Often a friend, friend of a friend or work colleague has had a recent experience with a painting company. Social media’s also a great spot for getting a wide range of feedback. First check in with your friends & then your local group pages. By checking your local group pages, you will get a good feel for who’s trusted within your community. If you get some positive feedback, great, pursue the company for a quote but more importantly take note of any bad experiences so you have some red flags to look out for.

Having a good report with your contractor is key to a pleasant experience, you will know pretty quickly if you click. There is obviously far more to a decision than a first impression but ask yourself a few key questions…

• Has the contractor turned up when he/she said they would or communicated alternative plans?
• Do the company present themselves in a professional manner?
• Has the property been thoroughly accessed / measured? There is nothing worse than a guesstimate as it’s more than likely going to cost one of you in the pocket
• Have you received the quote in a reasonable time frame, no more than a week?

Weighing up the importance of price vs quality is always an important question to ask yourself. Clarify your needs & build a picture of your expectations. The quote or estimate should reflect this, check the detail. If comparing multiple quotes make sure you are comparing apples with apples as some companies will deliberately leave items out to keep their quote down, but ultimately it will result in extra charges for variation work. When closing in on a decision meet with your contractor & run over the quote to make sure you are on the same page.

Although a company may have been recommended to you, it is still worth doing your due diligence on them. Ask for a 3 references & put together some key questions that reflect what is important to you. Again, check their work out if possible, to ensure the standard of workmanship meets your own.
Review sites are also a great avenue for getting some background on a company such as https://www.nocowboys.co.nz/businesses/scope-painting-ltd. The company may be also be able to provide you with an audit such as Resene’s Eco Decorator Audit which will rate the company on such things as professionalism, workmanship & health & safety.

There are a few key pieces of documentation to ensure your safeguarding not only the money invested in the painting project but also your home & the health of your family.

• Public Liability Insurance – Painters are working with electrical equipment around your home, it is vital they have insurance to cover any potential mishaps
• Health & Safety Policy – A company should be able to provide you with their policy to ensure the health & safety of everyone within your home as well as their staff
• Workmanship Guarantee – Ensure the company is willing to back up their work with a minimum 5 years guarantee on workmanship. It is also important that the paint supplier will guarantee their product.
• Terms & Conditions – First make sure you have a copy of the companies T & C’s & review the detail to make sure you know what your signing up to,