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Should I Buy My Own Paint?
You’ve made the decision. It’s time to paint your home! You’ve done your research, decided what colors and sheen you would like for your walls or exterior siding. You run out to the local home improvement store, and pick up the amount of paint you believe you’ll need. Now, all you need is a professional to apply the paint for you. While it sounds like you’re ahead of the game in getting your project started, there are a variety of reasons why buying your own paint prior to hiring a professional painting contractor is not always the best idea.
The product may not be the best fit for what you are looking to have done.
From primers to paints, to stains and more, professional painters have years of experience and knowledge to guide you in the right direction. The product that is best for your project depends on a variety of factors. These factors can include traffic, exposure to moisture and sunlight, condition of the surfaces, etc. When purchasing your own paint, the specs of the product you choose may not be a professional painters’ first choice for a variety of reasons.
The quality of the product may not be up to the painter’s standards.
Often, we find that paint from the “big box” stores that cater to homeowners and DIYers simply do not stand up to professional-grade paints made by companies like Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams. In the worst case scenario, you may find yourself incurring additional labor or materials charges due to the need to apply excessive coats (especially for vibrant colors) or other issues with applying the product.
Your painter may be unfamiliar with the product.
Many professional painters are loyal to a particular brand or vendor (or perhaps a couple of vendors) and have come to understand which products are best for particular needs. Over time, the contractor and their employees have also likely developed a mastery for applying these particular products. Not all products can be applied in the same way, and while a new product may not necessarily be of substandard quality, it may be more difficult to apply or simply need to be applied differently. This can create a learning curve for the painters on the job and potentially delay the completion of the project.
Your painter has access to better pricing.
As professional painters, we have long-established relationships with our vendors that enable us to purchase products at the best possible price. This allows us to use the best paint at a lower cost. We can then pass these savings along to our clients!
You can save yourself time and effort.
When you hire a professional painter, it is expected that they possess a high level of expertise on products and applications. Therefore, as we mentioned above, they will be able to choose the best possible product for you from their preferred vendor depending on the surface, traffic, aesthetics, etc. A trusted painter can lead you in the right direction to achieve the best outcome and save you time on research.
The expectation is set.
As mentioned above, by allowing your contractor to choose the best possible product for your needs, you are also ensuring that the product is one they are familiar with and can use as efficiently as possible. Therefore, you should have a clearer expectation of the result of the contractor’s work. Many companies, such as Sound Painting Solutions, include the cost of materials as part of the contract price. If the contract price is fixed, this also ensures that you will not have to pay for additional materials even if more is needed than the contractor initially anticipated. When using an unfamiliar product, the contractor may not be willing to make this same guarantee.
In conclusion, hiring a professional painter is not limited to the labor we provide — we are also hired for our product knowledge! By allowing your painter to provide the materials for your job, you can save time, hassle, and even money.
Comments
As a painting contractor we always try to go affordable but quality when it comes helping homeowners choose paint. Many times everyone thinks you get what you pay for but that is not always the case. Thanks for sharing!
Great Blog. Its really helpful for homeowners.
Thanks for joining our Top Notch Painting. It is good to know that painting contractors have a work schedule that has to be planned in accordance to the needs of the business.