Communication When Painting Your Toronto Home

Poor communication is a leading reason for a bad home improvement project. Whether it is missed appointments, late arrivals, or long absences of the Toronto painting contractor, better communication can ease this sometimes painful process.

Painting existing homes can bring with it a lot of extra work which may not be included in the original bid. An experienced contractor will generally do a thorough walkthrough on the job, but cannot determine all the things which may come up. He will then complete a quote which he feels is reasonable and put in extra time for unforeseen prep. He may use ambiguous descriptions to describe prep like “as determined by contractor” or “as needed”. This is a mistake.

The homeowner, on the other hand, sees it a different way. He sees, in most cases, a painted room to perfection (the end result). Where the contractor knows he will cut around switch plates, cable outlet, and other protrusions, the homeowner is expecting all plates to be removed. This “lack of attention” to detail will create concern and start the job off on the wrong foot as the homeowner will likely have doubts about their decision. This lack of communication will create issues on most jobs, and magnify the slightest problem.

Although this seems minor, it does cause problems. On exterior jobs, it is much worse. Chipping paint, rust and other issues must be dealt with. If the contractor does not their proposal in detail with the homeowner, they automatically set HIGHER EXPECTATIONS, especially if the quote is higher than others. Communicating the details of the job is just as important as estimating properly. It can save your company money and minimize concerns of the homeowner by alleviating future problems.

Whether interior or exterior, a detailed walkthrough and explanation of how work will be completed goes a long way to making the job a good one. Do the following during walk through:

• Use a halogen lamp to expose flaws in the wall which may go undetected.
• If you are matching paint, use a pocket pallet provided by some paint manufacturers, it is easy to use and very professional.
• Make note, of imperfections and how they will be repaired in detail
• Explain how taping will be done, what and where
• Explain set up in each room; who moves furniture, etc
• Focus on eye level flaws, but inspect corners/closets with homeowner

These items may seem basic, but most homeowners will focus on the flaws and most contractors won’t thoroughly explain how they will work.

Once the scope of work is determined, the home owner should be made aware of who will be doing the work and when. If a new crew member is assigned, call them and let them know. They also should be made aware of who will handle any issues and concerns. Who will inspect the work and handle the completion details. More homeowners express dissatisfaction when the person they deal with only shows up when checks are written. Explaining this upfront gives the homeowner the belief that you are detail oriented and professional. It makes them feel you are on top of their job.

Although most of this is written “to the contractor”, the homeowner should expect this level of service from their contractor, and should ask these questions anyway. It makes sense to want to know who will be in your home. It is the homeowner’s responsibility to know and to ask.

The bottom line is most rooms professionally painted will look fine when the job is done. Once a room is decorated, and furniture is moved in the flaws won’t be noticeable. As long as the homeowner and contractor were on the same page, both should be satisfied.

Michael Fahey publishes The Trades Journal, http://www.thetradesjournal.com  An online guide for homeowners to find contractors. He has performed renovations and inspections in over 15,000 homes as a licensed general contractor. Information obtained from large pool of feedback from satisfied homeowners and professional contractors. He completed studies for Oak Ridge National Labs and Pacific Gas & Electric, both of which required recovery of information on customer satisfaction of work performed.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Fahey

If you are looking for a Toronto painting company, please complete our online form.