Professional Painters are Lazy
 

The people that lived in our place before us were mentally reeruned, which lead them to painting the back deck. This year it finally got bad enough that I decided to do some work on it. We power washed it, scrapped it and laid down a coat of primer. After all of this we decided that this was too much fun for the wife and I and decided to pay someone else to finish the project.

I've called 5 painting companies and here's the results.
First 2 do not answer or return calls.
Candidate #3 made an appointment to come out and give me an estimate. He never showed up.
Candidate #4 is either related to candidate #3 or the previous owners of my house.
Candidate #5 came out and told me that he'll "probably" be able to do it but he won't be able to get to it until October and I will have to buy a sprayer for him.

So if you know of any painters please kick them square in the nuts for me.

I have lost hope in the people of this country. I also run my own business and I run into similar problems in the professional world. There are times when I need a service or product from an outside vendor so I shop around and then place a call that goes something like this "Hello ABC company mine name is Jiveturkey and I would like to give you money in exchange for the service or product that you specialize in". Later that week no one calls back, there's no follow up and they never actually put any effort into taking money from me.

When someone calls me and requests that I take their money I haul ass over to their place and help them write the check.

The lazyness has reached epic proportions and it's pissing me off.
:cuss:

Offer to pay them in pot.

They're all drunks. Just buy a 100 dollar paint gun and do it yourself.

Must not be many illegals where you live. They're great painters and they'll mow your lawn too.

I think, for the most part, that is true. What better occupation to get into so one can sleep off the hangover and show up for work at 11:00 in the AM and knock off around 4:00?
I work part-time for a guy that is the complete opposite-he's a great painter, and has taught me a lot, though he can sometimes be a bastard to work for. We start at 7:30 and go until 5:00, indoors or outdoors, hot or cold.
As far as doing it yourself, if you have done some painting, you would probably be fine. But I have seen some do-it-yourself paint jobs that required more time to fix than the actual paint job took. And be careful of the hundred dollar paint guns.
BTW-did you all hear Willie Roaf retired? :p

We bought a paint sprayer and it sucks balls.

They can be a major pain in the ass, depending on kind of paint you're dealing with.
And a thorough cleanup takes about 4 times as long as cleaning up from a roller and brush. And if the cleanup on a spray unit is not done right, next time you use it it will suck balls to the 10th power.

That is why I had kids. I think ................ :)

As a professional painter and Plaster I take exception to your statement "Professional Painters are Lazy"Not all of us are, just 99% of them.
I start my day at 4:45 am just to catch a boat to work punch a 10 hour day and feel lucky if I make it home by 7pm.
That said!!!

If you just keep trying you WILL find a competent painting company to do your deck.
FIRST!!!
Search for one who ADVERTISES "Residential, Commercial, Interior, Exterior" on their business card and or yellow page add. These guy’s are good, but expensive.
Trust me, you get EXACTLY what you pay for in this racket.
I know, half of my business is fixing mess’s made by wanna be’s

Second-
Summer is NEW HOME BUILDING SEASON, most of the " Pro’s" are booked already
IE: Your deck will fetch me $500 (just a quick guess for my example) and to do it properly will take 2-3 day’s and tie up 2 of my guy’s depending size, and on how bad an original job was done, prep work etc.
A new house (1100-2500sq ft) will take me and my crew (3 men) 4 days start to finish and land me $15-1700.00 depending.
Your deck ain’t anything but a filler job while the next house is nearing completion. REMEMBER THAT.



Just because YOU power washed and primed it means little or nothing to a REAL pro.
He’ll want to know if you just used water? (Or were you intelligent enough to add some TSP concentrate to clean away the residual anit-bonding agents (air born polution etc) which have built up over time that you probably just primed over and now will see lift the paint next year. (I could go on but wont)
(There’s more questions I would ask over the phone prior to even looking at it If you had called me)

Third-
You can’t sum up everyone based on 5 attempts to find the right contractor.
Hell I had a guy tell me "Price was NO Object" on his house last week, he’s been looking for someone who isn’t too busy to do it for 3 weeks.
I was attempt #14.
***I’m taking the job, in 3 weeks that’s how busy GOOD contractors are this time of year.

Forth-
Spray painting is NOT for everyone. You can make a hell of a mess of your yard, cars, house, flowers, neighbors property and your deck, if you really don’t know what your doing, not to mention waste paint like crazy if you don’t have the right tip/paint/sprayer

Keep trying, you will find the right person/contractor.I too feel your pain. I can’t find someone who will give me 6 honest hours out of the 8 I’m gonna pay them for, and right now I’m desperate for 2 painters.

Should have bought a wagner. I have one and it doesn't suck balls.

Told you.

Greco Ultra 390 :thumb:

Sure ONE drunken rant and your branded for life 4321

Don't take anybody seriously unless they have a Graco. FWIW, I have a Graco. I will spray your deck but it's going to cost you and I offer no guarantees beyond what the manufacturer of the paint guarantees.

Drop me a PM if you're interested.

It sounds like you work your butt off so I'll be sure to exlude you from future rants.