"They spend an incredible amount of time caulking, filling and priming, then caulking and filling again." If it's a spray-on finish, they will also spend lots of time masking. "Our painters are highly skilled and extremely fussy," says Gephardt.
#Perfect paint pro pro
To help homeowners understand what goes into a quality paint job-and to justify the cost-it is best to educate them about a professional painter's attention to detail: They don’t rushĪ skilled pro knows that when a crew applies paint too quickly, the result will be paint problems and callbacks. When paying that much money, homeowners naturally expect the work to be flawless. Gebhardt has built $750,000 homes where the interior painting (walls, ceilings and trim) cost $37,000. "Our painters follow PCA standards but most of the time their work quality is actually better," says Ben Gebhardt, CEO of Blue Sound Construction, a builder/remodeler in Seattle. In fact, the best pros treat these standards as minimums. These standards define specific quality issues such as how far from the wall surface a blemish can be visible under certain lighting conditions. One guide that helps these pros create a picture-perfect finish-no splatters, no brush or roller marks, no thin spots-is written standards from the Painting Contractors Association.
They're very intentional about their work and have systems to make sure it gets done right.
What separates the best painting contractors from their competitors? Part of the answer is that they know quality isn't subjective.