Are you considering hiring a professional painter to freshen up the exterior of your home?
Then you will want to make sure you are hiring a skilled professional who will do a good job, but you also don’t want to spend too much money.
So, how do you go about finding the right painter for the job? Asking the right questions is a good place to start.
Here are 11 questions to ask any exterior painter before hiring them.
1. Do you provide a free quote for exterior painting?
The first question should always be – do you offer a free quote or estimate?
Most exterior painters and decorators will provide free quotes for exterior painting projects. They know that you will likely ask multiple painters to price the project.
If they have years of experience and lots of satisfied customers, they will be confident in providing you with a free quote.
They will either ask you to provide some basic information about your project or will visit your home to view what needs done.
2. What kind of exterior painting prep do you do?
Exterior painting prep includes power washing, scraping, caulking and priming.
Power washing removes dirt, dust, mildew, and any other debris from the surface of the painting substrate. This is essential to creating a good bond between the primer and the surface of the substrate.
Scraping removes any loose or peeling paint from the surface of the painting substrate. This exposes fresh paint to the primer so that it can form a good bond. It’s also important to remove any flaky material because this will create an uneven surface for painting and could lead to peeling paint down the line.
Caulking fills in cracks and crevices in order to create a smooth surface for painting.
For exterior painting, some exterior painters use a primer/sealer first. This helps to seal in any leaks or moisture, and it also provides a good surface for the paint to adhere to.
You should also ask if their exterior painting quote includes covering items like patio furniture, decking etc to ensure that they are not covered in paint splashes. Ask if they also cover windows, guttering and downpipes if you asking them to do exterior house painting.
3. What exterior paint do you use?
There are a number of different types of exterior paint that an exterior painter can use, depending on the material that your house is made out of. For example, if your house is made out of brick, they will use a different type of paint than if it is made out of wood or has a wood cladding.
If your home is made out of brick or roughcast (render), they will likely use a latex-based paint specifically for stone like material. This type of paint will hold up well against the elements and won’t fade as quickly as other types of paint.
If your home is made out of wood, they will use an oil-based or acrylic-based paint, though some external painters are moving to water-based variations.
Ask if they use a specific brand, though expect your exterior painting quote to be higher if they use well-known brands.
4. Do you offer a warranty for the exterior painting work?
They should offer a warranty for all exterior painting work and it tends to be guaranteed for 5 years from the date of painting.
If any cracked, chipped, or fading occurs within that time frame, get in touch with the exterior painter to ask them to repaint the affected area free of charge.
Its wise to ask several exterior painting and decorators for quotes to see if they offer a warranty or not for their external painting job.
5. Do you have insurance for exterior painting?
It is a good idea to ensure that they have insurance for exterior painting. Without it, if something goes wrong while the painter is working on your house, you could be responsible for the cost of repairs.
Plus, insurance can help protect you from any liability in case someone gets injured while the painter is working on your property.
6. Can I see past external painting client references?
When considering hiring an exterior painter, always ask to see references from past clients. A good painter should be able to provide you with a list of satisfied customers who can confirm their quality of work.
Exterior painting can be a big investment depending on the size of the project, and you will want to make sure that you are hiring a qualified professional who will do a great job.
Checking references is one of the best ways to ensure that you are getting someone who has the experience and skill necessary to do your painting job right.
7. How often will I need to paint rendered house?
If your house (or garden walls, or garage walls) has been rendered with roughcast or a similar surface, you will want to know how often you will need to repaint the rendered finish.
The frequency with which you need to paint your rendered house will depend on a number of factors, including the quality of the original paint job, the type of render used, the local climate, and whether or not the house is exposed to direct sunlight.
In general, however, most rendered houses will need to be repainted every 5 years. Ask the professional painter for their recommendation.
8. When should you paint the outside of the house?
Spring is the best time to paint the outside of your house because the weather is mild and there is plenty of time before summer arrives.
The best time is when the weather is not too hot because the paint can dry too fast. Hence why the summer is not recommended.
However, depending on which area you stay in, for example Scotland or the north of England, the temperatures may not even get high in the summer, so an exterior painter and decorator can paint during the summer and autumn months.
They will probably not want to complete your external painting project during colder or wetter months, as paint tends to have minimum temperatures in which it will work correctly. Along with, no one wants a fresh paint job rained on.
9. What order do you paint the exterior of a house?
Aside from doing the prep work first before moving onto the final paint coats, it is always best to start from the top of the house and work downwards.
This means that any paint slashes from higher up won’t ruin freshly painting items down below.
Ask the exterior painter and decorator in what order they will paint things. If you are having them paint your eaves and facia boards, these should ideally be done first. If you are having your rendered walls painted, this should be next. Then window frames and/or window ledges and finally doors.
10. Will you be using ladders or scaffolding while painting house?
In general, scaffolding is only necessary if the external painters & decorators are painting very high walls or eaves/facia boards. If your house is two stories or less, they may paint without scaffolding and just use ladders.
There are a variety of factors the painter will consider when deciding whether or not to use scaffolding while painting a house. Safety should be the most important. Using scaffolding will make the job safer, but other factors include the cost, time and effort required to set up and take down the scaffolding.
When they factor in the cost of hiring scaffolding (or tower scaffold hire cost), it may make your project too expensive. You can always check the cost of scaffolding hire companies near you.
11. How long will it take to paint the exterior of house?
It really depends on the size and condition of the house, as well as the paint job itself.
A simple repaint job on a small house might only take a few days, while a larger, more complex job could take several weeks. If the house is in bad state of repair or needs major repairs, that will add more time to the project.
The weather conditions will also impact the length of time it will take to paint the exterior of your home. If it starts raining (or snowing) during the project, the exterior painter is probably going to leave until the weather improves.
What Next?
Exterior painting can be a daunting task. It is important to find the right painter for the job who will do a quality prep work and use high-quality paints.
We will help you get free exterior painting quotes so you can compare prices with multiple local painters in your area.
You can ask them for references and ask them to show you pictures of their past painting jobs. Most exterior painters will have these things ready to show you.
