Every so often a home deserves a makeover. Nothing does the job like a fresh coat of paint! Whether homeowners decide to go with the same color to give the house a new lease on life, or they choose to go with a whole new change, many will take the first step by inviting painting contractors to visit the home to have a look and offer professional information and advice.
In the United States there are 316,200 people who are employed by or who own a professional painting business. Many painting contractors also branch out within their business to include small home renovation projects. In addition, often a painting contractor will act as a subcontractor, hired by a larger business that is doing work on a home to handle the painting end of the project. In this case, the painter is one link in a chain of home renovation professionals all working together to get the job done.
Painting contractors are professionals who typically follow a well thought out plan when taking on clients. There are steps that they follow when offering their services to potential clients in order to show that they are the right company, or individual, for the job. Often, in order to be considered for a job, residential as well as commercial painters are asked to submit a bid. There will usually be several professional painters bidding against each other for the same job. To work out a fair bid, the painter must know the measurements of the areas that they will be painting. They will need to assess any prep work that might need to be done; for instance, will they have to take down old wallpaper, repair cracks, or remove old paint? Time for any preparation will have to be included in the bid. What type of finish the customer wants would also have to be discussed, and the painting contractor will need to know the equipment needed to carry out the job. The amount of the paint and the cost, ladders, and possibly, if an exterior painter is estimating his or her costs, the cost of scaffolding for the outside of the structure may also be a consideration.
Once a contractor has won a bid, their next step is preparation for the job. When painting the exterior of a structure, there are preparations and considerations that are necessary that would not be needed on the inside. Because the building has been exposed to the elements, most likely for several years, the scraping off of flaking paint may be needed, as may be some priming and caulking. Any repairs would also need to be done before painting could begin. If the existing paint is still in fairly good condition, the painting contractors will simply clean it up by rubbing it with some type of material abrasive enough to provide a good foundation for the new paint. This will ensure a smooth, lasting finish. For exterior walls, depending upon the materials used in their construction, different methods of painting must be considered. For example, a building with a stucco exterior would most likely be spray painted as opposed to the use of rollers in order to ensure that no spots are missed.
Whether indoors or outdoors, the type of paints chosen must have certain qualities that will do well with corresponding atmospheric conditions. The type of paint and finish for the outside of a building will need to be one that will endure under weather conditions that occur in that location. The air will be quite different on the interior of a structure, so the choice of paint will not be the same as for the exterior. In addition, for interior rooms such as kitchens and bathrooms, a painter would likely choose a paint with a high resistance to moisture, whereas, in other rooms of the house with a dryer air quality, that would not be necessary.
Painting contractors will apply a few coats of paint in order to get the finish they are looking for. As part of their agreement with the client, when the job is completed, they will remove their equipment and make sure that the area is left as it was before the work was done.
