Choosing an Interior Painter

As you might have guessed, a brush, roller and step ladder are pretty much all you need to start a painting company. Because painting is one of the easiest trades to get into, and the painting industry is largely unregulated, it tends to attract quite a few short-term startups. But, while anyone can hold a brush — it doesn’t mean everyone should! Like all industries, experience is still the strongest indicator for a job done right. To be sure you’re getting the quality interior paint job your home (and house value) deserves, here’s some pro tips for choosing an interior painter.

Five Keys to Hiring the Right Interior Contractor:

  • Do your research
  • Get it in Writing
  • Preparation, Preparation, Preparation
  • The Right Products, Applied Correctly
  • Warranty

Do Your Research

Meet the painting contractor in your home for the quote. The contractor will have the opportunity to evaluate the project and your needs. At the same time, you will begin to get to know the contractor. Are they polite? Punctual? Knowledgeable?

Ask about the crew. Will the contractor be involved in the project? Who will be overseeing the work on site? Is the work done by employees? Or subcontracted to outside tradespeople? Companies with stable, long term, experienced employees are in a better position to execute quality projects consistently.

You should also get to know as much about the painting contractor as possible. Ask for their insurance documents; $5 million coverage is a good standard. Make sure to check with WorkSafe to make sure the contractor has the appropriate Worker’s Compensation coverage. You can check this on the WorkSafe BC website. Ask for and check references. A good contractor should be able to provide a few references, complete with client names, phone numbers, and addresses. You can also learn from a contractor’s online footprint.

Get it in Writing

The written quote forms the basis of the painting contract. The quote should include in writing the contractor’s contact details, customer details, the scope of work, how the property will be protected during the work, the preparation work to be completed, each product to be used, the number of coats of primer and paint to be applied, how and when the payments are to be made, and what the warranty covers and for how long.

Upon your acceptance of the written quote, the quote becomes your contract. Be sure to keep a signed copy for your records, along with the invoices and receipts for payments.

Preparation, Preparation, Preparation

Proper painting preparation is important and cannot be overstated. Among the items to look for:

  • protection of unpainted surfaces
  • removal and re-installation of fixtures and hardware
  • cleaning and sanding to remove surface contaminants
  • filling, sanding, caulking and priming
  • sanding between finish coats
  • names of specific products to be used for each preparation step

The Right Products, Applied Correctly

Keep in mind that you’re spending far more on labour than paint. Your painting budget will be 80-90% for labour. The materials, only 10-20%. The quality of the paint will play a key role in determining the longevity of your paint job. So for this reason, make sure you choose a paint that will last. Premium paints are tougher, more washable and resist fading better over time.  You don’t want to spend all that money and effort only to find that the product doesn’t hold up. Buy paint that lasts.

Warranty

The best painting and decorating companies stand behind their work. By warrantying their work in writing, a contractor is committing to a long term, quality painting result. The painter should be concerned about preparing the surfaces properly and using quality materials, knowing that if the work is not long lasting, they will be providing free follow up services. As you’re checking each contractor’s references, be sure to ask if any warranty work was required. Likewise, was the contractor quick to follow through with their warranty obligations? No contractor provides perfect, long lasting results 100% of the time. The painting contractors with integrity are quick to correct any work that doesn’t live up to expectations.

 

Choose the Right Painter; Enjoy a Great Project!

Heritage Painting and Decorating owner David Forrester has helped Vancouver homeowners maintain beautiful homes for over 20 years. Following these steps will connect you with a great painting contractor who can provide a good project experience, beautiful and long-lasting results, and who will stand behind their projects with a smile for years to come!

Heritage Painting and Decorating owner David Forrester has proudly helped Vancouver homeowners maintain beautiful homes for over 20 years. We look forward to helping you!

Useful Tips When Painting Your Home

People renovate their houses after a certain period of time, not because the house has become ram shackled, but simply because they want to bring vibrancy to their homes again. What better way to do this than repainting the home. For other people, they might be moving into a new home and they do not feel the colors in their new homes. Therefore they decide to repaint the home.

Quality Will Always be The Best Decision

Whatever the reason for Vancouver house painting or repainting, there is need for a quality job. Some people might seek a professional painter while others who have time might consider doing the painting themselves. For persons who have decided to do the painting on their own, the following tips will go a long way in helping them do a quality job.

Wall Preparation

The key to having a successful house painting job lies in proper preparation, having high quality paint and possessing the right painting technique. This process is essential to ensuring that there is a smooth finish. Preparation stage has two sections; wall preparation and surface preparation.

When it comes to wall preparation, the process entails filling all the holes and cracks that may be on the walls. A filling substance known as “putty” or “filler” is essential in this process. An individual should therefore fill all holes that might have been created by nails or plumbing/electrical works. For larger holes, a drywall compound should be used to make a patch on the wall.

After all the fillings have been done, one should give the wall sufficient time for the fillers and drywall compound to dry. One all the patches are dry, a sand paper should be used to smoothen the edges of the patches so that they blend with the wall. Other rough edges could be scraped off and the area padded with wet sponge.

Surface Preparation

The second stage involves surface preparation. This entails safeguarding the area below the walls that do not need to get paint. There are many ways of protecting the floor while painting. One can place a pasting sheet on the surface round the room. A masking tape can also be used especially at the edges where the wall meets the door, windows or cabinet. After preparation, painting job can then begin.

As mentioned earlier, good quality paint is needed to get that perfect outcome. There are various types of paint in the market and one might be confused which one to pick. But once the individual has a theme in mind of the color he/she wants, deciding on the brand of paint will not be such a hard thing.

Paints are grouped into two major categories; water-based paints and solvent/oil-based paints. Water-based coats dry faster than solvent/oil based ones. But the solvent based ones are easy to clean as compared to the latter one. Also these coats produce different finishes depending on its glossiness and how many coats one applies on the wall.

Glossiness refers to the ability of the coating to reflect light. This quality also improves the cleaning ability of a place. There are also coatings which are non-reflective to suit different preferences. To conclude this article, before beginning the job, one should have proper clothing and read instructions on the paints before doing anything.

Choosing The Right Contractor

If quality is your benchmark and you would rather employ professional Vancouver house painters for this job, then call us for an estimate. We will be delighted to assess everything and give you an accurate quote for the work.

Call and ask for David at the number above

We Love House Painting

Want to know about my love/hate relationship with house painting? It’s probably a pretty common scenario, don’t you think? We love the end result, but getting there, well, it’s just frustrating and messy and not nearly as much fun as skiing or golfing or drinking beer.

One of my favorite movies is Dr. Strangelove. In particular, I can relate to the subtitle: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. That’s because long ago I learned to stop worrying about house painting, and now I love it. I mean, I really love painting houses. You might think that, coming from a multi-generational family of house painters, I would naturally love the work. But that wasn’t the case.

You’ve done some painting yourself, right?

Did you enjoy the prep work? Removing old finishes, especially wallpaper, is hard work. So is filling and scraping and sanding that nasty mud and breathing in the dust it produces. I didn’t have to like it, but I kind of had to do it and eventually came to love the entire process of painting homes. So now I operate my own Vancouver house painting company because my favorite thing about being a house painter is seeing the smile on someone’s face when they see the end result of our hard work.

Of course, with all the painting I have done over the years I have gotten way more efficient, but that’s only one small reason why I love painting houses. As strange as it may sound, I actually started enjoying the tedious messy stuff. I guess my pride got the better of me as I came to appreciate that every little step in the process contributed to the perfection and beauty that I could offer in the end.

So now I love it all: exterior house painting is a blast, but it’s the interior work that I love most of all. And I love that I am able to make a living at it. There are a lot of painters and painting companies around, and I like to think that I have built up one of the best by instilling a sense of pride and ethics in all those who work with me. Most of you aren’t going to develop the kind of passion that I have for painting houses, which is what enables me to earn a living, of course. But stay in touch and maybe I can offer an occasional tip to help you through your next painting endeavor. My first tip, though, is this: if you want your home painted properly, give me a call.

David Forrester

 

 

 

 

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Heritage Painting & Decorating
(604) 818-5485

Don’t Let Paint Colors be The Show Stopper

Don’t let paint colors be the show stopper that keeps you from you buying the home of your dreams. Painting is probably the least expensive fix to a home. This article will give you some basic design tips to think about when choosing colors for your new home.

If you plan to stay in your home for a long time, you can use bright colors freely. If you think you will move within a few years, choose neutral colors.

house colors

Think about decorating styles you have seen and liked. Your choices can range from Early American, Victorian, and Mediterranean to Contemporary styles. The decorating style you choose will give you a good starting point when choosing colors for your new home. One of our strengths is helping our customers choose the colors best suited for their home and current tastes. As a Vancouver house painting contractor we would be pleased to talk to you about your vision of how your home will look with fresh paint.

One of the things we take pride in is our five year warranty, words you will not usually hear from a painting contractor. Ask about the warranty when you call.

 

Decorating Tips

Does the thought of choosing your own paint colors scare you? Many hardware stores have painting/design centers that are a great resource. Go to the library or buy interior decorating and design books or magazines. Home shows are a fun way to learn what the latest trends are.

Think about putting a finish on your walls. Decorative finishes add dimension and character to a room. You can choose finishes like sponging, ragging, faux leather, stenciling, dragging, combing, spattering, faux marbling or stippling will give your home a classic look.

What color is your furniture? Choose colors that complement your furniture not clash with it.  Feel free to call if you have any questions.

Choosing Colors


Heritage Painting and DecoratingVancouver painting experts for heritage homes, exterior and interior painting & commercial project painting.

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