Because painting your home is a difficult and time-consuming job, hiring an exterior paint contractor can be the best way to get a great looking paint job. A good contractor can do the job in a fraction of the time it would take you because they usually have a crew or at least a helper or two, and experience. That experience in painting home exteriors is what lets them give you a great looking paint job in less time.

One of the best ways to find an exterior painting contractor is through word of mouth. Talk to friends, family and neighbors who’ve hired contractors to paint their homes. You will want to make sure the contractor either specializes in exteriors or has extensive experience painting exteriors. Interior painting is quite different, so if you’re recommended a great contractor but one that just started doing exteriors, you might want to opt for a more experienced crew.

The biggest benefit of word of mouth from people close to you is that it’s easy to look at their homes and see if you like the job that was done. This is something you should do whenever possible because what someone else considers a quality job might just be so-so to you. Find out how close the end result was to what was written in the contract, how long it took, if the exterior paint contractors were polite, as well as if they taped off windows and trim and protected areas around their work areas from splattering paint.

You can also check with the Better Business Bureau to see if there are any complaints. And don’t forget local paint supply stores. Tell them about your project and that you’re looking for someone reliable and reasonable to do the job. Since these suppliers deal with contractors every day, the ones they have the best relationships with should be the ones they recommend to you. If the contractor has a good relationship with the supplier, then it means they pay on time. What that means for you is that they probably have satisfied customers that pay them on time, too.

Online research is another good way to find exterior painting contractors, but you might not find much specific information about the quality of their work.

When you contact exterior painting contractors, ask about their labor warranties as well as paint warranties. And ask for references and to see homes they’ve painted n a similar style to what you want. If they can’t produce at the very least pictures of some of their painting jobs, then call another contractor. And when you hire a contractor, get this warranty in writing. Contact at least a few different exterior paint contractors so you can see the range of prices and quality.

Ask them for a written proposal or estimate so you can see everything they plan to do and the materials they plan to use in detail. This way there are no surprises once the exterior painting contractor has started the job.

Interested in painting servcies for your home? Get your project started by submitting a free BuyerZone request for painting and staining price quotes.