Does it matter if my painter is a licensed contractor? It’s just paint!

One of the most frequently asked questions our Residential Sales Consultants hear is “Why does my painter need to be licensed?”

Painting is a home improvement project that a lot of homeowners feel comfortable tackling themselves. They might feel like “(almost) anyone” can do it, so why does a license matter for something as simple as painting?

“It’s just paint! What could possibly go wrong?!” they ask me.

The truth is, a painting contractor operating without a license exposes you to a lot of risks you might not think about.

In order to obtain a contractor’s license in Oregon, contractors have to complete 16 hours of training, meet certain requirements, and pass a test. That ensures a basic level of knowledge and standards of operation to protect you.

One of the most important things that licensed contractors MUST have is insurance. That insurance protects you, the homeowner! Some of the most common mishaps that happen on jobsites are minor. A ladder runs into a window and cracks it. The painter’s van doesn’t have a backup camera and Oops! They backed up into your neighbor’s car. Occasionally more serious things can happen like damaging roofing or solar panels by walking on them, or damage to a load-bearing wall.

If your contractor is licensed, they’ll have insurance to deal with those issues, taking the worry and responsibility off of you and putting it where it belongs – on the contractor who caused damage. A person operating as a contractor without a license isn’t likely to carry insurance. If you’re willing to break one rule, you’re probably willing to break more.

Another thing a lot of people hiring a friend of a friend or a handyman to complete their painting project don’t think about is that if the person they hire to paint their home isn’t licensed, you might not even be able to find them when you need to. I can’t tell you how many times CertaPro Painters of Portland is asked to re-paint or finish a project where the original “painter” collected a deposit so they could buy the paint for the customer’s project, and then either never came back to the jobsite or came back, worked for a day or two, then disappeared. Money? Gone. Paint? Nowhere to be found. If you hired an unlicensed contractor, you are likely going to be completely out of luck when they stop answering your phone calls and emails. If they’re licensed in Oregon, then the contractor’s board (CCB) can help you find them and hold them accountable.

When you hire a licensed contractor like CertaPro Painters of Portland, you can rest assured that your home is in good, qualified hands, with people who care about doing your job the right way.