When you need to hire a painter for a commercial property, it may seem to be an overwhelming decision. For starters, the sheer number of painting companies to choose from can be intimidating. A quick Google search for “commercial painter in San Francisco Bay Area” yields “about 16,400,000 results”, so we’ll need to figure out how to narrow the field a bit to say the least.
Here are a few tips which should help you with the process when you need to hire a commercial painter:
- Remember that commercial painting jobs can be very different from residential jobs.
Commercial properties are not quite the same as residential properties, so working on them can be a very different process. While we all want our homes to look great, when we’re talking about a commercial property, it’s a necessity. Can you imagine showing up at a business, whether it’s a retail store or an office, and seeing a messy paint job, or old, peeling cracking paint? It would be a huge turnoff and might even make you reconsider doing business with that establishment. There may also be legal or regulatory requirements for your type of business, which the painter needs to be aware of. Make sure the painter you speak to has extensive experience with commercial painting jobs.
- Get competitive quotes - including a time estimate.
I don’t think I need to tell you how important it is to get multiple quotes from different commercial painters to ensure that you don’t overpay for the work. But it’s equally important to ask how long they expect the job will take. Since this is a business, timing is of the essence. You’ll need to have a realistic idea of how much time is involved, so you can figure out how to mitigate the impact to your business. Will the painters work before or after business hours, so as not to interfere with your customers? Or, will it require closing for some period of time while the work gets done. If it’s the latter, you need to know how much down time this will require.
- Find out what’s included in the price quoted.
Once you have a number of quotes, make sure the contractors are clear about what’s included in their price, so you know that you’re comparing apples to apples. For example, will any extra preparation be required, such as power washing, scraping, touchups to the walls, etc.? If so, are those included in the original quote, or will you be billed extra for that work? The same applies to moving furniture or equipment around. Making sure there are no misunderstandings in this regard will avoid confusion once the work is in progress and may prevent some surprise billing for “extras” when the job is complete.
