10 Tips for Working with Painters
By Jay Johnson
In Paris, my design partner Irwin met an architect who told him that U.S.-style EPA restraints over paint ingredients were similar in his country. “But how do you get such amazing high-gloss paints over here?” Irwin asked him. The architect winked and replied, “We smuggle them in from Eastern Europe.”
Without running afoul of customs and turning your next painting project into a Ludlum novel, we’ve found these tried-and-true ways to work with painters.
1. Painters Know. Some designers and clients swear by one specific brand of paint. We’ve found, however, that the painters themselves are great judges of paint quality. Form a pact with your client to get your painter’s recommendations. In a restaurant, you’ll often get better service if you ask for your server’s personal wine recommendation; likewise, painters have a deep-down love of being deferred to when it comes to paint choices.
2. Find Quality. We’ve found our best painters by personal client referrals and asked trusted designers for their advice. If you don’t have these resources, most communities have designer show houses, and these generally showcase fine painters.
3. Neatness Counts. We check out a paint crew’s completed work before we hire them, and we visit an existing job site to look for quality clues. For instance, if the paint crew is dressed in white T-shirts and white pants and are neatniks in cleaning the jobsite at the end of the workday, those are promising signs that they’ll be extra tidy for your clients.
4. Cushion It. Anticipate that painting projects will last 10% longer than your painter estimates. And estimate an additional 10% onto their project budget. Keep that cushion your little secret because it will come in handy. It’s better to deliver the project earlier and under budget than ask for more time and money from your clients.
5. Quote Right. Include in your contract with any painter their estimated date of completion! Also, advise the painter at the time of the quote the rooms or areas to be painted in a dark or special paint as this requires more time for them to complete their work. You want to avoid a confrontation when the painter asks for more time and money once the job has started, so square everything away upfront.
6. Prep Properly. If you’re remodeling an old-construction home, consider hiring a separate paint stripping company, if that’s what the job requires. Make sure all metal and wood surfaces are stripped and prepped well before painting – clean all hinges, doorframes, etc. If you’re working on new construction, we like the painter to skim coat all surfaces, including new sheet rock.
7. Paint Schedule. Create an easy-to-follow paint schedule that everyone can understand. When you list paint colors, use both the paint name and the number to avoid misunderstandings. Put your phone number and email/text address on each page of the schedule to remind the painter to call you immediately with any questions or problems.
8. Spray Doors. We like to have painters spray paint new doors offsite; the results pay off in totally gorgeous, smooth surfaces.
9. Trim Details. Whenever possible, specify oil-base paints for all trim details on your job. It looks and wears better in the long run.
10. Schedule Carefully. You don’t want tradespeople on the job site while your painters are working; that will create delays and confrontations with your painter. We try to schedule no flooring, glasswork, window treatments, or furniture deliveries during the painting process. The painter is responsible for any dust in painted finishes or damage to surfaces, so keep everyone out of the paint crew’s way. If problems arise, isolate responsibility to the painters themselves.
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In November 2006, Manhattan-based blogger Jay Johnson and his partner Irwin Weiner ASID applied the popularity of watching videos on the Internet to the house-and-garden arena. The idea for Design2Share was born. On D2S, they share their insight, tips, and strong opinions about how people design and decorate their homes, entertaining over 300,000 visitors a year; their syndicated original videos had over 22 million video views in 2010.
