Best Painter Near Me

Have you searched for “best painter near me” recently?

I know I have have used those same words for plumbers, electricians and septic contractors. Personally, I think D’franco Painting & Wallpaper is the best paint contractor in the Elgin area. However the term “best” can be subjective. So if you are looking for the “best painter near me” or need another contractor, this article should help.

Who is the best painter in the Elgin area?

As much as I hate to say this, the answer really is – It depends. Can there be that much of a difference? Let’s look. These are the top questions we receive:

• Are you insured?
• Do you use Subcontractors or have employees?
• Do you have workman’s compensation?
• How soon can you do our work?
• What kind of paints do you use?
• Do your crews speak English?
• Have you done ____ before?
• Finally, how much will it cost?

What questions do you ask that are not listed here?

What should I look for in a paint contractor?

I am speaking on behalf of D’franco Painting & Wallpaper, and what my wife looks for when we have to hire someone.

I like to know who I am working with so I always do a google search. Do they have a website, google reviews? I want to know how long they have been in business, how much experience they have and most importantly do I trust them.

Insurance is important to me. I know as a contractor we have to carry several types of insurance to protect our employees, our company and you the customer. In Illinois, some of these insurances can be expensive.

If a contractor is not busy, I want to know why. Especially at the time of this blog post, contractors are crazy busy.

How much experience do they have? We pride ourselves in experience and our online reviews.  We want you to know how many times we have done a project. All you have to do is check out our Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and of course our website.

Do they have their information on their vehicle when they show up? My work van has our logos, but personal one with out. I like to see when people show up, they take pride in who they are as a business. It helps to establish trust as well, as you know who is in your driveway or parking in front of your house. Your neighbors can relax knowing who or what the car is in your driveway or in front of their house as to who is parking out front.

What are some ways to find the best painter?

Obviously, google is the top of the list but there are other ways to find good, reputable, and quality people. Don’t limit yourself when the “best painter near me” is not actually right in your home town. Good contractors travel.

• Have you asked your local paint store, or a few in the area? I usually ask 3 people
• Ask people you know, work with or family
• I have called people from the number on a work vehicle before
• There are a lot of people using Facebook as well

Does price really mean the best?

Cost is not just about the dollar amount you have to pay. How much time will it take, will you be inconvenienced, have to eat out, rent a car, hire a cleaner when they are done, you get the point. A client hired us to come in after someone else started a project. They spent more on the cleaning bill than the work needing to be done for a small bedroom. Our bid included the cleaning needed, and was 30% higher than the one they used. They spent double what our estimate was when all was said and done. What is the price tag for peace of mind?

When I get estimates for my home, sometimes 1 is enough. That usually happens with the people, companies and things I use again. I have the place I take my car, we have a plumber, septic, graphics, and our web people.  When we need someone new, it takes asking several people and online searching to find them. Then comes the price. In a lot of cases you really do get what you pay for. There are exceptions. I know painters that charge $125 per hour (they are union), so are you paying for the work or the administration costs for the union trades?

Comparing apples to apples

A great example was when our boiler went out. We called and had 5 people over, each of them had completely different ideas, each of them were $4,000 apart from each other- imagine getting bids of $15,000, $19,000, $25,000 all for the same problem all with different solutions. The kicker was all of them started and ended with “well i think this should work out”.  If you are giving me a estimate to tear apart my house, run new pipes, jack hammer concrete, you better not be telling me “it might work”. The contractor we  used established trust as soon as they walked in the door and saw our boiler. They started with “we will have to do a few tests before we tell you the solution, we don’t want to waste our time, tell you something that isn’t true, or get into something we don’t how to do”. They spent 6 hours over 5 days to determine what caused the failure, where it failed, and presented 2 solutions that would fix it. The oddest part- they ended up be the lowest bid we received, $8,400.00.

Are you now ready to find the Best Painter near me?

I hope this article helped. There are a lot of really great contractors and people to help you with your home. I hope we can be one of them, but I also know we may not be the best fit for everyone. We are here to help. If you need a good contractor- give us a call we will see if we have someone we know will help.

When the time comes for wallpaper, cabinet painting, or traditional painting, we hope we can earn a phone call or text to help you love the space you are in.