Painters and painting contractors may all seem alike,

be assured they are not!

I am very pleased with the paint job on my house. The crew was very professional & receptive to my needs. I would definetly recomend Stellar to everyone!

Jim & Kerri Dean,  Highlands Ranch, Co.

 Many consumers purchase interior/exterior painting services and base their decision solely on price and don’t consider the longer term quality issues.

 Stellar wants to help fully educate our customers on what they’re purchasing.

Never underestimate the value of quality… quality materials and quality services.

Here are some important points to keep in mind when choosing your painting contractor:

1.     Insurance

Does the contractor have current general liability and workers compensation policies? Seeing a certificate is not good enough! Some contractors pay their first premium, get a certificate and discontinue subsequent payments. Request the name and phone number of the contractor’s insurance agent and verify their status 24 hours after receipt of the bid. If the painting contractor only has general liability insurance, you are not adequately protected.

General Liability- Protects your personal property from damage.  Repair or replacement is provided if needed.

Workers Compensation - Protects you from being liable if a painter injures themselves while in your home. 

These policies are costly for legitimate contractors, but they protect you, the customer. Remember many contractors may offer lower bid prices because they don’t have current insurance.  Don’t put yourself at risk!

2.     Experience and Professionalism

Does the painting contractor use full-time professionals? Often time’s bids are lower because the contractor is using students, retirees, handymen or low wage labor. This can result in people being rotated in and out of your home and significantly impact the end result. This can create trust issues, craftsmanship and/or quality problems and your job may take considerably more time than necessary. The quality end result is directly proportional to the quality of the people performing the work! Stellar requires that all of its painters have a journeyman status in the Industry with a min. of 6-8 yrs. experience.   

3.     On-site Supervision

Is the painting contractor going to provide on-site supervision or are they going to “drop by to check on the guys”? On-site supervision ensures that the scope of the work and the painters are being managed properly at all times. Also, you have someone to communicate with when important questions arise.  Most often a 3 man crew is sufficient to maintain proper supervision and consistent workmanship. We do not believe in over-manning a job with 6 or 8 painters or under-manning a job with one. Stellar’s Crew Leaders must have a min. of 10-15 yrs experience in the Industry.

4.     Professional Affliations & Endorsements

Is the painting contractor affiliated with professional Industry & consumer advocate organizations ?  Legitimate, quality minded painting contractors will connect themselves with organizations like the Painter Decorator Contractors of America, The Better Business Bureau, Tom Martino Troubleshooter Network and the Chamber of Commerce. This should be important to the consumer as the contractor has shown an interest in keeping up with Industry changes, standards and quality control.

5.     Warranties

Is the warranty detailed in the proposal or bid?  Any warranty should be detailed and clearly written in your bid.  Make sure that the company providing the warranty can stand behind it.  Remember a warranty is only as good as the quality of the company providing it.  If you are not working with a legitimate professional company then don’t expect the company to stand behind their warranty, if they even offer one.

6.     Paint Quality

What is the quality of the paint being recommended?  Ask questions of your painting contractor and do a little research about the grade and warranty of the paint.  Make sure you are getting a true premium 100% acrylic or latex paint.  Low grade and 1 year warranty paints should not be represented as a premium or custom approach to a re-paint. 

7.     Paint Preparation Products

What is the quality of the preparation products being used?  Check your proposal to make sure the painting contractor is not using 1 hour-recoat acrylic primers, fast dry oil primers or less expensive acrylic caulks. An alykd 24 hour recoat primer and a high quality elastomeric caulk should be specified in your proposal. Lesser expensive products will reflect a lower price final bid and many times are used as shortcuts.  Look for terms such as; “caulk as needed”, “prime as needed” and “apply X brand of paint”.  Ask questions and get the details!

8.     Paint Application to Siding & Dilution of Paint

How is the paint going to be applied to the siding?  To prolong the life of siding, paint should be diligently applied to the bottom edge of the lap board to properly seal it from any further entry of moisture into the board. This will arrest any further warping or swelling to the masonite board and prevent replacement. All cedar siding should be back rolled with the application of a stain product. Stellar absolutely does not dilute coatings whatsoever. Coatings do not need to be diluted to be applied by an airless. Today’s airless sprayers are very powerful and can handle materials full body as intended. Selecting a painter that will not dilute coatings often comes down to who you ultimately trust!

9.     Meeting and getting to know your Painting Contractor

Can the painting contractor meet with you and explain how they will paint certain elements of your house? It is very important to meet face-to-face with your painting contractor.  Find out their experience level, how much work they currently are doing and ask for references.  Ask questions about how the painting contractor plans to address certain areas or difficult areas of the job.  Don’t just accept a proposal or bid sight unseen or one that is left on your doorstep.  Usually low bid work is a result of desperation and a lack of a quality result is the risk. If a low bid is connected with starting the next day many times this means this painter has no work.   If the painting contractor doesn’t feel good about the work they are doing, this may affect their wiliness to make sure you are happy with the final job.

10. Spraying versus Brush Painting

How does your painting contractor handle large surface areas?  It is quite simple.  You can’t apply paint consistently across a large surface area using a brush.  An airless sprayer can apply paint more quickly (a gallon per minute) and more evenly than a brush.  If you are having your siding painted, make sure your contractor is using a sprayer so that hard to reach areas and the bottom edge of lap siding are covered properly.  This will prevent any further warping or swelling.  Windows and trim areas should always be hand painted.

11. Price Variations

Does your painting contractor appear comfortable with bidding your interior or exterior work?  Insist that your painting contractor explain how they have calculated your bid. Did they use time standards, a price per square foot or both?

Interiors

Many contractors are uncomfortable estimating interiors because there typically are allot of variables that have to be accounted for or they may be an exterior oriented company.  If your proposal seems to be low in price, it can be that the contractor has not accounted for these variables probably or at all. This can result in the contractor coming back to you for more money or worse yet a sloppy job. Are the contractors walking thru your home for a few minutes and handing you a written bid or are they really looking at the job. Beware of bait & switch bids for one coat of paint when most jobs require double rolling or a low price offered only to get in the door and ask for more money later. Interior work often comes down to who you will ultimatley trust to be in your home and will be best suited to complete the job to a sucessful completion and meet or exceed your expectations. Remember Interior Painting truly is the relentless persuit of perfection!

Exteriors

 For exteriors, has the painting contractor taken into proper consideration items such as # of windows, proper prep to these windows, elevation, roof types (i.e. composite roofs are very dangerous and nearly impossible to walk on), encapsulating wax bleed to siding, shutters, # of colors, color changes, back rolling of stain, Soffit color vs. body color, masking of brick/decks, the amount of vertical trim like on Tudor style home, 3D painting of trim, tung & groove siding that needs to be caulked or vertical trim boards that need to be caulked and just the sheer square footage of a home. All of these things affect accessing the proper amount of time to produce a quality and long lasting job.

Stellar is proud to have serviced the following areas for Interior Painting, Exterior Painting and all our Kitchen, Bath, Basemnet Finish and General Remodeling Services:

Denver Co., Littleton Co., Centennial Co., Parker Co, Aurora Co., Castle Rock, Co., Westminster Co., Thornton Co., Northglenn Co, Evergreen Co., Golden Co., Lakewood Co., Wheat Ridge Co., Englewood Co., Cherry Creek, Co., Morrison, Co., Castle Pines Co., and Roxborough Park, Co.