When you hire us, it is important for you to know who will be working in and around your family and your house. You can trust that Sir Paints A Lot takes as many steps as possible to ensure that the people we hire will be safe, honest and reliable. Let me tell you more about our hiring process!
Hiring Step 1: Character First, Talent Second
We can teach anyone how to paint with precision and efficiency. Well, anyone who is willing to learn! While experience can be beneficial, we believe the most important thing to consider when hiring a new team member is character. This isn’t always an easy thing to discern right away just based off of job application forms and previous work history. We never skip the interview!
Hiring Step 2: The Interview
After the applicant completes our form, which can be found at www.sirpaints.com/career, we will call the applicant for a phone interview. What sort of questions do we ask during our interviews and what are we looking for? Well, the first thing we look for is how the applicant responds to the unexpected pressure of the phone call. We need to know that the applicant will not become overly stressed and panicked every time something unexpected comes up at the job site.
We also look for enthusiasm and clean language. Painters spend several hours inside our customers’ homes and it is important that they are capable of keeping their language professional. We always call the references provided, and if they are not able to give us any positive remarks, or were not even aware that we would be calling them; it is likely that the interview process for that applicant will end there.
Interview Stage 2
But for applicants who did provide good references and informed them that we would be calling, we will take our interview to the next level! We will ask deeper questions about their work ethic and motivations. We want to find out how hungry they are to be a part of our team and what opportunity they see for themselves in joining us. Are they looking to be a part of something, or simply punch the clock for a paycheck?
We really dive into the team player mentality, because painters work as a crew. If one member is much less invested in the outcome of the job, it negatively impacts everyone else on the team. We look for humility and the willingness to learn and admit to weaknesses, with a desire to actually overcome them. We try to get a feel for their interpersonal skills by asking questions about how they handled past conflicts or frustrations with others.
Ultimately our interview process is very lengthy, as we want to ensure we are hiring the kind of people who do what they say they will do, and respect the people they work with and the people they work for. We want to have peace of mind that they will care just as much about the outcome of your project as you do, because they respect you and they hold themselves to a standard worthy of respecting.
Hiring Step 3: Background Check and Drug Test
Regardless of how amazing of an applicant we think we found after interviewing them, we still proceed with the background check and drug testing. We are fully aware that some people are excellent at telling you what you want to hear and we do not want to send anyone into your house until we can be sure that they will not be a risk to your safety or your property.
As you can see, our interview is really the most important part of our hiring process. We ask several questions about past situations and conflicts, previous jobs and work ethic, hobbies and motivations, family and friends, and strengths and weaknesses. We make sure our new hires can work well on a team and keep a positive and professional attitude. Experience is definitely a bonus, but only if the character comes with it!
I hope this helps you feel confident when you hire us! To schedule an estimate with Sir Paints A Lot click HERE!
Interior Painting Season has officially arrived in the PNW! Getting a fresh application of paint is always exciting; both for the crisp clean feel and for the change of color! You’ve had your home measured and you’ve signed the estimate! What happens next?!? Here are 5 things you can do to make your paint project go as smoothly as possible!
interior painting
1. Respond to Calls and Emails from your Painter
In many cases; your painter will have a calendar that they will want to schedule you into as soon as possible. The better you are at keeping in communication with them; the more quickly you can move through the interior painting process! If you work with Sir Paints A Lot, one of the first things you will need to schedule (if you want it) is your color consult! Making the time to have one of our color specialists come out and help you choose a color scheme can really help you feel confident and happy with the paint you choose! Also: the sooner your painter knows which colors you are using, the sooner they can order paint and get your project started! If you’re curious about the color consult; check out this blog: Pros and Cons of a Color Consult!
2. Mark Your Calendar!
Once you get the estimated date for your interior painting project, Mark Your Calendar! Paint companies do their best to keep in contact with you to let you know whether they are on schedule for your project or if they are ahead or behind. It is important that you also keep track of when your project is supposed to happen so that you don’t plan other events too close to the time of your job. Allow a little wiggle room before making plans to host a family dinner, for example, so that you do not end up disappointed if the painters run into a little setback. Even though the date may not be “exact”, keeping track of it will help you be more prepared.
Keeping track of your appointment time also prevents most complications where you would end up needing to reschedule. Not only does last minute rescheduling ruin other customer’s plans and schedules; but you also may end up having to wait longer than you expected, depending on how busy your painter is. No fun 🙁
3. Make Plans for Pets
Once you have a good idea of when your paint project will happen; make plans to keep your pets out of the area that will be painted. If your whole house will need painted and your pet cannot stay outside; ask a friend to help watch them or find an animal kennel you can bring them to. We have heard great things about Willamette Valley Dog and Cat Motel! No matter how friendly your pet is; paint is one thing you don’t want them getting into! The painters cannot be efficient at getting their work done if they are trying to keep your pets out of the paint. Or worse; cleaning up paint messes of cute paw prints tracked all over your floor! 😉
4. Remove Knick-Knacks and Pictures
To help us save time (and you money), you will want to remove all the pictures from your walls and any shelving or knick-knacks from the room. Also remove rugs, TV’s and other electronics. Large furniture should be moved to the center of the room, at least 3 feet away from each wall. The painter will cover it with plastic and drop cloths. Do not pile *all* of your things into a mountain in the middle of the room though; bring your things somewhere safe and make your walls ready for paint! You also need to remove clothes and other items from closets that need painted. You can expect painters to move large items for you like refrigerators, washers, dryers, couches etc… But please remove all your other belongings before the painters arrive. If your ceiling is being painted as well, the room will need to be 70% empty.
5. Go Enjoy A Vacation!
Not to be rude— Painters love to chat with customers and get to know you! If you only are having one or two rooms painted and you don’t need to be in them all the time; that’s different! We would love for you to stick around and tell us about your life and your adventures!
But!I If you have scheduled a full interior painting project, join me on this imaginary journey…
The painters have been in your house all day and you just return home from work.
You’re feeling like you need a snack so you try to get into your masked off freezer for some pizza rolls. You glance at your oven and see it is also covered in plastic. A moment of irritation passes… You decide to leave and get some food somewhere else. Your fingers peel at tape so you can make your way through the doorway of plastic.
You return with your food. The daylight has faded away and you need to turn on the light. The switch is covered in paper. The light is dim and covered in plastic. The drive-through forgot to give you a fork…You complete the obstacle course of getting into your silverware drawer.
Now you want to relax and watch some TV. Then you remember that your TV is in another room covered in a drop cloth and so is your couch. You decide to go to bed. If you are lucky; that won’t be covered yet… You stare into the hazy paint dust and wonder what you are doing here….
That was enjoyable right?! 😉
Your house is not the place you want to be when you are having interior painting done! Trust us! Once your appointment time is confirmed; make plans to go anywhere but home! Stay at the coast or in a fun air-bnb or even just a hotel or friend’s house for the duration of your project! Almost everyone loves coming home after a getaway! Imagine how much fun coming home will be after a fresh paint job!
Keeping these steps in mind will make your interior painting experience much more pleasant! Don’t stress! Just remember to stay in contact with your painter so that you get updates regarding your project. Put your possessions somewhere safe and out of the way, and plan a fun getaway for yourselves and your pets! 😉
Thank you for taking the time to read this to be prepared for your upcoming interior painting project! If you have not scheduled with us yet and would like an estimate, click here, or call 541 600 2025! Have an Awesome Day!
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…. 😉
Well first off- during business hours ;). This is a topic that has various answers in different parts of the country with different weather patterns and workforce balances; but here in the PNW we get so many calls for exterior work that people are hoping to get done sometime next week. They are very disappointed to discover that the soonest we can get them in is next summer.
Below I will cover some common misconceptions about when to book a paint estimate! Hopefully this will help you plan out your paint project without any major setbacks! Remember… These are misconceptions- the answer you seek is in the fine print 😉
1. I shouldn’t schedule an exterior paint estimate until my paint fails.
We all want to get the most life out of our paint jobs! (Unless the color is too hideous to behold 😉 ). However, if you wait until the paint is Already peeling, then you’re going to be paying extra anyway. The additional prep-work required to deal with peeling paint adds up! You’re also going to risk damaging your siding if you leave parts of it unfinished and exposed to the elements. (This also costs more…Especially if no one can fit you in until next summer). This is one of those situations where trying too hard to get the most bang for your buck can really backfire.
So how can you tell when your house needs repainted? In general, once your paint has begun to fade, the next thing that happens is it flakes or peels. This blog goes into more depth if you are curious!
2. I should schedule an exterior paint estimate right before I want it done.
In an ideal world, we could talk about painting on the weekend and start the very next week! However, reality is far from that. With all the shortages in our current economy; workers and materials are not so quick to come by. On a good year, exterior season runs from May through October. If you call anytime in that time-frame; expect that you might not get on the calendar until the next May-October. Exterior work books 6-12 months out right now, so it is important to choose a contractor whose business is likely to be around another year. (free tip 😉 )
Sometimes you can call during the winter months (Nov-April) and get in for the upcoming summer. Occasionally you might get lucky and be able to snag a spot even if you call in early summer! Just keep in mind that if you put it off too long; you’ll be stuck with whatever painter you can get and it probably won’t be the one you want! The same rule applies if you have a particular set of dates you want your painting to take place on. If you take too long to book your estimate, you’ll be stuck with whatever dates we can fit you in for! Plan 6-12 months ahead when it comes to scheduling your paint estimate so You can choose the painter you trust!
3. I can use my estimate from 3 years ago to get on the calendar now!
This goes hand in hand with the misconception before this… Say you got your estimate ahead of time just like I advised, but you weren’t quite ready to commit and get yourself on the calendar… So you held onto it a couple years until you were sure you were ready! You call to get on the books annnnnd the unfortunate news is that 3 years is a long time for a paint job. The estimator will likely have to come back and assess the current condition of your paint. If your paint has worn down considerably, extra cost might need to be added for additional prep-work.
Not to mention all the rapid changes in our economy. Everything from wages we pay employees to the cost of our masking tape has gone up. Whatever your estimate had written down for cost of labor and materials is likely not the same. When you schedule your estimate you should be ready to commit to a project in the near future, but also be aware that it might not begin for 6-12 months. If you Are still holding onto an old estimate and you would like to work with that painter still; give them a call! Just remember that the estimate will need adjusted!
4. Interior work doesn’t have a long wait time!
While this is usually true, if you call in the wrong season it is a different story! Here in the PNW a good rule of thumb for interior paint work is to schedule it during the rainy season! If you call for interior work during the summer you will quickly learn that our calendars are filled to the brim with exterior work. We might be able to get you in on a rainy day if one shows up though, so don’t hesitate to call! Just remember the weather is out of our control! If you call about interior work in the rainy season, you can get on the schedule during that same rainy season. No problem.
5. I’m going to sell my house so I should wait until I’m ready to list it!
The Fresher the Better right?! Its common for people to repaint their house before selling to boost curb appeal and profit! Sometimes people know they will be selling their house and moving in the summer and would like a full re-paint (interior and exterior) but want to hold off on the interior work until they are out of the house. At the time of the estimate; they’re not exactly sure when that will be. I have Good news! Because we can not control the wind and weather, our schedule is “approximate” until its right down to go-time.
If you call and get on the books, we can move your project around here or there as needed. If you wait until you are ready to list your house to scramble and find a painter…. well… That is just added stress to an already busy time and we likely will not be able to help you even if we want to. Same rule applies! Try to plan 6-12 months ahead if you can!
Maybe the last time you had your house painted you didn’t have to plan so far ahead. Maybe you lived somewhere sunny and exterior work was a year round thing so it just didn’t occur to you. Hopefully this blog helps you see the current reality of the PNW painting season. We are doing our best at Sir Paints a Lot to keep up with demand! If you realized while reading this that it is time to book your paint estimate- click HERE to schedule with us! Thank you!
