F.A.Q.s
We Make it Happen for You
Frequently Asked Questions
We are confident that we can complete your interior or exterior painting project and make it a very positive experience for you.
How Much is This Going to Cost?
Unfortunately, this is the key question many people base their decision on. Not all painting companies are created equal.
If you only rely on price to choose you are very likely to end up with a project that peels, cracks or blisters in the next 6 months.
A better approach is to require every painting contractor to visit your home and conduct a thorough review of your needs. It is impossible to provide an accurate estimate over the phone without visiting your property. Painting contractors that provide “ballpark” estimates should be avoided.
Painting estimates that are written on the back of a business card are worthless – because all you know is the price. It is far more important to know what is included in the price including the specific steps that will be performed and the materials to be used.
I meet every client in person; ask plenty of questions to make sure I understand your painting needs. I take all of that information and prepare a written estimate including our detailed preparation and painting procedure for a typical home.
When you schedule an appointment with me, I will provide you with my consumer awareness guide and my written step-by-step painting process prior to our meeting.
This information allows you to easily understand the cost of painting your home or business and to compare on an “apples to apples” basis our proposal with another proposal.
Unfortunately, many people believe that you can hire any painting contractor and get the same result. Maybe that is why more than 33% of the ones that were in business 5 years ago in Winnipeg are long gone.
Do you used employees or sub-contractors?
You may be surprised to learn that many of our competitors do use day labour or sub-contractors. The main reason they do this is to make more money at your expense.
Every employee must comply with a strict written policy that prohibits smoking on your property or the use of alcohol or drugs on the job.
Our project foreman has more than 15 years of experience. He is fully trained in our quality standards to ensure our checklists and processes are followed and will be on your job each day provided real time training for each employee.
Using part-time employees and/or subcontractors makes it almost impossible to maintain quality since these workers don’t get the continual training they need.
Contractors that use these workers may be able to offer a lower price because they may not have to pay for benefits but the homeowner or business owner is the real loser because of the lower quality that is almost inevitable.
How long is your warranty?
We provide a 2-year workmanship warranty on all of our projects. This is twice as long as most of the painting contractors in Winnipeg.
We want our customers to know that their project will still be looking good long after the last piece of hardware is reinstalled.
How big a deposit do you normally require?
Zero.
I don’t require a deposit and I believe that is an act of good faith from me and from our customers. (Please note that special order materials, that cannot be returned, will require payment in full in the event you change colour prior to the job starting.)
Some of our competitors will require 25% to as much as 50% up front because they are strapped for cash or they need your deposit to pay for the completion of another painting project.
My advice, don’t give any painting contractor a large deposit – even 10%, until you check them out thoroughly. It is a good idea to ask to see supplier or bank letters to make sure they have good credit locally.
Do you have a written price guarantee without the fine print?
Ask each painting contractor you meet with to put in writing that they won’t charge you more after they start just because they didn’t do a thorough job of estimating up front.
How many hours a day can I reach you on the phone?
I commit to return your call within 2 hours during regular business hours. Try me and be pleasantly surprised.
I also will give you a project update every day on multi-day projects.
How do I know your insurance is current and covers all your crew members?
Are all workers who will be on my painting project covered by your company’s workers compensation policy?
If they answer no – Who is liable for a worker injured on my property?
Unfortunately, many Winnipeg area painting contractors advertise that they have worker’s compensation insurance. BUT they only cover their employees and they don’t use employees to paint your home…they use subcontractors to paint your home.
Worker’s compensation insurance does NOT COVER subcontractors. This means that if a subcontractor gets hurt on your property you can be held liable for their injuries.
Avoiding those companies is a smart move.
We only use employees on our painting projects and they are all covered by our workers compensation insurance.
We will provide you with our insurance certificate and upon request we will provide you with the contact information for our insurance agent so you can verify our coverage.
Will anyone give a bad reference?
Even small painting contractors do 20 jobs each year so they should be able to find some people that were satisfied with their work…at least 3.
A better strategy is to ask for a minimum of 10 recent references and call each one of them. You can use the questions on our references page.
Painting contractors that can’t provide at least 10 recent references may not provide a consistently and quality painting projects.
Our company binder which will be provided to you contains over 100 references. Over half of our work comes by referral. I believe that those two facts are the best evidence I can offer about the consistently great service we provide.
I also provide references from my banker and my key supplier so that you can feel comfortable that we are in solid financial shape. If a painting contractor can’t give you references from their suppliers then they probably aren’t getting the best pricing on materials.
Is a membership in a professional association of painting contractors that important?
I think so.
I am proud to be a member of the PDCA (Painting & Decorating Contractors of America). All members are required to abide by their Code of Ethics.
The PDCA establishes standards of performance for the painting industry.
PDCA members know the value of proper and complete prep work; which paints to use and how to apply them; safety procedure and the right cleanup procedures. PDCA members are also required to be licensed as required by the local government, carry the required insurance and commit to faithfully fulfilling every aspect of every contract.
The PDCA website is www.PDCA.org if you would like to contact them.
Have you ever filed for bankruptcy for this or any other company you've owned?
This is a good question to ask because some less than desirable folks have folded their painting business and burned suppliers and customers. You don’t want to hire them.
Ask everyone to provide the names of each company, partnership, Limited Liability Company or other business that they have been an owner in and then check them out on Google at a minimum. It is simply a smart way to hire.
How do I get an estimate?
Simply call me at 204-229-9980 to set up our visit to your home or business.
If I happen to miss the call — I will call you back in 2 hours. Really!
How long does it take to get an estimate?
Do I need to be home when you're working?
I am proud to say that our clients feel comfortable providing us with their key or security code. I do like to speak to you each day to give you an update.
How long do most projects take?
I will give you in writing an approximate start and finish date. Unless we are delayed by things like weather we should finish on time.
See What We Can Do For You!
Contact Us
Address
1110 Salter St.
Winnipeg, Manitoba
R2V 2E9
Phone
204-229-9980
