The paint on the exterior of your home is essential not only for beautifying your home but for protecting its longevity and vitality through the years. Painting the exterior of your home by yourself can be overwhelming, so many homeowners opt to hire a professional painting company to save time and ensure high-quality results. 

Still, there are so many painting companies out there so it can be challenging to choose between them all! Knowing what qualities to look for in a company, what they specialize in, and even who specializes in painting homes in your area are all factors to keep in mind during your search. To ease the burden just a bit, here are some pointers on how to choose the right painting company for you.

1. Determine Your Budget

Budgeting should always be your first step as you prepare to hire a contractor for your residential needs. It’s easy for home renovation projects to grow out of budget relatively quickly, so you must set your limits early on to ensure you get the work done within financial boundaries that won’t hurt your wallet. Your budget will be influenced by many things, the primary factors being:

The quality of paint and other materials you may want to use. 
The scale of the project. (Will you only paint the exterior of your home, or the interior as well? The more surfaces that must be painted, the bigger the scale of the project will be.)
The extent to which prep work must be done. (To prep your home for painting, are there certain materials, fixtures, or even other coats of specialized paint that must be removed? What needs to be done to ensure your home is ready for a new coat of paint and sealant?)

While you may not have the exact answers to all these questions, completing an overview of your needs for a painter and careful consideration for the current state of your home will give you a general sense of what price range you should be planning for. Now, of course, you'll have to do a bit of research to form a functional understanding of the costs and pricing mechanisms for painting companies. 

As you search in your local area for such information, you mustn't search for "low" costs necessarily, but reasonable costs. (Low prices are potentially indicative of the contractor's use of low-quality paint, minimal experience, or inadequate painting techniques. These factors prevent the company from charging at standard rates, so they offer a low, affordable price instead. You get what you pay for!) On the other hand, don’t go for the “luxury” services, either, as they are likely price gouging services that you can get for a better price elsewhere. 

2. Search Through the Available Options in Your Area

During this step, you will primarily be getting a feel for what's available price-wise and to get a sense of the expertise in your surrounding area. It’s important to choose a contractor that is familiar with painting homes in your town. Why? Every region has unique characteristics when it comes to the weather and general climate. Cities located in the Southern and Eastern areas of the U.S. will endure more humidity than those on the West coast. At the same time, generally, Southwestern homes will experience higher temperatures and dry conditions.

(Denver has a relatively mild climate, with dry, cold winters and hot summers. Since temperatures are not quite as extreme as they would be elsewhere, you should not have too difficult of a time identifying a company that can offer a high-quality, long-lasting paint job.)

Pay attention to how long companies have been working in your area. Do they have the knowledge and experience to provide the best service possible? Once you've identified the painting companies with the highest level of expertise and the best locality, you’re ready to look more closely at their pricing options. From here, you can narrow down your search even further. 

3. Ask the Painting Company Questions

Compile a list of the ideal contractors you identified in the last step. Now, you want to go through that list and whittle it down even further. The only way to do this is to get further details on their professional approach to painting homes, the exact details of their experience in the industry, and their pricing structure. (One of the most prominent reasons why clients get so disappointed in who they hire for a painting job is that they neglected to ask the right questions before hiring. This oversight resulted in a lack of all the available information to make the best decision!)

When you’re ready to interview your list of potential painting companies, here are some of the most important questions to ask:

Can you provide references from at least three of your most recent clients?
How long have you been in business?
Do you offer warranties with your work? 
Is your company lead-safe certified?
Do you belong to a recognized professional painting organization? If so, which one?
What are your recommendations for the best products to use for this project?
How long do you expect the project to take?
Do I need to provide the paint and necessary supplies, or will you?
Can you provide an estimate?

After you have asked all these questions and collected estimates from each contractor, you are ready to make your final decision. Homeowners in Denver will be happy to find that the best Denver painting company to entrust your home to is Imhoff Fine Residential Painting. Our team is full of skilled artisans that are expertly trained, ensuring the best possible results for your home and workspace. Imhoff employs 20 full-time painters, eliminating the need to hire subcontractors to get the job done quickly and efficiently. Whether your home needs painting and staining or even light carpentry, you can entrust the task to Imhoff Fine Residential Painting. We'll ensure that you get breathtaking, long-lasting results at a reasonable price. Call us today to get an estimate for your home!