Are you about to hire a cheap, unlicensed painter? Read this first.

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At Elegant Look Painters, we are passionate about the work we do and doing it right. Even if you decide to go with someone else to paint your house or other property, we still believe it is worthwhile drawing your attention to the dangers and risks associated with hiring an unlicensed painter. A number of our clients come to us looking to “fix” a bad painting job that an unlicensed painter left behind. Without exception, all such jobs end up being a more expensive (and arguably more cumbersome!) alternative to simply going with a licensed painter in the first place. If you’re thinking of hiring an unlicensed painter, here are several points to help you decide whether risking your home and belongings is worth saving a few hundred dollars.

UNLICENSED PAINTERS ARE NOT INSURED

All tradesmen require public liability insurance if things go wrong. What does this mean for you? It simply means that if the painter causes damage to your property (or even worse – you!), the insurance got you covered. You might think that painting is not such a hard work and that damage cannot happen, but even the most careful us experience a slip-up at one time or another. Think paint spill on your beloved carpet or a new flooring, or ladder scratching your new car. While far less common, this can also include injuries as a result of painting.

WORKMANSHIP GUARANTEE – WHAT GUARANTEE?

Lets be honest – painting is a major cost for many clients and it is fair to expect a guarantee for the work performed. Unlicensed painters do not provide any form of guarantee of their work and if you’re not satisfied with the final outcome, there will be no avenue to rectify this. At Elegant Look Painters, we provide 3-year and 5-year guarantees because we believe in quality of the work we do. Remember – nobody is rich enough to have bad painting jobs that need to be fixed by a professional painter.

UNLICENSED PAINTER COULD COST YOU MORE THAN YOU THINK

In light of the above, there are more reasons why hiring an unlicensed painter could be very expensive. In addition to having to fix a bad painting job, you could also end up having to pay thousands in insurance fees in case things go wrong. In some cases, hiring an unlicensed painter without Worker’s Compensation insurance could result in being personally liable if someone is injured – so check the laws before deciding to risk it!

UNLICENSED PAINTERS DO NOT OPERATE WITH A CONTRACT

Imagine you verbally agree with a painter on 2 coats, but your painter ends up putting only a single coat and as a result you are not satisfied with the final outcome. All this could be easily dealt with if you and your painter signed a contract. Did you know that all work completed by a painter actually requires a contract? A contract can be in a form of a separate document, or a quote provided by a painter, and should include what work will be completed, areas to be completed, number of coats, what prep work will be done and any exclusions to the painters guarantee (if any).

If you would like more information about what to look for when hiring a painter, or chat to Elegant Look Painters to obtain a free quote, be sure to contact us.