Commercial Painting Warranties
Chapter 6
Chapter 6: Commercial Painting Warranties
If you’ve never hired a Commercial Painter before, you may not know to ask about a warranty on the painting. If your paint peels (it happens!), your Commercial Painter should return and fix the issue.
Help! My paint peeled after I got it professionally painted by a Boston Commercial Painting Contractor!
Peeling paint isn’t common, but it does happen to even the best Commercial Painting companies in the Boston area. There are many reasons this could occur, including moisture and issues with the substrate or surface that was painted, so it’s important that you receive a written warranty from your Boston Commercial Painting Company that protects you against such issues.
What is a good length for a warranty “term?”
Since if the paint is going to fail, it often does so within six months of application, having a one-year warranty is a reasonable period to ensure that if the paint fails, the Boston Commercial painting Company will return to fix it.
Why does paint “fail” (peel, wrinkle, blister, etc.)?
- Exterior paint mostly fails in the Boston area because it may have been applied when the substrate or surface being painted was wet. Boston Springs are notoriously “wet” and then suddenly dry, and if the paint is applied when the surface isn’t dry enough, the paint might peel. Many painting contractors in the Boston area depend on “moisture meters” – a gadget that determines if it is too wet to paint. Ask your Boston Commercial Painting company how they measure moisture on the surfaces they paint to be sure it’s dry enough to paint.
- Interior paint failures are less common than exterior issues and are commonly also caused by moisture. For example, a ceiling might peel due to a leaky bathroom above it. Improper surface preparation of the wall or painting latex paint over old oil paint can also cause interior paint to peel and crack.
The importance of understanding a Commercial Painting Contractor’s Warranty process:
Warranties are useless unless they are in writing, and the Painting Contractor has a process they follow to fix warranty claims. The best Contractors schedule your warranty job exactly how they treat a new project and don’t try to put you off until you forget or give up on the claim.
- Ask for references and look for online reviews from your Commercial Painting contractor of customers who have taken advantage of the warranty, so you can be sure the warranty is “real” and that their track record in getting issues taken care of is a good one.
- Remember, if a company gives you a reference who has filed a warranty claim with a Boston Commercial Painting Company, and the paint was ultimately fixed, that’s a good sign that the painting company stands behind its work. Issues occur; it’s how a company responds to the issues that separate the best commercial painting companies in Boston.
- The number of years a painting contractor has been in business will also play into how well they service warranty issues. Look for a painter with good online reviews over a long period of years to assess the contractor’s history. It’s also common in New England for painting companies to change their name when their business is in trouble, so hiring a painting company that’s been in business for decades under the same name, is also a signal that the painting company will be in business if you need to file a warranty claim.
- Another good sign: The Boston Commercial Painting Company’s licenses and insurance are up to date.
The wet, cold Boston climate makes a written painting warranty important:
Since moisture and temperature fluctuations add to the possibility that paint will fail, and the Boston climate is both moist and “suddenly” warm or cold, you need a written warranty to protect your painting investment.
Now that you understand the warranty process you should expect from a professional commercial painting company in the Boston area, read the next chapter to determine how to get “real” references from your Boston Commercial Painting Company.
