7 Reasons to Hire Professional Painters vs DIY
Perhaps you’re thinking of painting your Toronto home or office yourself. But have you thought it through sufficiently to prepare for the challenges you might face?
While trying to save money, DIY painters often end up with problem areas needing professional correction, in addition to a huge personal time-investment, added clean-up, and higher than needed paint costs. In the end, the disappointment of a sloppy, or perhaps mediocre job, far outweighs any savings you may have incurred, and often ends up costing you more than if you left it to the pros in the first place.
A professional painting contractor, like ColourWorks Painting Design in Toronto, does this kind of work every day. This dedication to the painting trade means the job is done properly, cost-efficiently, and with guaranteed beautiful results, so you can do what you do best, while the painters get the results you’re looking for. But if you’re still thinking of doing the painting yourself, here are some of the top pitfalls we’ve seen over the years, to help you with your decision.
7 mistakes most common to DIY painters:
1. Bad colour
You somehow thought you had the perfect colour, only to find it’s too dark, too light, or too “what was I thinking!?”. A professional painting designer or colour consultant can help you avoid these mistakes. Although it’s simple enough to correct, it costs you time and additional paint. At ColourWorks Painting Design, you have access to a painting designer who will spend time showing you colours to suit the natural light and mood of each room and coordinate a complimentary palette for multiple rooms in your home, until you’re satisfied with your selections before the paint is purchased.
2. Inadequate prep work
No matter how much prep work you think you’ll need, there’s always more than meets the mind’s eye. Repairing cracks and holes, replacing broken drywall, taping, masking, sheeting, sanding, caulking, sealing, priming, and cleaning, are all basics to be completed before the paint is even opened. Not using a correct primer, is another critical error which often comes with a homeowner’s limited knowledge or available time. A pro knows the steps to be taken before the job starts, and will effectively prep however needed to provide you with a professionally painted surface.
3. Working around furniture
Moving furniture back and forth in a room as you paint can result in unwanted effects: while your wet brushes and rollers wait for you to shift furniture out of the way, they can become goopy or hardened, requiring cleaning before you continue painting, and it creates the perfect conditions for paint to get on your furniture. A professional painter will take the time to move furniture well enough away from the work area at the start, and cover it completely for protection.
4. Wrong paint sheen
Choosing the wrong sheen for a room or area is a common issue. To be effective, and not waste money on the wrong paints, the DIY homeowner must understand the balance between body-traffic, lighting, washability, and the desired overall look and feel, before choosing between matte, eggshell, semi-gloss, pearl, satin, or high-gloss finishes. A professional painting designer will show you the difference, and help you choose not only the right sheen, but the right brand and quality to meet the needs of each room.
5. Cheap tools
Something as simple as buying the wrong masking tape for the windows, baseboards, and other trim, can leave unsightly wall paint on your wood or masonry surfaces which could spell disaster for your painting project. More commonly, DIYers try to save on poor-quality brushes and rollers, which ultimately leave more of a mess than a professional finish. When you trust a professional with the job, they’ve invested in the highest quality tools to produce the results you’re looking for every time.
6. Incorrect procedure
One of the most common mistakes is applying fresh paint over a previous coat while it’s still tacky. This causes coverage failures resulting in needless additional coats. Factors such as humidity, temperature, and air circulation all affect the drying time. Other frequent errors occur from DIYer’s varying ideas of what sequence of surfaces to paint, and how to apply paint to minimize brush strokes, lap marks, and drips. There are many videos online which attempt to show you how it’s done, but professional techniques take practice to master, and there’s no substitute for the many hours of hands-on experience that comes with a professional application.
7. Skimping on coats
Whether it’s the result of impatience or frugality, insufficient coating and coverage is a dead giveaway of a DIY paint job. Patchy areas, or “holidays” created when a wet roller lifts spots of the tacky paint off the wall, are impossible to overlook, and require much more time to refinish, and cost you in extra paint purchases to repair. A professional will know during the estimate: how many coats, and the paint quality and thickness required to cover your existing finishes in your new colours. No guesswork, firm price upfront, and beautiful results.
Get your free consultation today!
To cash in on the benefit of an experienced painter for your next home or commercial painting project, contact us at (416) 920-4482 or email us to schedule your free consultation. The pros at ColourWorks Painting Design are standing by to bring you the top services in professional painting to save you time, money, and frustration.
