Good and reputable house painters are easy to find. One of the most important 
elements of choosing a house painting specialist is the confidence and evidence that they show they’ll be around even after the paint has dried. By all means try to get referrals from your neighbors, family and friends who’ve had good experiences with the painters. But don’t just stop there. Favor the referrals from people who have had several great projects completed by the same painters. should find them advertised in various vested forms. Then, these same painters should have an ad or two in the preeminent local business directories for which they would have made a substantial outlay. But don’t take the symbol on their advertising as proof. Anybody can cut and paste a logo these days so call these bureaus to verify the company’s status. This should make you know you are dealing with an enterprise professional. You should also pay attention to the lawn and truck signs of painters in your area as a good starting point to see if they show up in any of these other established promotional avenues.
So, now that you’ve done your preliminary search for the best 3 or 4 candidates it’s time to invite them to bid on your painting project. Each one shows credibility and establishment in the community with a web portfolio specifically detailing experience with your type of project. So give them a call. Are they easily reached? Or, if you have to leave a voicemail, does the answering message reveal the company name you were expecting? Or is it an unidentified voice who just asks you to leave a message? Does the recording make you feel welcome and grateful for your call? Do they return your call in a timely manner or leave you hanging for a day or two? And when you actually reach the person responsible for estimating, are they rapid and knowledgeable in their responses to your questions or do they seem to lag, flounder about or remain vague? You’ll always do best with painters who can answer your inquiries straight away in a relaxed and confident way rather than someone who’s too quick and cocky or slow and uncertain. An experienced professional painter with your best interests in mind will seem very comfortable with you and the details of your project.
Once you’ve spoken with two or three painters you feel comfortable with, try to set them up to meet with you at either staggered times of the same day or at the same time on different days. This way, you’ll know that each one of your estimators had the opportunity to see the project under roughly the same conditions. There are so many variables involved with getting your home from the condition it’s into where you want it to be. You want to be sure that your Longmont painters has the same details and most importantly, your specific expectations. If they all have a slightly different idea of the results you’re looking for, then you’re going to get some widely varying quotes which may or may not represent what you expect for your money. The best thing you can do is to make detailed notes of exactly what you want to be done and how you want it done (where applicable) so that your instructions are identical with each of your estimators.
Does the estimator ask YOU for all the solutions to your problems? Or do they provide you with helpful suggestions and innovative ideas to work WITH you in creating your home? Usually, choosing a painter who wants to work WITH you and not just FOR you is the one who will most care about the results. They should have a feel for what you’re trying to accomplish with your repairs and decorating.
First, let’s consider the independent painter. There’s a world of range in this option alone. The good, the bad and the terrible! And when considering them during the estimating process, the “Nice Guy” or “Gal” who means well may also be the worst painter you can’t bring yourself to fire. Or there’s the “Picasso” who knows he’s a great painter but won’t move your furniture out of his way and other such “menial” (but necessary) tasks because it’s “beneath him”. Or you may get lucky and find the perfect independent painter who can do a great job for you. But the good one’s can’t start the work when you need them to because they’re spread too thinly. And then a year later, you can’t pin him down when you need him because he’s too busy. Or worse, you can’t find him again at all because he’s left town for greener pastures or left the business entirely due to burn out.
So maybe you should consider trusting your home to the national brand name painting contractor. After all, these are the firms that have been around awhile, have advertising in all the right places, have served thousands of customers, and have so much work going on all the time that they must be good. Not to mention, their overhead and materials costs are the lowest of all painting services. So they must do great work without having to charge you as much, right? Wrong. What they don’t spend proportionally on administration and paint they put into heavy marketing to stay front and center in people’s minds. They know how much your confidence is worth for as long as they have that, the quality of their work is secondary. After all, who are their workforce? Independent painters just like the ones we’ve reviewed. They come in all the same types and calibers of people only they don’t get paid as well as the truly independent. And with lower pay comes lower responsibility. They often don’t take the same care and attention to detail as you would hope for the large corporate fees your paying.
Having numerous crews to work with, these contractors can usually accommodate your timetable with at least one or more painters ready when you need them. And with several jobs on the go at all times, these contractors have an increased cost advantage over the independent painter. Although they could never get paint as cheaply as the large corporate firms, they do have much greater savings on materials than you or the independent to keep the pricing under control in your favor.
Still, when selecting your local painting contracting firm it’s very important to do all the preliminary investigation we’ve covered here to be sure you’re dealing with a reputable and honest company. Unfortunately, there are still a lot of shysters out there who set themselves up with a business card and a truck to take your money and run. Or worse, they take your money, damage your home, steal your belongings and then run. And it’s these con artists who can make the homeowner feel wary about the entire industry even though they only represent an average of 10% of the painters out there.