When considering having your house painted, you would wonder what to do to hire painting contractors in San Ramon. Read for the information you need to ensure you hire the right company for your next residential painting project.

Determine the cost of your project.

Professional painters charge about $4,000 for materials and labor to paint the exterior and around $5,000 for the interior of a 2,500-square-foot, two-story house.

Of course, there are no established costs for painting a home. These costs may fluctuate due to the following factors:

• The size of your property
• The type and condition of the surface (Is the surface textured? Does it have too much mold or extensive wood rot?)
• Paint type and quality
• The number of coats of paint
• The materials and tools to be used
• The size of the paint crew
• Experience and skill level of the paint crew

Cost to paint the house interior – To help you determine the cost of your interior home painting project, figure out the total cost by the type of room to be painted or by the square footage of the space.

• By room – Expect to shell out anywhere from $900 to $2,000 to paint an average-sized living room. Painting a kitchen or bedroom should cost between $300 and $750 while painting a bathroom should set you back between $150 and $300.
• By square footage – Suppose you know your house’s square footage, then you can easily estimate the price to paint the interiors. It usually costs around $2 to $6 per square foot, including all materials and labor. For example, if the average cost is $3.50 per square foot, then painting the interiors of a 1,000-square-foot, one-story home will cost you $3,500.

Cost to paint the house’s exterior – Prices of exterior paint jobs vary due to many factors, such as geographical location and the type and condition of the surface to be painted.

This list estimates what you should expect to pay for an exterior painting project:

• 500-square feet of paintable surface – $1,000 to $1,500
• 1,000-square-foot, one-story house – $1,000 to $3,000
• 2,500-square-feet, two-story house – $3,000 to $5,000
• 4,000-square-foot, three-story home – $4,000 to $7,000

DIY it or hire a professional?

If you want to save money, do the painting project by yourself. But if you have never painted, there will be a learning curve. So, attempting to paint your home without much prior painting experience may not give you the best results. You may even cost more to fix your mistakes and will likely hire a pro anyway.

While hiring a professional painting contractor initially costs you more than DIY, it has several benefits. Professional painters will clean and prepare the surface to ensure the topcoat will adhere uniformly. They will also provide a clean, solid, and smooth finish. The pros will also finish the job faster, reducing the project’s impact on your daily life.

The smooth, flawless, and durable finish will last many years, so you don’t have to repaint your home very soon, saving you time and money. Professional painters charge between $20 to $50 per hour.

Tips for hiring a painting contractor

If you have decided to hand the work to a professional, here are the following tips and suggestions to ensure you hire the right contractor for your next residential painting project:

• Decide what work you would like to have completed. Knowing what you want for your project – interior painting, exterior painting, or both. You will also want to consider the number of rooms, additional work (such as crown molding installation), and specific paint colors.
• Find out what licenses are required of painting contractors for your area. While interviewing candidates, ask them whether they hold a valid license. You may even ask them to show you the license to verify it is valid. Most painting service companies will display their license number on the sides of their trucks, business letterhead, business cards, or websites.
• Contact at least three painting contractors in San Ramon or nearby cities. Allow each of them to come to your property, walk through it, discuss what you want, and finally, give you an estimate. One benefit of walking through the property with the contractor is they will be able to let you know if any repairs will be completed before they start painting, then add these additional repairs to the total job cost. If the contractors want to offer an estimate before walking through the property, you want to cross them off your list of possible painting contractors.
• Once you have verified that the contractor is licensed, it is equally essential that they hold a valid bond and have the required insurance. A bond and insurance are important because if they cause damage to your property, you are not responsible for paying for the repairs. Consider a contractor with both general liability insurance and worker’s compensation insurance.
• General liability insurance – It protects you (the homeowner) against any accidental damage caused by the paint crew.
• Worker’s compensation insurance – It saves you from having to pay medical fees or lost wages if the painter gets injured while painting your property.
• Bond – It protects you from a failed paint job by the painter.
• Don’t forget to ask the painters for local references. Some painters will offer their services in a large area. It is vital to get the names and contact details of local customers. Ask for references for a recent job and one they completed within the last year. You want to see an example of current work to see how well they did and then work that has been completed for a while to see how well it stood up to time and the elements.
• Verify the products they use. Most painters today use low-VOC paints for both interior and exterior paint projects. If you want them to use non-VOC paints, they must understand and be willing to use those materials.
• Ask the painters if they employ their own workers or if they will use subcontractors to do the work. If they have employees, they can guarantee the quality of their work and honor what the painting contractor says.
• Once you have received a written estimate from each painting contractor you spoke with, take some time to review and compare them. The estimates should contain the following:
• Material and labor costs.
• The time job will take from start to finish.
• The material being painted.
• Preparation and cleanup details.
• The paint colors that will be used.
• The type of guarantees they offer.
• What they will do to protect your property while painting.
• When and how will the contractor be paid.

These items should be included in each estimate. You may not want to work with that contractor if they’re not.

Now that you have the correct information, you can feel assured that you will hire the right painting contractors in San Ramon, and the work will be to your satisfaction.