Ask Angi: What Do I Need to Know When Hiring Interior Painters?

Painting is one of those jobs where quality materials matter a great deal. Get name-brand paint (or ensure your pro does) and make sure you pay for the good stuff. Dreamstime/TNS

By Paul F. P. Pogue From Ask Angi

Painting interior rooms offers a fast, relatively inexpensive, and effective way to give your home a facelift. Here are some tips on hiring a painter for your home, what you need to keep in mind if you do it yourself, and a few techniques you might not have thought of!

You can paint one room to spruce it up or reinvigorate your entire home with a complete interior paint job. You’ll pay an average of $1,000 for most jobs, but it varies widely based on home size and complexity. Overall, expect to pay about $2.75 per square foot of the room for painting the walls and $4.70 per square foot if you include trim as well as walls.

Things to Consider

Test Your Colors in Advance

Different paints work in different ways depending on the surface. Test out a small amount of the color in an area of the wall that doesn’t get seen very often, and check out how it looks.

Don’t Skimp on Materials

Painting is one of those jobs where quality materials matter a great deal. Get name-brand paint (or ensure your pro does) and make sure you pay for the good stuff. A few dollars saved right now can cut off years of life from your painting job.

Buy From a Specialty Paint Store if You Can

You can get good paint from a big-box store, but stores exclusively dedicated to paint are more likely to have staff with expertise that can guide you on this journey.

Consider Hiring a Designer

Different paints work in various ways with each other. Get a designer or a pro with extensive knowledge of color theory and accents who can advise you on how colors complement each other.

Questions to Ask

Interior painting is a very visible job that will make big changes to your home, so you want to hire the best possible contractor. Here are five questions to ask to help ensure the best possible job.

What’s included in your estimate?

Having your pro explain your estimate will help you understand each part of your job and ensure your contractor isn’t skipping any important steps like prep. Avoid pros who aren’t willing to explain their estimate or don’t include tasks like prep or cleanup.

Are you insured?

Insurance will keep you and your home safe in an accident. Never hire an uninsured pro or one who refuses to show proof of coverage. This can make you responsible for any injuries during the project.

Do you prep?

Prepping is a crucial part of any painting job. Never hire a painting contractor who cannot provide precise preparation details. Skipping this step will result in chipping, bubbling, and peeling paint, which will require extensive re-painting.

How will you protect my home’s interior?

Interior painting projects can be messy. Hire a pro with a plan to keep other parts of your home safe and free of stains. Overlooking protection can result in ruined flooring and furniture.

What kind of paint do you use?

Most reputable pros will use a name-brand paint. Working with a contractor who uses cut-rate paint can result in premature bubbling, dulling and chipping.

Tweet your home care questions with #AskingAngi and we’ll try to answer them in a future column.

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