What Should I Look Out for When Hiring a Painter?

By Painters Green Point | Atlantic Seaboard Painting Specialists

The gap between a good painting contractor and a poor one is almost invisible at quoting stage and completely obvious three winters later. These are the checks that actually separate them, in roughly the order you should apply them.

Check Their References and Reviews

Reviews are useful but blunt. What you want is a reference from a property genuinely comparable to yours - and in Green Point that means matching the building type, not just the suburb. Running a phased repaint on an occupied twelve-storey block is a different discipline to painting a freestanding house, and being excellent at one does not imply the other.

• Ask for a job of similar type, height and access method, ideally 3 to 5 years old so you can see how it has weathered
• If you can, look at the property yourself - a seaward elevation four years on tells you almost everything
• Check whether reviews cluster in a single short period, which often indicates a solicited batch
• For a block, ask to speak to the managing agent as well as a trustee; agents see the parts of a job owners never do

Insist on a Written, Itemised Quote

A written itemised quote is not administrative box-ticking. It is the only way to compare contractors honestly, and the document you will rely on if there is a dispute.

• Scope itemised by elevation or by room, not a single figure
• Preparation described specifically: washing method, crack and plaster repair, rust treatment, primer type
• Product manufacturer, product name and number of coats
• Access method, stated and priced
• Start date, expected duration and payment schedule
• Exclusions listed explicitly - what is not in the price
• VAT shown correctly, with a VAT number if the contractor is registered

Verify Their Insurance

This is the check most owners skip and the one with the largest downside. Two documents matter.

A letter of good standing from the Compensation Fund confirms the contractor is registered under COIDA and that employees injured on site are covered. Without it, an injury on your property can become your problem. It is a current-dated document - ask for a recent one rather than accepting a copy from two years ago.

Public liability insurance covers damage caused by the contractor's work. On a Green Point block this is not theoretical: dropped equipment, overspray carried onto neighbouring cars by the south-easter, or water ingress through an opened-up wall are all real and expensive.

For work at height, also ask for the fall protection plan required under the Construction Regulations, and evidence that the technicians are certified for the access method being used.

Avoid These Common Traps

• The cheap quote that wins on preparation - the most common trap of all. Preparation is invisible once painted, which is exactly why it is where corners get cut.
• Painting over damp, rust or mould - it will reappear, usually within a year, and the repaint is then the second cost rather than the first.
• A hard acrylic on an old lime-plastered building - traps moisture in the wall and blows the plaster off. Common on the older stock toward De Waterkant.
• Ignoring the difference between elevations - a uniform specification on a coastal building means overpaying on the sheltered side and under-specifying the weather side.
• Large upfront deposits - materials for the first phase is reasonable; half the contract value before work starts is not.
• Verbal variations - anything that changes the scope should be confirmed in writing before it is done.
• Assuming you can authorise the work - if the surface is common property, you cannot. Confirm with the trustees before appointing anyone.

Questions to Ask Before Signing

• What exactly is included in preparation, and what would trigger an additional charge?
• Which system are you specifying on each elevation, and why does it differ?
• How will chlorides be removed before coating?
• Who is the supervisor on site day to day, and how do I reach them?
• What are the working hours, and have they been checked against the building rules?
• What happens if damp or concrete spalling is found once you open up?
• What is the guarantee period, what does it exclude, and who honours it?
• How and when will the site be protected and cleaned each day?
• Is anything about this building subject to heritage consent?

A contractor who answers these comfortably has run this kind of job before. One who becomes vague around insurance, access or preparation has told you what you need to know.