Lake country, and a written proposal
The City of Hickory's water is surface water from Lake Hickory, part of the Catawba River, and the same system also serves Alexander County, southeastern Catawba County and the Town of Catawba. That's about as local as this page gets. The rest is a reading guide for the document that decides most of how a paint job goes: the written proposal.
A proposal for painting is easy to skim and hard to compare. The total sits at the bottom, and everything that explains it sits above. Here is how to read the lines above.
Scope: what's being painted
Look for a list of every surface, not just "interior" or "exterior". Rooms by name, walls and ceilings separately, trim, doors and their frames, windows, closets, stair rails. Outside: siding, fascia, soffits, porch ceilings, railings, shutters, the front door. Anything not listed is not included, however obvious it seemed during the visit.
Preparation: the line that varies most
Prep is where proposals part company. A good one says what will be done and where:
- washing, and how mildew or grime will be treated;
- scraping and sanding of loose or peeling paint;
- filling and sanding holes, cracks and dents;
- caulking gaps at trim, siding and windows;
- spot-priming repairs and bare wood, or priming whole surfaces.
"Prep as needed" says nothing. Ask the painter to write the steps out.
Products and coats
The proposal should name the primer and the finish: maker, product line, sheen and how many coats of each. Two bids that both say "two coats" can differ widely if one names a premium line and the other a contractor grade. Our paint sheens and finishes guide explains what the sheen names mean.
Protection and cleanup
How will floors, furniture, plants and fixtures be covered? Who moves furniture? What happens to old paint chips, leftover paint and wash water? Paint and thinners belong nowhere near a drain; ask how the crew cleans its tools and disposes of waste.
Older paint
If the house was built before 1978, the EPA rule on the cards below applies to paid work that disturbs its paint. EPA lists North Carolina among the states running their own EPA-authorized program. A proposal for such a house should describe lead-safe containment and cleanup; ask whether the painter's firm holds RRP certification if it doesn't say.
Where a state statute comes in
North Carolina General Statutes 87-1 require a general contractor license from the North Carolina Licensing Board for General Contractors when the cost of a construction or improvement project is $40,000 or more, and the statute does not name painting. We draw no conclusion from it about any particular painting job; the card below quotes it as the statute states it.
Schedule, payment and changes
- Start and finish. A target window, and what happens if weather or a hidden repair intervenes.
- Payment. How much is due when. Be wary of paying most of the price before work begins.
- Changes. How added work, such as rotted wood found under old paint, will be priced and agreed in writing before it's done.
- Touch-ups. Whether the painter returns to fix misses spotted after the final walkthrough.
Comparing several bids
Lay the proposals side by side and line them up by these headings rather than by the total. Gaps show quickly: one bid primes everything, another only patches; one names a product line, another doesn't. Ask each painter to fill the gaps in writing. The pricing guide explains which differences usually justify a higher number.
Getting a proposal to read
Fill in the contact form and the one independent painter covering Hickory receives it, visits, and puts the job in writing for you.