FAQ
Do you hire sub-contractors to do the preparation and painting of our home?
Do you do criminal background checks and/or drug screening on your employees and/or subcontractors?
Do you have contractors liability insurance and workers comp policies on employees and can you provide a copy of that prior to signing a contract?
Do you make certain that sub-contractors have contractors liability insurance and workers comp policies?
Could you provide copies of the sub-contractors liability insurance and workers comp policies?
How long has your company been in business?
Could you provide addresses and names of customers that you have done jobs for that are similar to my project?
Could you provide before and after photos of the customers that you have done jobs for that are similar to my project?
Could I call or e-mail any of your references; if they permitted you to give them as reference?
Do you offer any kind of warranty on your services i.e. warranty on labor for preparation and painting services?
Pressure-Washing is an excellent method to prepare exterior surfaces/substrates prior to priming-caulking-painting. Pressure-Washing effectively removes any chalking, residue and/or other surface contaminants that are typically caused by deterioration of previous coatings. These surface contaminants must be removed prior to painting otherwise, regardless of what type of material that you prime or paint with; it's adhesive properties will definitely be compromised. Product failure is almost always caused by sub-standard surface preparation.
Everything that the contractor "said" that they would do relative to the preparation and painting of your home...should be "written". The quote/proposal/contract should be very thorough and specific with as much detail as possible. This prevents any "discrepancies or confusion" later after the project has already begun. The contract should almost be like a "checklist". The reason for this is simple: If everything that is on the checklist is completed to the customers satisfaction than the contract has been fulfilled. That protects both the contractor and the customer.
If you plan on hiring this contractor ask he/she to write down the things that they mentioned at initial visit on the contract and re-submit to you? Doesn't hurt to take notes when talking to a contractor. Write down which contractor you are talking with and any key items that contractor mentions will be taken care of; you can cross-reference them later when he/she sends a quote to you based on notes you took.
