HOW MANY YEARS IN BUSINESS Generally, a company that has been around a few years is better to go with. This isn't always true as many start up's can be more eager and willing to do more for less money to create their business name. But, a company that has been well established with a documented good reputation are much less likely to do a fly-by-night job and won't be leaving town in the middle of the night and before your job is finished. ARE THEY USING SUBCONTRACTORS If the contractor is using subcontractors then you are likely dealing with just a marketing company, or it is possible the contractor has too much business to handle at that time. Nonetheless, if the contractor is using subcontractors beware this can lead to unsupervised, unskilled and unprofessional painters working on your property. It should be obvious to you that the low ball bidders are likely those who are want to be contractors and generally won't have the experience to know what things really cost. IS THERE A WARRANTY AND ARE THEY INSURED Contractors worth their sale will offer a warranty on the work they do. The Warranty should cover all labor and materials for the job. Also, you should make sure your painter or contractor is fully insured for the work being done on your building. IS THE CONTRACTOR AWARDED FOR SUPERIOR SERVICE A good way to go is to seek out those who have received and award or honorarium for doing high quality work. So, it may be best to contract with a company which is recognized by some local organization or even an online service. DOES THE PAINTING CONTRACTOR HAVE REFERENCES Ask the painting contractor for several references and call them before starting a job. It is always a good idea to check pm the references the contactor offers and ask them some specific questions to weed them out as to if they really are just a past customer. ASK TO SEE THEIR PICTURE PORTFOLIO OF JOBS DONE A good idea is to ask to see pictures of past jobs done to help determine the quality of a painting contractors work. Beware though! If the painting contractor does not have high-quality pictures of past work, which also include their staff working, then you may suspect the contractor is using some stock photograph service. So, take a good look for things like clean-cut lines up in the corners and where the different colors meet, and also finishes on walls. DO THEY KEEP A CLEAN WORK PLACE Any good experienced painting contractor will understand how important it is to keep your building neat and clean. At the end of the work day, all professional painters take the time to clean up the entire job. CHECK INTO THE BRANDS OF PAINT THEY USE Ask the painting contractor what brand and quality of paint they use. Make sure they us professional quality paint from name brand stores like Glidden, Dunn-Edwards, Benjamin Moore, Sherwin-Williams and Re-Paints^TM who remanufactures all major bands and sells the same high quaility paints for one third the price. You should know that the lower quality paints can and will lose their finish and dull over time. MAKE SURE ALL THE WALL PREPARATION IS INCLUDED IN THE ESTIMATE First thing you should do is check out all the wall preparation you'll need for the job and said preparation is completed prior to painting. Beware of painting contrators who don't take the time to properly prepare walls. If you don't watch for this you'll be sure to end up with premature peeling, pitting and cracking. IS THE PAINTING CONTRACTOR INVOLVED IN THE COMMUNITY Sometimes the answer to this question is the most telling as when you find people who are giving back to the community they have a tendancy to be more honests and ethical. So, it can be a big added bonus to work with any business giving back to the community. Those involved in the community show you a confidence that they will provide their best in quality work and also shows they cares about the people they job for.