Hiring a painter

The walls were in okay-not-great shape when we bought the house, and we wanted to make sure that everything looked neat and clean when we moved in. We set off to Angie's List to locate a good painter.

They say a decent rule of thumb is to interview/get quotes from three businesses when you're hiring someone to do work in your house:

The first one we chose was the highest rated painter on the list- no negative complaints at all and a decent number of good reviews (like 60). The guy came in, took a look at the spaces, and promised to give us a quote within a few days. He did tell us he could work within our short timeframe, so that was a plus. He seemed like a really nice guy, and he said his crew were all employees (not subcontractors).

The second guy came later that evening. He looked at everything slowly, writing down pertinent information as he went along, and was able to give us a quote on the spot. That was nice, because it was our first indication of cost for the job. He was really quiet, didn't say anything about his business or crew, but seemed confident he could handle the job and start immediately.

The final guy came a few days later. He looked through the house as well, and was able to give an on-the-spot quote, too, with a few options for added services. For instance, adding second coats to frames and doors would cost $160.

When we got all three quotes, painter #1 was most expensive, painter #3 was second, and painter #2 was the cheapest. We really liked painter #1, but his price was 33% higher than the next guy. It was a big difference. We liked painter #3 second best, and his price was a bit more do-able, so we hired him.

A job that he had estimated would take 4-5 days ended up taking a little over 2 1/2, which was awesome. We just checked out the job and are happy with the results. Check it out: