Ask Gerard: Painting Questions We Hear Every Week

I'm Gerard La Mothe Jr. I started Superior Painting in Tallahassee in 1998, and I still walk estimates. These are the questions I get asked most, at the kitchen table and on the phone. I answer them here the same way I would in your driveway. If yours is not on the list, call 850-297-1882 or send it through the contact page and a person will get back to you.

Insurance and credentials

Are you licensed and insured?

Florida does not license painters, and most painters will not tell you that. There is no state painting license for anyone in this trade to hold. The statute is Fla. Stat. 489.117(4)(a), and it lists painting, pressure washing, and caulking among the jobs the state does not license. So when a painter tells you he is licensed, ask him what license he means. The rest of what to ask is in how to choose a painter in Tallahassee.

What we do carry is insurance. General liability and workers' compensation, both. If one of our painters gets hurt on your property, that is covered by us, not by you. Ask our office for a certificate of insurance and we will send it. Ask any painter for the same thing before they start work. The ones who have it will not mind.

Paint, prep, and the job itself

Do you paint both interior and exterior?

Yes, both, and we always have. Inside, that is walls, ceilings, and trim. Outside, it is siding, trim, and fascia. Crews of two or three, and Salon, our exterior project manager, runs the outside work. Read more about interior painting in Tallahassee and exterior house painting in Tallahassee. We also do commercial repaint, which I cover farther down.

What type of paint do you use?

Quality paint from the major brands. If you have a brand or a product line you want on your walls, tell Marshall or me at the estimate and we will price it that way. What I will not do is put a bargain paint on your house to win the job.

Who buys the paint?

We do. When I write your proposal I break it into a material cost and a labor cost, so you can see both. We get a pretty nice discount from the paint store and we pass it on to you.

What do we have to do to get our house ready for you?

Not much. Pick your colors before day one. Take pictures and small items off the walls. Put the dog somewhere he will not walk through a tray. We move the heavy furniture ourselves. We have special sliders for that. If you want the whole list, room by room, it is on how to prepare for your painters.

Do you use drop cloths to cover the floors?

Yes. Clean canvas drop cloths on the floors, every job. Beds and furniture get covered with disposable lightweight plastic. Canvas stays put and soaks up a drip instead of letting it run.

Do I need to be home when you are painting my house?

No. We can arrange a way to get into your home and lock up when we leave. Plenty of our customers go to work in the morning and come home to a painted room. If you would rather be there, that is fine too.

Can you provide references?

Yes. I can give you two or three phone numbers of customers who had a project like yours. I do not use the same three people every time. On top of that, our reviews are on Google and Angi, and people tend to name their painters in them. Rose Giansanti wrote on Google: "Marshall is a very knowledgeable estimator."

"Great experience. The timeliness and follow up with the estimate prepared by Marshall were great. The professionalism, timeliness and attention to detail by both Colleen and Donna were excellent. The entire Superior team was a joy to work with."

Colors, cost, and the estimate

Can you help us pick out colors?

We are putter oners, not picker outers. Still, our painters have brushed out a lot of samples on Tallahassee walls, and they will tell you when a color reads too dark or too green in your light. Jennifer Kjellerup wrote on Google that "Colleen even helped me with colors." On larger jobs I have paid for time with a local interior decorator to help you choose. Ask whether that applies to your project.

One thing I ask: if you change your mind on a color, tell us before day one. People change colors. It happens every week. It just goes better when we know before the paint is mixed.

How much does it cost to paint a house in Tallahassee?

It depends, and anyone who gives you a number over the phone is guessing. What moves the price: how much wall and trim there is, how much patching or rot repair the surface needs, one color or five, single story or two-story ladder work, and how much furniture has to move. We wrote out the factors in how much it costs to paint a house in Tallahassee. The estimate itself is free and it is in writing.

How fast can you get me an estimate?

Call 850-297-1882 or request a free estimate. A person calls you back. Then Marshall or I come out and walk the job with you, inside and out. You get a written quote with the material and labor broken out.

Do you do wood rot repair?

Yes, minor wood rot and carpentry. Fascia, trim, sills, a section of siding. We find it at the estimate, or sometimes once prep starts, and we bill repairs time and material, so you pay only for what we fix. You really don't want your painter to handle the wood rot repairs. When it is more than minor, I work with several licensed contractors and I have one of them come help. What we will not do is paint over rot. More on wood rot and carpentry repair before we paint.

Weather, timing, and where we work

How long does a paint job take?

It depends on the size of the job and how much prep it needs. I will give you my best number of days at the estimate. Jobs never finish exactly when we think, though. People call in sick, people change colors, and the weather moves. We are usually booked out, so I will also tell you when we can start, and if a date slides you will hear it from us.

What if it rains?

It rains for three days. That happens here. When it does, exterior work stops, because we do not paint wet wood. The coat will not hold, and I would rather lose a day than repaint a wall. So we reschedule, and I tell you the new dates. Interior jobs keep right on going.

What is the best month to paint an exterior in Tallahassee?

October and November. NOAA's climate normals for the airport put those two months at about 3.1 to 3.2 inches of rain and roughly four wet days each. April and May are close behind. June through August is the wet season, seven-plus inches a month and highs of 91 and 92, and humidity slows the cure. We paint year-round, but fall goes smoothest, and those weeks book up in late summer. There is more in the best time of year to paint your exterior in Tallahassee.

Do you offer a warranty?

Yes. The warranty is written into every signed contract, and you can ask to see it before you sign:. We stand behind our work. We have been in Tallahassee since 1998, and we plan to be here when you call us back.

Where do you work?

Tallahassee. Killearn, Bradfordville and Ox Bottom, Betton Hills, Midtown, SouthWood, Buck Lake, and everywhere in between. Our shop is on Lake Hall Road off Thomasville Road. See painters in Tallahassee, neighborhood by neighborhood. We also take jobs a short drive out: Crawfordville, Havana, Quincy, and Monticello.

Commercial, cabinets, and paying the bill

Do you do commercial painting?

Yes. Offices, retail, facilities, rentals. Mostly repaint work. Beverley D. wrote on Angi: "We used Superior Painting for our offices. Lisa and Donna did a fantastic job." Details are on commercial repaint and office painting in Tallahassee, or contact us and tell us what you have.

Do you do cabinets, decks, or pressure washing?

Cabinets, yes. The doors come off and get painted off-site. Read about cabinet painting in Tallahassee. Pressure washing, yes, as prep on nearly every exterior job and on its own when that is all you need. See pressure washing in Tallahassee. Decks and fences:.

How do I pay?

Check, ACH, or card. You will have the material and labor costs in writing before the first day of work. Our office is open Mon to Fri, 9am to 5pm if you have a question about a bill.