Should You Hire a Painting Contractor?
Oct28Written by:
10/28/2009 9:43 PM
It could be that you've noticed your exterior paint is showing some cracks or flaking, or maybe you're just feeling the need to spice up your living room with some exciting new colors. Regardless of what your painting project is, many homeowners end up questioning whether to do it themselves or hire the job out to a painting contractor. There isn't an easy answer here, just a number of things to consider before making your decision about whether spending money on professional painting services is the right choice for you.
Saving Money by Doing It Yourself—Or Will You?
I can't lie, just about any determined homeowner can paint their own home, inside or out, and do a fine job at it. Furthermore, you will undoubtedly get it done cheaper going that route than if you hire a painting contractor to do the work for you. Be sure to add up all the expenses you'll incur by doing it on your own, however. Remember, you'll need to buy the paint, brushes and rollers, drop cloths, ladders, wire brushes, paint scrapers and even simple supplies like tape and paint thinner. If you don't already have those on hand, the costs can add up quickly. Add to that renting paint sprayers and pressure washers, and for many jobs the savings end up being negligible in the end.
Preparation Makes for Good Painting
Besides what could be minimal savings, remember that there's a lot more to painting than just slapping on a few coats. There's a ton of preparation that must be done right if you want to get the longest life possible out of your new paint job. This includes cleaning all surfaces, scraping loose or damaged paint from the home, applying primer where necessary, taping off trim and windows, and moving appliances and furniture if you're painting indoors. These tasks can take painting services with a full crew several days to do. For a weekend warrior, it can stretch out much longer.
You Get What You Pay for
Another reason to hire a pro has to do with final results. As I said, you can do it yourself, and in most cases it will look fine when you're finished. But keep in mind that someone who offers professional painting services is an expert in the field. Painting contractors are seasoned professionals who know the tricks of the trade, and they've put in their time in the field to hone their skills. A job done by a pro is simply going to look more polished and blemish free than otherwise. Some homeowners don't care. Done is done. But if you're not satisfied with anything less than perfection, hiring a painting contractor is probably worth every penny.
What is Your Time Worth?
Finally, be sure to consider how much time a painting project is going to take you to get done. Painting a bedroom rarely takes more than a weekend, but doing a whole house is another story altogether. Painting projects, especially exterior paint jobs, can stretch out forever if you've only a day or two a week to tackle them. For many homeowners, the trade off simply isn't worth the cost savings. They'd rather be spending time with family, attending to hobbies, and sneaking away for a few days, than to tie up a couple months worth of weekends dangling from a ladder.
It Boils Down to Convenience
Sure you can do it yourself. The question you need to ask yourself is whether the savings seem worth it to you when you take into account the realities of a large scale paint job. For some homeowners the answer is yes. But for others, the convenience and peace of mind that comes with hiring a painting contractor is well worth the extra cost.
Onyx Construction Group is a residential and commercial painting contractor based in Philadelphia, PA. We provide residential and commercial interior and exterior painting, decorative finishes, floor and wall coatings and other specialty painting and coating products and services in the Greater Philadelphia area, Bucks County and Montgomery County including suburbs throughout the Delaware Valley.
This is a list of towns we service for painting and repairs Ardsley Ambler Bala Cynwyd Blue Bell Cheltenham Gulf Mills Gwynedd Huntingdon Valley Jenkintown King of Prussia Horsham Lafayette Hills Merion Morland Pottsgrove Lower Providence Merion Park Merion Station North Wales Oak Lane Manor Oak Summit Oak lane Oaks Rockledge Roseglen Rosemont Roslyn Heights Royersford Rydal Souderton Spring House Spring Mount Sumneytown Sunnybrook Telford Trappe Trooper Valley Forge Whitemarsh Whitpain Wyncote Wyndmoor Willow Grove Buckingham Doylestown Fairless Hills Hulmeville Neshaminy New Hope Philadelphia Northampton Southampton Abington Narberth Brynmaur Warminster Upper Moorland Lower Moorland Upper Dublin Dresher Feasterville Trevose Bensalem Morrisville Yardley Richboro Ambler Elkins Park Wrightstown Bristol Holland Newtown Makefield Hatfield Montgomeryville Pa Pennsylvania Delaware Valley NJ New Jersey Specialists in auto top convertible install and repairs Listing of Cities in Montgomery County Pennsylvania that we serve: Abington Township Ambler Arcola Audubon Bala Cynwyd Belmont Hills Blue Bell Bridgeport Bryn Athyn Cedars Center Square Cheltenham Township Collegeville Colmar Conshohocken Creamery Douglass Township Dresher Eagleville Earlington East Greenville East Norriton Township Elkins Park Erdenheim Fairview Village Flourtown Fort Washington Foxcroft Square Franconia Township Frederick Gilbertsville Gladwyne Glenside Green Lane Gwynedd Gwynedd Valley Harleysville Hatboro Hatfield Township Hollywood Horsham Township Huntingdon Valley Jenkintown King of Prussia Kulpsville Lafayette Hill Lamott Lansdale Laverock Lederach Limerick Township Linfield Lower Frederick Township Lower Gwynedd Township Lower Merion Township Lower Moreland Township Lower Pottsgrove Township Lower Providence Township Lower Salford Township Mainland Maple Glen Marlborough Township Meadowbrook Melrose Park Merion Station Miquon Mont Clare Montgomery Township Montgomeryville Narberth New Hanover Township king of prussia Norristown North Wales Oaks Ogontz Campus Oreland Palm Penllyn Pennsburg Perkiomen Township Perkiomenville Philadelphia Phoenixville Plymouth Meeting Plymouth Township Pottstown Red Hill Rockledge Roslyn Royersford Rydal Salford Township Salfordville Sanatoga Sassamansville Schwenksville Skippack Township Souderton Spring House Spring Mount Springfield Township Stowe Sumneytown Telford Towamencin Township Trappe Tylersport Upper Dublin Township Upper Frederick Township Upper Gwynedd Township Upper Hanover Township Upper Merion Township Upper Moreland Township Upper Pottsgrove Township Upper Providence Township Upper Salford Township Valley Forge West Conshohocken West Norriton Township West Point West Pottsgrove Township Whitemarsh Township Whitpain Township Willow Grove Worcester Township Woxall Wyncote Wyndmoor Wynnewood Zieglersville Zieglerville Listing of cities and municipalities we serve in Bucks County, Pa.: Andalusia Bedminster Township Bensalem Township Blooming Glen Bridgeton Township Bristol Township Buckingham Township Carversville Chalfont Churchville Cornwells Heights Croydon Danboro Doylestown Township Dublin Durham Township East Rockhill Township Eddington Edgely Erwinna Fairless Hills Falls Township Fallsington Feasterville Trevose Ferndale Forest Grove Fountainville Furlong Gardenville George School Haycock Township Hilltown Township Holicong Holland Hulmeville Ivyland Jamison Kintnersville Lahaska Langhorne Langhorne Manor Levittown Line Lexington Lower Makefield Township Lower Southampton Township Lumberville Mechanicsville Middletown Township Milford Square Milford Township Morrisville New Britain New Hope Newportville Newtown Nockamixon Township Northampton Township Oakford Ottsville Penndel Penns Park Perkasie Pineville Pipersville Plumstead Township Plumsteadville Point Pleasant Quakertown Revere Richboro Richland Township Richlandtown Riegelsville Rushland Sellersville Silverdale Solebury Township Southampton Spinnerstown Springfield Township Springtown Telford Tinicum Township Trevose Trumbauersville Tullytown Upper Black Eddy Upper Holland Upper Makefield Township Upper Southampton Township Warminster Township Warrington Township Warwick Township Washington Crossing Washington Xing West Bristol West Rockhill Township Wrightstown Township Wycombe Yardley Zionhill Locktown Milford Mount Airy Mount Joy Mount Pleasant Mountainville New Hampton Norton Oak Grove New Jersey Cities and Municipalities we serve: Oldwick Pattenburg Pittstown Pleasant Run Potterstown Quakertown Readingsburgh Reaville Riegelsville Ringoes Rocktown Rosemont Sand Brook Sergeantsville Spring Mills Stanton Stanton Station Stockton Three Bridges Wertsville West Portal Whitehouse Whitehouse Station Woodglen Delaware County Cities and Municipalities we serve: Aldan Ardmore Aston Township Bethel Township Birmingham Township Boothwyn Brookhaven Broomall Bryn Mawr Chadds Ford Chester Heights Chester Township Chesterbrook Cheyney Clifton Heights Collingdale Colwyn Concord Township Concordville Crum Lynne Darby Drexel Hill East Lansdowne Eddystone Edgemont Edgmont Township Elwyn Essington Folcroft Folsom Glen Mills Glen Riddle Glenolden Gradyville Haverford Township Havertown Holmes Lansdowne Lenni Linwood Lower Chichester Township Manoa Marcus Hook Marple Township Media Middletown Township Millbourne Morton Moylan Nether Providence Township Newtown Square Newtown Township Norwood Parkside Philadelphia Pilgrim Gardens Primos Primos Secane Prospect Park Radnor Township Ridley Park Ridley Township Rose Valley Rutledge Saint Davids Secane Sharon Hill Springfield Township Swarthmore Thornbury Township Thornton Tinicum Township Trainer Upland Upper Chichester Township Upper Darby Township Upper Providence Township Villanova Wallingford Wayne Woodlyn Yeadon Berwyn Cedar Hollow Center Square Devon Downingtown Exton Frazer Frazier Glen Loch Kimberton Main Line Malvern Norristown Pineville Spring City Stratford West Chester