Finding Reputable South Shore Home Service Companies

Chapter 2: How to find a trustworthy South Shore Homes Services Company:

Check out local reviews online.

• Google “Online reviews for South Shore Painters” and see what comes up.
• You are looking for recent and decent reviews.
• Look also for online posting consistency – many companies might have many reviews from March 2017 and no reviews after that date. You want a company that is consistently making customers happy.

Call three companies and watch closely how easy or difficult they make doing business with them.

The ease of doing business with them at this stage often foreshadows how the entire exterior job will be handled.

• Does the office staff call you back right away?
• Do they communicate by email, phone, and text?
• Is someone in the office, or are painters on the job site taking your call from a ladder (a safety no-no)?
• Is scheduling a quote easy?
• Was the estimator on time?  Display good knowledge?  Did they listen?
• Did the estimator ask you about lifestyle concerns like where the crew should park and whether the dog could be let out?
• Does the company offer free color consultation with a designer (vital if you are changing colors)
• Do you have to wait weeks for an estimator to quote your project?
• Do they give you a specific date and time for when they’ll meet with you for a quote (noon) or a time frame (12-3pm)
• Do you have to chase the estimator to get them to email you a quote?
• Does the painting company offer a full suite of services like carpentry, color consultation, etc?
• Ensure the painter is sophisticated enough to handle your project.  Things like access to high spots often require lifts and scaffolding, which some painters won’t undertake.

Get quotes from 3 different South Shore painting companies.

• There are many companies on the South Shore, and we at CertaPro are friendly with most of them.
• Be aware of low-ball quotes (quotes that are much lower than the rest of the quotes) – as many will add surprises on when the job starts.

Questions to ask before hiring a company to paint your home’s exterior:

• Make sure the answers to these questions are in writing on your exterior quote, even if the painter tells you you can trust them.
• What kind of paint do you recommend for my type of home? The brand and grade of paint should be spelled out in writing.
• If a contractor only writes “Benjamin Moore” paint, you don’t know which grade of Benjamin Moore Paint they plan on using. Because Benjamin Moore has a range of paints from very cheap to very expensive, you want the grade of paint specified in writing along with the brand name (for example, “Benjamin Moore Aura Paint.”)
• What work is included in the quote? (again, this should be written out on your quote, so there are no surprises)
• What work is excluded from the quote? (i.e., “shutters will not be painted”)
• Is there a written warranty? A verbal warranty is not acceptable.
• Is carpentry and wood replacement included in the price of the quote?
• Is the company licensed and insured? If a contractor works on your home and is not insured, you, the homeowner, are liable if someone gets hurt on the job.
• When can this exterior painting project start, and how long will it take to finish? Remember, if there is a little bit of a wait for the company, this is a good sign that they are in demand.  Also, the weather can snag the best painting schedules and put the painting company behind.  Good painting companies will work longer (sunny) days and weekends to make up for rainy weather during the week.
• Can you meet my deadline? If you’re having a party, you may need the painting done by a specific time. While this cannot be 100% guaranteed because the weather in the Boston area is so inconsistent, and exterior painting can’t be done in the rain, some companies can meet most deadlines.  CertaPro Painters, for example, can coordinate rush jobs etc.

Other considerations about the exterior estimating process:

• Did the estimator pressure you to buy? Since you are just in the quoting phase, you should look to be educated at this point, not pressured into signing a contract.  Take your time deciding and ensuring you have enough information from each contractor to compare quotes.
• Some people want to hire a local company so jobs stay in their community. Ensure you understand what the company does to give back to the Boston area and the South Shore towns where they work.
• Can the painting estimator quote your exterior project without you being home? While it’s always better to meet for a quote in person, a good estimator can talk to you over the phone to get the scope of the work you’d like done, walk around your exterior without you being there, and then email you a quote.

  

• Does the painting company offer all of the exterior services you need?
  Some companies only paint. Other South Shore painters offer one-stop shopping for power washing, carpentry, rotted wood replacement, home renovations of all kinds and exterior color consultation. Ensure you’re getting bids from South Shore companies that will coordinate the breadth of services required to do your exterior painting project, so you don’t need to hire other companies to fill in services that are not offered.

Additional exterior considerations for South Shore homes:

Woodpeckers are a problem on the South Shore – they consistently drill holes in wooden siding and trim. If this is the case for you, ensure that you fix the holes or replace the wood prior to painting.

Should your home be painted or stained? A knowledgeable painting company can tell you if it is currently coated with paint or stain and recommend the best formula to protect it in the future.

Rotted wood is a problem on South Shore homes because most homes are mostly made of wood. Again, if your window sill and trim boards contain rotted wood, you’ll need a company to provide both painters and carpenters to handle the wood replacement before they paint.

Mahogany decks are common for the South Shore and need constant maintenance to stay protected and look good. Does the company offer deck staining services?

Does your home have brick that you’re considering painting? Ensure the company is experienced in painting brick homes with the correct products and techniques.

If you are thinking of changing your exterior color, look for a company with a complimentary in-home designer who can work with you to get your exterior color palette just right. Working with a designer at your house to choose exterior colors is time well spent. The hour or two you take with a designer upfront will pay dividends for years each time you drive up your driveway and still love the colors.

If you want to change your exterior color to something that fits with the South Shore’s traditional look or want someone who works on historic homes, look for a company with experience in historic homes and knowledge of Boston’s historic colors.

Ask if the company offers free computer renderings of your South Shore home in different paint colors so you can see what your home will look like before the painters they send even pick up a brush.

Go to Chapter 3 – How often do homes on the South Shore need painting?

Go back to the table of contents of this guide.