How We Run a Job, From Quote to Final Inspection

Most painting companies describe themselves in much the same words. Rather than do that, here is how a job actually runs with us, so you know what you would be signing up for.

The site visit

We come and look at the property. Not a drive past, and not an estimate from photographs. On an exterior job that means walking all the way round, including the elevation that is awkward to get to, because that is usually the one that dictates the access cost.

We are looking at the condition of the existing coating, the timber, the sealant lines and the joinery, and at anything suggesting moisture is getting in. If we find something that is a building problem rather than a painting problem, we will tell you, even when it means the job gets postponed.

The written specification

You get a quote that names the surfaces included, the surfaces excluded, the preparation for each, the products and the number of coats. It is written so you can lay it beside another quote and see where any difference actually sits.

Where the extent of repair cannot be known until we start, which is normal on older homes, the quote carries an allowance and a stated rate beyond it, rather than a number that quietly moves later.

Before we start

We agree the start date, roughly how long we expect to be there, and what happens if the weather goes against us. We sort out parking, water, gates, pets, alarms and anyone in the house who works nights. Scaffolding, where it is needed, goes up first.

On site

The same crew works your job through, and there is someone responsible for it that you can talk to. We protect the paths, decks, gardens and joinery before anything starts, and we clean up at the end of each day rather than at the end of the job.

If we uncover extra work, you hear about it that day. We will show you what we have found, explain the options and give you a price before we do anything. Nothing gets added to the bill that you have not agreed to first.

Preparation

This is where the time goes and it is the part we do not compress. Washing and treating any mould or lichen, letting the building dry properly, scraping and sanding, filling, replacing failed sealant, repairing timber, and sealing every bare or repaired surface before the finish coats go on.

It is also the part that is invisible once the job is done, which is exactly why it is worth having in writing beforehand.

The final inspection

When the work is finished we walk the property with you, in daylight, and you list anything you are not happy with. Cut lines, coverage in awkward corners, the underside of sills, the back of the downpipes. We fix the list, then you make the final payment. Not the other way round.

Afterwards

Our workmanship guarantee is backed by our Master Painters membership, which means it does not rest solely on us still being here. What that covers, and what it does not, is set out on our Master Painters in Wellington page.

We will also tell you honestly what maintenance the finish needs. On most Wellington exteriors an annual wash does more for the life of a paint job than anything else you could do.

What we take on

Interior and exterior residential repaints, roofs, plastering, specialty coatings, cedar restoration and staining, and commercial and body corporate work across Wellington, Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt. The full list is on our painting services page.

If you would like us to come and look at your property, get in touch.