Apr 15 2009
Next Time, I’ll Do It Myself
Over the past couple years, my wife and I have been trying to paint the inside of our house. When we bought it, most of the walls had this horrid looking sponge painting job done on them. While this works for some people, it certainly was not our style.
Since both of us work full-time and we have three daughters, it isn’t easy to get around to getting things done. We’ve managed to paint our dining room, living room and two bedrooms, but the upper hallway and stairwell have been a task that we haven’t been looking forward too.
When it comes to painting, I am pretty meticulous about it. I take my time to tape things off, patch holes, wash and sand the walls. In this case, we’ve had to put primer on the walls before the two (and sometimes three) coats of paint required to make everything look nice. But this time, we decided to hire a painter to do the hall and stairs. We figured that it would be easier and quicker than the several days (to a couple weeks) that I would take to do it between working and making sure that I do a good job.
We looked through the local newspaper and called a painter by the name of Steve. He came over, had a look and gave us an estimate. We liked his offer, and told him the colour we wanted..
Well, it took him two days to do the job, which was expected. The result was less than spectacular.
He missed a couple corners/spots completely, and I’m not happy with the overall job. The only reason I don’t call him back to fix it is simple..
I didn’t have to do it. I would have taken a lot longer to set everything up, tape everything off, sanding, etc.. He got it done in two days, while my wife and I were working..
My only other complaint would be that his “receipt” is questionable. A piece of paper that he scrawled on.. But I’ve kept it, and will be using it as a tax write-off next year.
Next time, I’ll just do it myself.. at least that way, I’ll be happy with the end result..