2010

This is my last blog for 2010. It has been a great year as an established Indianapolis Painter, and I would like to thank all of my customers. It was my first year going full time and I was able to make a living at something I really enjoy. I worked with Homestead, my website designer, to make improvements on my site to ensure my customers can find me. I am normally right at the top on the first page on Google and have 16 Google reviews that help me immensely.

I also tried to increase my visibility on Twitter, Facebook, Smaller Indiana, Digg, and writing this blog.

People I would like to thank for my year:

1 - Sherwin-Williams was a big part of my success. Their products are the best and the support and customer service I received from McKensey, Patrick, and Chris made my business just that much more successful.
2 - I would also like to thank my son Ryan for letting me use his Dodge Dakota truck all summer to haul my equipment around to all the exterior jobs I had. He let me put ladder racks on it so I could haul around all the equipment you need to complete a large exterior painting job.
3 - I worked with a local painting crew, Fishers Painting,and they helped me finish up a lot of jobs at the end of the year. Thanks to Joe and Andy.
4 - I hired a full time painter named Rick who is just exceptional. He has years of experience and taught me a lot about painting. He is also a great musician and used to belong to the local Indianapolis band called Roadmaster.

Everyone have a great 2011 and again thanks.

Tim

Two coats revisited

It is amazing - I just blogged on always using two coats when changing colors and sheen.

I received a call from a homeowner on Monday wanting an estimate on various rooms in her house. We scheduled an appointment on Tuesday for a formal walk through. The rooms were painted with an Olympic flat white. She wanted the rooms painted beige with an eggshell sheen. I immediately communicated to her that it would need two coats and she stated they had only used one coat on some of the rooms they painted. Again, the problem is, the sheens don't match and you sometimes get a banding look.

I could have tried to do it in one coat to get the business, but I know I would end up doing a lot of additional work to make it look good to satisfy the customer.  No doubt, another painter will come in and quote it as one coat.  The painter will either find themselves doing additional work or they will ask for more money.

The second coat is always much cheaper. For example, my estimate for one coat would have been right around $1,000 for one coat and with a second coat, it would have only been $1,500. And it would have looked so much better.

Have a great day and make it a great 2011.

Painting Contractor selection

As a legitimate Indianapolis painter, I always provide the following minimum requirements when competing for a customer's painting business:

1 - my up-to-date business insurance;
2 - my registered business (DBA);
3 - my valid driver's license;
4 - at least 4 references;
5 - my business card;
6 - my most recent reviews through google, yahoo, and Angie's List;
7 - a formal estimate within a reasonable time that includes all costs.

Painting walls - two coats vs one coat

I am an Indianapolis Residential Painter, and I have found that two coats is normally needed when changing either the color or the sheen. You will be much happier with the results.

For example, if you go from a flat to eggshell sheen, you will not get a consistent look even if you are not changing color.