Curb Appeal – And how not to get burned!
I love this time of year here on the Outer Banks. It seems that just when you can’t take another day of cold and windy weather, spring peeks out and saves the day. With all the spring renovation, most homeowners often begin the winter wrath cleanup process.
Whether your property is for rent, for sale, or just for yourself, curb appeal can make all the difference in the world. How is that, you ask? Well let me assure you that with so many houses for rent or houses for sale these days, the markets are getting very competitive. Your home’s curb appeal can make you good or bad in terms of how many rentals you book or how soon your home will sell. If you’re skeptical, ask any sales or rental agent.
Having realized how important curb appeal really is, you may be wondering, how can I get the most bang for my buck? The answer is simple. Paint!
Surfaces inside and outside your home are often covered with a coating that is applied by a painter, and if these surfaces are carelessly coated, your scrutiny also turns to imperfections beneath the coating. There is an old saying in the building trades that a little putty, a little paint, makes a carpenter what he is not.
Years ago, when we used to do more new builds, one thing I remember most vividly is this very premise. If we had enough time to do a really good and neat job, the rest of the to-do list for the other trades was relatively small. Everything shone like a new penny, spotlessly coated and clean. But when we were in a rush, forced to work other trades with dirt and dust resting on our freshly painted surfaces, unable to fully clean, customers always recognized the imperfections in the paint and then turned their attention to the drywall. then the carpentry, then the floors, and so on. These hit lists were frequently out of control, with elements that would normally be refined to some degree by the painter.
With this in mind, it’s easy to understand why painting is the most frequently requested type of job in a mass home improvement market. Relatively, the cost of painting compared to other types of work is low. if you hire the right people. Not to mention that anyone can paint, right? Well true, up to a point, but surprisingly few people actually paint correctly. If you don’t believe me, go down the road and see how many houses are chipping away. You may be equally surprised to learn how many of those homes were professionally painted just a year or two ago. Repairing these peeling homes has become one of our specialties, unfortunately for homeowners. Just think how irritated you’d be if you hired someone to re-panel your house for what you think is a good price, only to have that job come off a year from now. You have to track down the painter and hope they fix it. I can assure you, for one reason or another, most of the time they won’t. So beware of bargain specialists, as your savings won’t mean much if you receive a low-quality product with no after-sales service.
At this point, your actual cost doubles, at least. You see, what usually happens is something like this. You call four painters for a quote on a given project. Only two respond, and the scope of work those two painters describe is very different. One says they will pressure wash and then start to paint the siding, for $500.00. The other painter says that they will pressure wash, and after the house dries, they will hand scrape off any additional loose or peeling paint, then prime and apply two coats of stain to the siding for $850.00. Most people will call one or both painters to ask about the difference in scope of work, to which each painter defends their scope. For whatever reason, it seems that more often than not, the customer will go for the lowest price, and take the painter’s word for it that the other guy’s recommended scraping and extra coats is just an unnecessary expense, when in fact It is the most important part of the job. So now that the bargain job has failed and the painter can’t be found or refuses to repair it, you must repair the job, usually at a higher price, as the extra prep work is compounded by another coat! Of paint!
So how do you navigate the rising tide of painting contractors here on the Outer Banks to select the one that’s right for you? Well, a good place to start is with your associations and referrals. If you’re happy with a contractor’s recommendations, ask to see their references. A reputable contractor should have references in your neighborhood, and if not, you may wonder if the contractor is experienced enough to handle your job. Ask if they are members of the local Chamber of Commerce and the Better Business Bureau. You may think that membership with these associates is pointless and just another expense added to the contractors hourly rate, but in reality these associates provide the client with some extra guarantees, if there are issues. The Better Business Bureau can provide you with free third-party dispute resolution, but more importantly, their standards for membership effectively start the investigation process for you. Membership in the PDCA (Painting and Decorating Contractors of America) is another telltale sign that the contractor is serious about their business and their commitment to their customers. You see, if a business owner doesn’t see value in being a member of their trade association, or your community’s BBB rated associates, how valuable are you to them once the job is done or problems arise?
To me, this is where the men part ways with the boys, so to speak. Face it, no business operates without occasional hiccups. The success or eventual demise of a company depends in part on how problems are handled. Companies that are not interested in growth, planning and partnerships, very often cannot financially withstand the blow of a collateral project and will go to great lengths not to paint for free. This mentality is the main reason why the home improvement sector is the most complained about sector in this economy. This mindset costs consumers billions of dollars per year in improper installations and failures within the trades. Many trades are regulated by the state, but painting is not one of them. In addition to the ease and relatively low cost of startup, painting contractors are springing up like so many new blades of grass here on the Outer Banks. While it’s true that painting isn’t rocket science, and anyone can paint, or at least wave their arms back and forth with a brush in hand, professional painters never stop learning. With coatings, tools, and regulations constantly changing, serious contractors strive to learn as much as possible to improve their finished products and service to their customers. In a market where there is an endless stream of painters promising to do the same job at a lower price, value is sometimes hard to discern, but if you take the time to research a company’s background and reputation and remember that the price is in relation to the quality of the proposed work, you should not be disappointed. If problems arise, you can be sure that the company’s main concern is your satisfaction and not whether they can afford to fix your work.
When compiling your estimates, there are several specific things to look for. First, you must compare apples to apples, so to speak. If you get different scopes of work, you need to determine which one is right for your job. You can try talking to all the bidders, but if you’re still not sure, contact the PDCA or your local paint store. Trust me, paint stores don’t want your paint to fail any more than you do, and they’ll usually be able to tell you what’s the right thing to do when it comes to prep and layering, considering they sell paint. I’ve been in situations where the paint store tries to sell the customer an extra coat of primer or a much more expensive coat, etc. Second, make sure the contractor uses a moisture meter for exterior work to check the moisture content of the substrate before painting. Moisture is the leading cause of paint failure, and if the contractor doesn’t use a gauge, they’re guessing. Wood cannot be painted properly until the moisture content is below 12%… period. As far as I know, there are very few contractors using the meters here, so be careful and make sure.
Third, make sure the contractor doesn’t specify cheap materials. Materials typically cost less than a quarter of the cost of any given project, with labor being the most expensive. What have you really saved if cheap materials only last a couple of years? This is also true with caulking. Caulking is the only barrier between the trim and the siding, which when it fails, often goes unnoticed and causes rot and mildew. These repairs are often lengthy and expensive and could be avoided by using a $5 per tube sealant instead of a $2 per tube sealant. Again, illustrating where the real value is.
Fourth, keep in mind that there are many other relevant things to think about that can be covered in this article, and you are ultimately responsible for your decisions. In painting, value comes in the form of long-lasting, clean jobs. While all companies report offering this value, statistics show that this market lacks professionalism. Do your homework, develop relationships with reputable companies, and you’ll sleep better knowing your property has that curb appeal that sets it apart from the rest!
