ex: proof of maintenance like pressure washing to remove mildew and residue OR specific paint that must be used etc…
Most of the time, contractors who offer an unclear warranty for an absurd length of time (such as 12-15 years along with the paint) will not have any of the detail above, and likely will not honor anything if they failed to word it well. After this much time has passed it is easy to say that the paint failure is not due to workmanship or product defect… so there is no real value added. 15 years of nothing! What a Deal!
Contractor’s Warranty
There are many contractors who take the time to put together a comprehensive warranty that adds real value. Usually, they will have different warranties for interiors than exteriors (as is only logical), and the duration of time will be much more reasonable. A 5 year warranty for an exterior paint job is very reasonable, but 15 years is just unrealistic. On an opposite note; sometimes a 1 year warranty gets some glory but in truth, it hardly allows for anything to need warrantied.
Some contractors will be basic and only cover defects in their workmanship, while others will cover scratches from your pets and normal wear and tear. These details make all the difference. The more that is offered that is within reasonable bounds, the better the warranty! To further explain that; things that would be unreasonable for a contractor to cover would be things like fires and hail and more intensive things that your home insurance should cover. If the painter offers Too much, it is probably too good to be true.
Basic Warranty vs Premium Warranty
The way to tell if you’re getting a run of the mill, mostly useless warranty vs a comprehensive and quality warranty is by looking for these details:
Will they touch up paint damages that were not their fault?
Is the duration of time covered reasonable?
Are their exclusions fair?
Are their requirements logical?
Is there any evidence that they honor this warranty?
Words are just words with no action! Here at Sir Paints A Lot; we take the extra steps to ensure you have a quality experience! Our exterior work is warrantied for 5 years and that includes 1 hour of touch-up each year. We contact you in the spring to schedule your touch-up work! We will do this for all 5 years so long as you can prove with a receipt that you’ve hired a contractor to pressure-wash mildew and debris off of your house once annually! (A good warranty should have some clear stipulations!)
Check out this quick video from just a tiny portion of last year’s paint touch-ups!
Warranty Touch Up!
Maintenance is the best defense to paint failure! This is why we also offer our Premium Home Care Package!
Premium Home Care Package
Sir Paints A Lot Premium Home Care Package extends exterior warranty to 9 years!
Hopefully now you know what to look for in a painter’s warranty and you don’t run into any unfortunate surprises down the road!
To schedule a paint estimate with Sir Paints A Lot, click HERE! Thank You! Have an Awesome Day! I’m going to go see if they still sell wonderballs…. 😉
