Painting our homes ourselves versus hiring someone else for the job has become a bit of a contentious topic online these days. Maybe this sounds rather odd or weird to you – we don’t blame you for feeling that way. Honestly, it’s pretty strange to think that people argue over this, but they do.
Perhaps some of that comes from the fairly rampant DIY culture that we’re seeing right now. Do-it-yourself seems to be the motto of a lot of bloggers online. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, a lot of them tend to disregard the fact that some people just really don’t have the time or mental energy to become DIY divas.
There have been plenty of fascinating articles on the topic, including this one if you’re interested in it. We won’t be focusing on it much for the rest of this article, outside of this – we’d just be remiss not to touch upon it before we discuss whether or not it’s worth hiring a service like this.
After all, inevitably when this topic comes up, there is someone who would argue that we should all just be doing this on our own. Unfortunately, this approach just isn’t realistic for a lot of us out there. We shouldn’t need to be ashamed that we bring in outside assistance, either.
What Does Hiring a Painting Company Involve?
One of the first things that we need to consider here is how this entire process works. Although the purpose behind having these contractors around is to make things simpler (and trust us, they do), there are still some tidbits along the way that you’ll want to be aware of. Thankfully, it’s really not that complicated.
Contractor Responsibilities
To start, you might be wondering what the company you hire will be in charge of. While this can vary depending on who you’re working with, it’s fairly standard. There are a lot of choices in Kalamazoo, but there’s a good chance you’ll find that most contractors include these things in the “package,” so to speak.
Preparation is one of the biggest things, and a lot of us may not necessarily expect it. What might it include? Well, typically it will involve moving any furniture or covering it up with a tarp. Protection for the floor is another part of it. Naturally, this helps reduce what we need to worry about during the process, so it’s a pretty nice perk.
Another thing that they tend to take care of is preparing any surfaces that they’re going to be painting. Whether they’re removing wallpaper, stripping a previous layer of paint, sanding drywall, or anything in between – they’ll be making sure that the surface is ready for a fresh coat. Now, if you know in advance that this may need to happen, it’s worth mentioning during the consultation.
From there, we’ve mostly got the obvious stuff left. Most professional painters in the area, such as Brothers Colors Painting in Kalamazoo, MI, will include priming, the painting itself, and touch-ups after the fact. Seeing as this is the standard, you’re probably not surprised to hear it.
When is Hiring a Professional Painter Worth it?
Next on our docket, let’s discuss when it will actually be worth your while to hire a contractor. Here’s the thing, though – any time that you’re not looking to do the painting on your own, you’ve got a pretty compelling reason to bring in someone else to do it. Of course, you’re probably looking for more than that, so let’s continue on.
Time is probably the biggest reason, honestly. Let’s face it – most modern Americans lead extremely busy lives. We’ve got a lot on our plates already, and adding another thing onto that burden can make things really hectic. Finding ways to mitigate that can really be a blessing, so it’s hardly a surprise that this reasoning lands so high on our list.
That said, though, it’s not the only thing we’d like to mention. Once you’ve started to shop around for a professional painter, there are a few signs that you can use to judge whether they’re the “real deal” or not. If you’re looking to get an idea of what we mean, you can check out this resource: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/209816.
Otherwise, let’s just dive right in. Right off the bat, you and your contractor should understand what the expectations are. They should be transparent about what they can accomplish, and you should be transparent about what you’re looking for. Combined, this usually means that you’ll be satisfied with what you end up with.
Naturally, a lot of what we mentioned above comes into play again in this section. If the painter that you’re looking at is willing to cover up the furniture in the room, will do touch-ups when needed, and will prep the walls as necessary, then it’s likely going to be worth it. Now, sometimes it can be kind of tricky to know whether this will be the case before you get things started.
With that said, though, you’re unlikely to run into a situation where you don’t get what you paid for here in Kalamazoo. To help avoid that, you could ask your friends and family for some recommendations. You could also read some reviews online if you’d like some additional perspectives.
Generally speaking, though, hiring these types of services is worth it. Painting isn’t always going to be easy. The professionals bring a lot more tools to the table, along with their raw expertise and experience in the field. You’ll be hard-pressed to find better quality, really.
No one wants to end up stuck with a patchy paint job or streaky walls, so it makes sense to bring in the experts in that case. Don’t feel bad for doing so, either – there’s nothing wrong with not wanting to DIY it. After all, while paint can always be covered up, what you’ve got on the walls currently will matter in terms of the home value as well.
