Finding a professional painter to assist you with your painting needs is not always as easy as it seems. Depending on your area of the country, there may or may not be a plethora of available labor to help you with your work. There is a dearth of qualified contractors in some towns, while there is an overload in others. Depending on the cit in with you live, you may be facing a difficult task ahead when it comes to finding a good painter.
First, ask your neighbors and friends who they have used and who they would recommend. Referrals are always the best way to go about obtaining qualified labor. Ask your friends what you liked about their contractors and what you can expect. Many times, too, your friends have already done the legwork necessary to obtaining the laborers with the best rates.
Look in the phone book. Many people are aware of the phone book for all of their other needs, but may not check it out for painters because they believe that only large painting companies are listed in the phone book. In fact, any business owner that has a landline telephone is listed in the phone book, including painters, hot dog stand owners and the like. Simply open a phone book and look for listings for painters, independent contractors and labor brokers.
Open a newspaper and flip through it for ads. Many small companies will put ads in small publications that match their marketing budget. These organizations are general one or two person shops that do a highly qualified job on homes.
Once you have found a handful of people, call each one and evaluate their rates. Ask for references and actually make calls to the references. Also, ask for some houses that they have done and visit the houses. The difference between a high-end professional painter and a low-end professional painter might not mean much when it comes to the paycheck, but it could mean a lot more when you view the end product created with your home.
If you still cannot find a qualified painter but need to get the job done quickly, contact the theater department of a local college or university. Within the theater department, there will be students who are studying set design. As a component to any set design program, students will have to spend a large number of hours painting, building and repainting stage sets.
These students tend to be careful about the details and highly knowledgeable with their craft. They are dedicated to making paint look good on a wall. After all, they study the art! What’s more – students command lower rates than professional painters and appreciate the work.
In a last-ditch effort, you can always call upon your friends for help in a painting crisis. Most good friends will settle for a case of beers and a pizza in exchange for an afternoon or weekend helping you with your home. Most importantly, when using friends to help you with your work, you are electing to spend quality time with them – a memory you cannot replace.