What You Need to Know Before Hiring a PNW Painter

If you are reading this blog post you are likely looking to hire a professional Painter to give your interior walls, ceilings, trim, cabinets, or the exterior of your home, deck, or fence some much-needed TLC. But before you jump straight into calling painting companies for estimates, there are several important things to consider.

Seasonality drives the Painting industry in the Pacific Northwest. During the wet season, painting contractors have ample opportunity to take on interior projects for their clients. However, during the short (five-month) window of dry and sunny weather, many painting contractors have to be hyper-focused on doing exterior painting projects. Because of this strict seasonality, our summer schedule is normally completely booked with exterior projects in early June, and there are likely very few opportunities to squeeze in an interior project amid the exterior painting rush.

We do however have what we call the “rain day list”. Here in Washington state, we are blessed with beautiful, warm summers. But that does not mean we won’t be expecting short spurts of summer rain usually lasting two to three days. When a prospective client calls in with an interior project during summer, we will explain to them that we can put them on the rain day list, and when we see rain in the weather forecast we will be able to work on their project, otherwise – we have to use the clear sunny days to tackle our exterior painting schedule while we can. This means that if you call in for an interior project during the summer, we cannot guarantee that we can do your project right away, or even within a couple of months. 

The bad news of this extreme seasonality comes down to a simple issue of supply and demand. During the hectic and busy exterior season, painting professionals will not be interested in playing hardball with you on the cost of painting your home exterior. They will likely give you a rough estimate for the painting of your home, and if it does not line up with your budget, they may recommend that you look elsewhere while also cautioning you that cheaper painters use cheaper products, cut corners, and leave you with an exterior painting project that might not last long or look good. The moral of the story is that the exterior painting season in the PNW is by no means competitive, and as a homeowner, you will actually be the one competing with other homeowners to land a spot in a companies schedule. How do you get past this? Book far in advance! We recommend that if you require exterior painting services, you should try to call painters in the winter season (January, February, March) to book a spot in their exterior schedule early, otherwise you may have to wait until summer of the next year for your exterior painting, or you might have to compromise and take your chances with an unprofessional, unreliable painter.

The good news out of all of this is that during the winter months, business for professional painters is actually relatively slow, and homeowners looking for a professional interior paint job can use this to their advantage – big time. Competitive quoting and reduced rates for interior work is the language of painters in winter. We simply cannot maintain our business without doing everything we can to fill our winter schedules with interior work. If you begin your requests for quotes with this in mind, you can score a high-quality, professional paint job for a very reasonable price. Of course, it takes some planning ahead, but the savings, discounts, and ability to compare companies and choose what price and quality are best for you is very worth it. 

Our biggest word of caution to homeowners and business owners alike is to plan your painting projects far in advance. Try to book your exterior painting projects before the weather turns dry, and book your interior projects during the wet rainy season. If you are planning to sell your home in the spring or summer, and require interior painting – book the interior painting BEFORE summer begins, and ask the painting contractor to give you a bid for the exterior while they are at it so they know you will need a spot in their exterior schedule before the sale of your home. Be cautious of a company who pledges to do work for you outside of the season of that work, and above all else, never hire an unlicensed tradesperson to do work on your home. 

 

As always, feel free to call us if you have any questions. We are always happy to help in any way we can.

 

The Tenhulzen Team 

Click Here to Check if your painter is licensed, bonded and insured

Click Here to read about the Painting Contractors of Americas Standards of Wall Coatings

Click Here to read about the importance of painting your home before you sell

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Click Here to see our Exterior Painting Gallery