You’ve spent hours going through magazines, looking at images and ideas online and you’ve decided on the colours for the room and what it’s going to look like with the new furnishings in place, which have been carefully chosen to complement the colours you’ve taken so much care in choosing.
Now comes the tricky part, how do you choose a good painter and decorator? Will they understand your requirements, will they take care whilst in your home and of course, will they do a job that meets your expectations.
To try and help you on this journey we’ve created a list of points to consider which are designed to help you from the start through to completion of the work. Following these points will make selecting the best company for the job easier.
So, some important aspects to consider and ask about are:
- Do they have a portfolio of work carried out?
- Do they have testimonials from existing clients?
- Do they listen carefully to your requirements?
- Do you trust them – this can be a ‘gut’ thing, but it’s still worth listening to it. Remember they will have access to your home and you need to feel confident they will care about your home in the same way you do.
- Do they have an independent person sign the job off before telling you its complete? This is something QDM do and this ensures high standards and happy customers.
- What happens if an issue arises after they’ve finished?
- Were they on time for the appointment and if not did they keep you informed?
- Do they explain exactly what will happen regarding the work?
- Do they give an estimated time for the work to be carried out?
- Do they need you to move or remove the furniture from the rooms?
If all the above points check out and you decide you’ve found a company to come and emulsion your walls, hang the wall paper, paint your woodwork or paint the new shelving and cupboards you’ve had made, then consideration needs to be made regarding the job itself.
Once the work starts you can still be vigilant and ensure you’re happy with the progress and the preparation. One of the biggest differences between the average decorator and the quality decorator is their attention to detail during the preparation stage. The problem with this is that you don’t see it when the job is initially finished – the job may look okay, but a few months later and faults start to appear such as flaking paint.
No matter how you look at it, a cheap job will always require re-decorating long before a quality job is in need of a re-working.
Of course, once the job has started there are a few indicators to watch for, which will help you ensure any issues are addressed during the job, as opposed to waiting until the job is complete.
What to look for during the job:
- How well is everything covered / protected?
- Do they turn up when they say they will each day?
- How clean and tidy are they during the work hours?
- How do they leave the work area at the end of the day?
- Do they protect the walk way areas they are using?
- How hard do they work to control the dust?
- How clean do the leave your home when the job is complete?
These are all indicators and although one non optimum point shouldn’t be taken as an issue, if you see multiple points, then pay more attention to what’s being done on the job itself and don’t be afraid to ask if in doubt. It’s better to raise concerns before the job is finished.
In most cases you’ll be pleased with the results whether you follow this guide or not, but following this guide will help you ensure you avoid letting a rogue into your home and spoiling that dream.
We all spend a lot of time in our homes so it’s worth taking that little extra care to ensure we bring in the best painters and decorators, who will help transform our home, whether it’s a simple re-paint and restore or a full blown re-decorate which is part of a journey from home to a palace.