How To Keep a Paint Job Looking Great!

Monday, August 06, 2007

Here are just a couple of ways to keep you paint job looking great:

 1) Keep The Painted Surfaces Clean: We all know that keeping your car garaged and washed regularly will keep the paint job looking new. If a car is kept outside, uncovered and not washed often, the paint job will fail. Rinsing off the the exterior of your home on an annual basis will keep salt and dirt from damaging your paint job. On interior painted surfaces, use non-abrasive cleaners to wipe down the surfaces as needed.

2) Free Inspections: Make sure the painting company you hire provides a free inspection. Depending on what was done, an inspection should be done every 1 to 3 years. If you do not have a coastal property, you can wait 3 years. A professional company will put it in their file to contact you, so you do not have to worry about it. Inspections are good, because if there is a slight issue, it can be dealt with right away and therefore, save you money and time.

3) Touch Up Rather Than Repaint: When your home is in need of a complete repaint, make sure you spend the time and money the first time to do a very thorough prep job and apply two coats of a quality paint. There are the rare cases that may require one coat, depending on the existing surface and condition. After a home has been properly painted, we recommend that you touch-up the sun exposed areas every 2-3 years. This is not an expensive task and can save you thousands of dollars by not having to completely repaint your home in 5-10 years. By maintaining the areas that get the most moisture or sun exposure, you will avoid major sanding and prep in the future. Chism Brothers Painting helps our clients accomplish this task with our Painter For a Day program. People hire us sometimes just to do touch-ups and or maintain the quality appearance of their homes without fully repainting all the surfaces. This way, it keeps the home always looking sharp.
If you ever have a question about your painting project, please feel free to comment on our blog or send us an email.

Morton’s & Outback Steakhouse

Friday, August 03, 2007

My wife and I were recently invited by one of my long-time customers, Mrs. K in La Jolla, to join her for a steak dinner at Morton's in downtown San Diego. It was such a treat for us, and I must say, I loved the whole experience. Being in the service business, I was eager to see how a professional company like Morton's would treat their clients. Mrs. K is well traveled and has had wonderful experiences when she has been to other Morton Steakhouses around the country. This company has a great business model of excellent customer service and a quality product.

During my time at Mortons, I began to contrast this place with another popular steakhouse, Outback. While both companies excel at their mission and serve great steaks, they are very different when it comes to the experience, which reflects the total cost. 

Below you will find the typical cost and mission statement of each restaurant that you may find interesting:

• Morton's Pricing: The typical cost for a dinner for two would be $170 (not including tax/tip or specialty drinks). (View Source)
• Outback's Pricing: The typical cost for a dinner for two would be $60.00 (with same exceptions as above). (Based on my personal experience)

• Morton's Mission: "Morton's steakhouses have remained true to our founders' original vision of combining generous portions of high quality food prepared to exacting standards with exceptional service in an enjoyable dining environment." (View Source)
• Outback's Mission: "The Company’s strategy is to differentiate its restaurants by emphasizing consistently high-quality food and service, generous portions at moderate prices and a casual atmosphere suggestive of the Australian Outback." (View Source)
  

As you can see from the above pricing and goals of each restaurant, there is a BIG difference between two steakhouse companies. Each restaurant has good food. The difference is how they deliver their product and service. While Morton's offers the Nordstrom's in the steak business, Outback is seeking to provide more of a fun and affordable dining experience in a casual setting. You can taste and feel the difference between the two restaurants too. The level of attention you get at Morton's steakhouse is five times higher than Outback.

The botton line is that both restaurants are unique and have their place. I have enjoyed my dining experience at both restaurants. I realized that if two steakhouses can stay in business and separate themselves from each other, a painting company can too! People have to discover what is important for them in selecting who they will hire to work on their home. Chism Brothers is more in line with the Morton's model of doing business. The one difference is that Chism does NOT charge 3-4 times the cost of most other quality paint companies. Our average hourly wage is currently around $60 per hour. It is a little more than most companies, but most people will discover that the cost is well worth it. 

Our mission is to provide a one of a kind experience, simply by doing the right thing! 

Honest Thoughts From Our Estimator

Thursday, July 12, 2007

As the estimator and one of the owners of Chism Brothers Painting, I face the war on price every day of the week. It is draining at times. I keep asking myself why I feel so disappointed sometimes when I lose work to a lower priced competitor. I realized that when I do lose work, it is typically because the homeowner has not heard of us much (if ever) and is searching for the lowest or lower price. I looked back over my estimates for 2006 and realized that close to 80% of our jobs were from repeat or referrals. It was those existing clients that knew and trusted the value CBP promised to deliver. Our new clients heard about our reputation and hired us to paint their home. We gave them the best value and cost for what we were doing. It would be my dream to work with everyone who calls my company. I am not a salesman who just looks at charging a high price! If Chism Brothers charged very high prices and ripped people off, we would have ALL retired by now or been forced out of business for bad business practices.

I was born and raised in the painting business, which started with my grandfather, and am passionate to spread the word about how good our staff is at painting homes. My Dad and Uncle, Pat Chism, did a wonderful job growing this company and establishing themselves in a paint company dedicated to producing high quality work with terrific customer care. They put their heart and soul into every job, and it is this passion that is being communicated to every employee we hire. I would love to be both the Walmart and the Nordstroms of the painting industry in San Diego but it is simply not possible. Now I am on the path of trying to educate those who come in contact with Chism Brothers Painting about why we are different. Our goal is to have the quality service and pricing similiar to a Nordstroms experience. If you have never stepped foot into a Nordstroms or similiar store, you may not understand the customer care we try to achieve.

If you are visiting our site for the first time, I hope you will consider giving Chism Brothers the opportunity to lead you through the painting process. We are here to assist you, and we promise to make it a pleasant experience--an experience you will not forget! If you request an estimate, you will get to meet me in person! I'm looking forward to it. Thanks for reading.  

Checking a Contractor’s License Tip

Monday, July 09, 2007

Before contracting with any California contractor (Plumber, Painters, Remodelings, Landscapers, etc), here area few tips to help educate you a bit on a Contractor's Longevity and Legal Requirements:

1. You can check the licensed status here: Licensed Look Up
2. When checking the status, make sure you check their worker's compensation and insurance status too. It is easy for certain contractors to work around worker's comp. and cut corners in their hiring process.
   
3. Ask a company about their hiring process and how long their employees have been with them. Do they do drug testing might be a good question to ask. 
4. You can sometimes tell how long a contractor has been around based on the first digit of their licensed number. For example, our licensed number, #491884, was issued in 1982. You can tell by the number "4." Licensed numbers that started with a "4" seemed to be issued beginning in 1978 to about 1983. If a company's licensed number begins with an "8", it is very likely that the company is 5-7 years old. This "rule of thumb" is not 100% accurate in determining the age of a company, but it does help a consumer if they are more comfortable hiring an older company. 
5. Make sure that the company you hire has a legal license. California has strict standards in obtaining an licensed. If they will not provide you with a licensed number, just move on. You don't want to hire an unlicensed contractor in California. There are too many so called contractors that do not follow the requirements and take advantage of homeowners who don't do their homework.
   
6. Check their status with groups like the Better Business Bureaus to see what types of complaints they have outstanding and/or how they were taken care of.
   
7. Ask to speak with 2-3 clients of theirs in your area and call them. Don't just read a testimonial, though that is helpful. We encourage you to call our clients when you have questions about if we are a good fit. You can ask them questions you won't ask us!

We hope you will find this information helpful. If you have further questions before hiring a contractor, email or call us. We have been in the business a long time, and we tend to know very high quality companies that will treat you well. 

Using Who You Want on an Insurance Claim

Monday, July 02, 2007

We recently received a call from one of our clients who had an insurance claim inside her home. She had to have a paint company other than ours to do the work, and she was very worried they would not do a quality job. She called us to ask advice on the products the other company wanted to use and their general procedures. We came to the conclusion that whoever was hired was not very qualified or educated on how to use certain products. It was comical, because we were doing work at her home right about the same time as the insurance work was being done, but we could not do the insurance work...so we thought!

We then contacted our insurance company, Statefarm, and asked them if a homeowner can use their own contractor when they have a claim. Here is was their response, "We definitely leave the choice of contractor up to the policyholder in all claims.  I can't believe that your customer's company would not be open to that as well.  I have heard of very few companies that do not offer that choice, but most do."

It is a good idea to check and see if your insurance company is willing to let you select the company you are comfortable with when you have an insurance issue. We have heard many complaints and seen the terrible results of unqualified contractors that are hired to do insurance work. It is your home. Make sure you get the contractors you deserve!

Tips On Pricing Out Your Small Paint Job

Thursday, June 14, 2007

We recently received a phone call from a woman who needed to have the 1st floor of her house painted ASAP. She would not be in town and could not have access to meet for an estimate, so she asked for a ballpark over the phone. If it was reasonable, she would just have us do the work and give a more firm quote later. The information was given to our estimator who gave a rough estimate of about $3,000. The pricing would be on an hourly basis with that general ballpark. We started the project on Monday of this week, and they decided to add the upstairs too. The estimator was then able to stop by and give them a firm price for the rest of the work, which they gladly accepted.  

When you have a small project or do not have time to meet for an estimate, you can do one of three things:

1. Call our office and get a rough estimate over the phone. The office will take your information and send it to our estimator who will give a "good-faith estimate." A Good Faith estimate is similiar to when you get a home loan. A loan officer will prepare a document discussing your closing cost. Sometimes the cost is less than the estimated cost. This happens with our estimates over the phone too. If you are comfortable, you can proceed on a time and materials basis with the approximate estimate or ask for an estimator to stop by and firm up the pricing.
2. You can use our Painter For a Day program to get the work done. Our current pricing is on our PFD forms. On most small jobs, you may have a pretty good idea how long a job would take. For example, if you want to paint a baby's bedroom with two coats (and the room is not empty), this will probably require just one painter for the day. You may not need a Master Painter for this job too, so the pricing would be $495 plus any paint. If however, you wanted to get your exterior entry door (standard size), stripped, re-stained and finished to restore the look, you would request a master painter for 2-3 days. If you are unsure, just click the dropdown button that says, "Help Me Choose." Our clients love our Painter For a Day program, because it gets their small jobs taken care of by our professional staff of painters.
   
3. If you are trying to save money or just enjoy painting, you can also use our Painter For a Day program to assist you in the painting. In other words, you can work together. We had a homeowner who wanted to do some painting but needed an extra hand: someone who was good at painting. So he hired one of our painters for a day or two to help him paint. We don't mind if you hire us to do the whole project, part of a project or work along side with you!

We are comfortable giving you general pricing over the phone or email for smaller projects. Please email or call with your particular job or FILL OUT our ONLINE Painter For a Day Form. 

“Never Paint Your House Again?”

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

I am getting tired of hearing commercials that claim that there are paint products on the market that last forever and companies stating that you will "NEVER Paint Your House Again." There are many companies in the U.S. today that are selling this concept with very high profit margins and 25 to 50 year warranties. Every time I hear the radio ads on Talk Radio, I cringe at the warranty and paint product selling points, knowing that they are too good to be true!

The paints that are on the market today are better than they were 10 years ago. There is no doubt in my mind that paint is getting better and that the paints advertised on the radio are exceptional products. The products being advertised with big selling points today, have a ceramic product mixed in them. Ceramic coatings are the new products of this millennium. However, they will not last forever. You will have to paint your house again. Do not be fooled by any paint manufacturer or contractor that will boast of a lifetime warranty. These products will last longer than typical house paint but they still get dirty fade over the years. Also, ceramic-based paints should not cost 5x the cost of regular paint. Ceramic can be added to just about any type of paint and make it better.*

So the next time you get a call from a salesman asking you if you want a product that will last a lifetime, be prepared to pay a lot of money for a product and service that should cost a lot less. Lastly, remember that a warranty is only good as long as the company is still in business. 

 

*Read Article about Adding Ceramic to Paint

Don’t Hire A Contractor When…

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Why is it so hard to compare estimates these days? Why do three different estimates vary so drastically? A key reason is based on how the contractor is conducting business.

One of the ways a contractor can save money in the estimate process is if he works completely by himself. He will not have much overhead and can typically do your project for 20-40% less than the larger more established companies. However, in the state of California, every contractor who has at least 1 or more employees must carry worker's compensation insurance. This is extremely important for you, the homeowner when making a final decision. Contractors can be sneaky on this insurance, because it is very expensive for remodelers and painting contractors.

If you hire someone who does not have valid insurance for ALL his or her employees, you, the homeowner will be liable if any accident takes place during your project. If your goal is simply to save money, be extra careful and go with a licensed, fully insured single painter. If you want more security that your job is done professionally, according to the laws of the state and on time, you need to hire an established company that will cost a little more up front. However, in hiring a professional painting or remodeling contractor, you are free and clear of any problems on the job. Imagine if an unlicensed or uninsured worker bumped his knee on your project and claimed that he needed knee surgery (but had an existing condition). You may have to pay for all his medical expenses. This definitely happens in our state!

There are contractors in San Diego that look and act professional but still do not follow all the laws. They can have worker's comp for some of their employees and still hire illegals who are not part of the policy. So, don't Hire a Contractor until you have thoroughly researched that they are operating an honest business. 

Mount Soledad War Memorial Ceremony

Friday, May 25, 2007

The Mt. Soledad War Memorial Association will be hosting a Memorial Day Ceremony Monday at 2pm.

For More Information View the Details Online

Painting Contractors in Four Categories Part 2

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Read Part 1: View Now 

Industrial Painting 

Industrial painting typically consists of projects contracted by the government or large industrial buildings. A paint company would need to specialize in the painting of complicated surfaces such as: Boats, Tankers, Boilers and also requires knowledge of different products that are applied with special paint machines. It would be very difficult for an industrial paint company to specialize also in Residential work, because they are not familiar with masking, covering, and careful preparation of wood and drywall.

New Construction 

New Construction painting companies specialize in painting track homes. When a homeowner purchases a new home, the one complaint we hear most is, "They used cheap paint and did a quick and cheap paint job on this place."  They then turn around and hire a specialized paint company to repaint the walls and change colors. A new construction company's goal is to get the homes painted as quickly as possible. The whole production schedule is to spray as much as possible without masking a thing. 

Be Consistent

A good marketing principle for any company is: "Be Consistent." The Xerox company, many years ago, once tried to get in the printing business. Why not? It was close to copy machines, right? They began making printers and spending over a billion dollars in the process. Where did it get them today? Xerox printers? Xerox will always be known for making copiers. That is their specialty, and they realized that they needed to be consistent with what they know best: Copy Machines.

Our Focus

Chism Brothers Painting's focus is on painting single family homes with the best staff, preparation and products in the industry. Can we paint a commercial building? Yes! But we are not setup to do it quickly and profitably so that we and the developer or HOA is happy. So, we decided to stick with house painting. We are not commercial painters. The only time we will cross over to doing a non-residential painting project is when we are hired by our current clients who have commercial properties. If you are looking for a paint company that is focused on quality and customer service instead of the "just getting the job done" please consider talking to us about your next project.

Painting Contractors in Four Categories Part 1

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

We receive a lot of phone calls throughout the year asking if we will bid on big commercial projects, rental units, income properties and apartment buildings. We wanted to educate you a little about the type of work we do and do NOT do. Many consumers may think that all paint companies are the same. This is an honest assumption, since many paint companies try to be all things to all people. You will see advertisements that a paint company will do residential, commercial, industrial, income properties, etc.

We believe that painting should be separated into at least four categories: 1) Residential, 2) Commercial, 3) Industrial 4) New Construction. Chism Brothers Painting falls under the Residential category. When you are looking for a painting company, you need to find one that fits your project. This is an important step if you are trying to compare pricing. If a company specializes in multiple categories, his or her pricing will vary quite a bit. Here is a brief description of the three categories: 

Residential Painting

Residential should be defined as a paint company that repaints single family homes and new high-end custom homes. Painting homes requires a certain level of attention to detail and preparation standards that are not always as important in the other categories. If you are looking to have your home painted and want a company that is clean, careful, high quality, you need to look for a paint company that only does residential work. Their pricing will sometimes (not always) be higher than those who also do commercial work. 

Commercial Painting

A commercial painter is a paint company who paints hospitals, shopping centers, income properties and home owner associations. This type of painting typically requires less attention to detail, because there is a very tight budget and time frame. A shopping center developer wants a good job but wants to get the job done as quickly as possible. They will not worry about the fine details of laser lining the baseboards or saw cutting the stucco and installing 50 year caulking. Commercial painting also takes less training, so the painters typically do not have the experience to work on custom homes. Most commercial projects consist of painting exteriors, basic drywall and pulling the trigger on a paint sprayer in a building. When a company switches from Commercial to Residential, their painters cannot possibly be consistent in their quality standards.

We received a call from a client who wanted a bid on some interior work. She showed me some of her doors and doors frames, and our estimator commented on how what great quality was done by the last painters. She then said that it took them three times to get it right. She mentioned the name of the paint company, and our estimator knew they were large and very well known/trusted commercial painting company. Their specialty was for commercial work, and when they tried their hand at a single family home, it took them three tries to get it right.

Continue to Part 2

Review Actual Reports

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Our new search function for Client Reports is up and running and available for you to view. These are actual reports from our clients when we are finished with a project. Please let us know if you wish to contact a client to talk to them about our company. We have removed the names and in some cases, the address, but we can provide that information upon request. View Reports: http://chismbrothers.com/site/reports/

A General Rule of Thumb

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

We Can Do It All
On an estimate call yesterday, I was asked if we could change the texture of the current stucco on a home in Tierrasanta. It was an excellent question. The homeowner did not like the thick texture and wanted a smoother look. I asked if other painters were telling her they could do it, and she replied that one of the companies said they can change the stucco. I explained to her something that I thought would be of interest to you.

Hire Specialized Contractors
If a paint company says they can fully restucco your home, install crown moulding, install doors, change windows, do electrical work or remodel your kitchen, think twice before thinking they are the contractor from heaven. Painting is a specialized trade just like installing crown molding, stucco and plastering and remodeling are specialized. It takes many years to become skilled in any trade, and it is hard for a small business to offer quality services “in house” besides their specialized trade. The general rule of thumb is to hire a painter to paint, a window company for your windows and a contractor to remodel your kitchen.

Check Their Work First
My response to the woman in Tierrasanta yesterday is that we can provide a company to do the stucco project and manage it, but we ourselves cannot achieve the look she wants with our crew. It is possible that some companies will offer several different home improvement services, but to achieve the highest quality possible, it is still best to hire individual companies or have a general contractor take care of your home improvement needs. I have seen some pretty sorry projects when an individual said he could “do it all.” Be careful and look at their previous work to see if they really know what they are doing.

Oil Base & Mildew

Friday, March 23, 2007

One of the most common problems that many homeowners are not aware of is that mildew is attracted to most oil base paints. Oil base use to be the number 1 product of choice for all exterior projects, but in recent years, more paint stores and contractors are discouraging their clients from using oil base paint. The oils always look the nicest when used by a professional, but they just breakdown quickly and attract mildew. The best thing for a home’s exterior or bathroom areas is to switch to a mildew resistant paint and/or acrylic products. All water-base (acrylic) paints do not attract mildew.

There are several things that can be done if you have a mildew problem:

Clean The Surface

Clean the surfaces with a mixture of bleach and water. If you are concerned about delicate landscaping, you can probably purchase a biodegradable mildew remover from your local hardware store. However, Bleach and Water still work the best. To avoid damaging your plants, you can quickly rinse them with water. Sometimes, little or now scrubbing is needed on the painted surface.

Sand the Surface

If the surfaces are smooth or have an oil enamel, clean them first and then give them a very good sanding before applying any top coats.

Sealers & Top Coats

There are a number of excellent top coats or sealers to help prevent mildew from returning. There is a clear sealer called Mildew Sealer available in San Diego that helps seal any mildew problem (even if you could not remove all the mildew first). The second product of choice is called, Perma-White from Zinsser. We have had great success using the Perma-White product and highly recommend giving it a try. This product acts as a sealer and a top coat. It can even be painted directly over an oil base finish whereas most other acrylic paints need a primer.

If you are not a Do It Yourself homeowner and have questions about your mildew issues, please for assistance.

Pricing for Exterior Restoration

Monday, March 19, 2007

Restoring a home can be quite a challenge and expense. We often get calls regarding restoration of exteriors and occasionally interiors. We have extensive knowledge in the repainting and restoration of old homes in San Diego. In the past 1 1/2 years, we have worked on 3 restoration projects on houses built in the early 1900’s. Each project was unique and somewhat costly with beautiful results. If you are planning on staying in your old home for many years or if you enjoy preserving the value of your home, restoration may be for you. In this article, we wanted to give you some general ideas on pricing if you are thinking of restoring your exterior.

Chism Brothers Painting does not typically do restoration projects for a fixed price. There isn’t a reliable way to give you a fixed cost on such projects. However, we do put in a lot of work before we start to give you a very good idea of what you should spend. For example, the home pictured here: Mission Restoraton was estimated in two separate ways: Time & Material for the major preparation and a Fixed Cost to finish the home. We had given the homeowner a “good faith” estimate on what he would probably have to spend for the exterior of his home. In the end, a home of that size with wood replacement, re-glazing, stripping bad areas, primers and top coats, cost nearly $50,000. We did a smaller project in South Park that we put a “not to exceed” price on the estimate. We did the entire project “Time & Materials” but had a good idea of how far to take the prep. On the South Park project, the homeowner could have easily spent $50,000 on their early 1911 home as well, but we found ways that would keep the cost down. Instead of replacing quantities of wood, we used epoxy and special wood fillers to restore the look. In certain areas of the home, we sanded to a sound surface instead of a full stripping. Anytime a painting company strips paint down to a sound surface, the cost is very expensive.

Chism Brothers loves to restore homes. It is important to be forthright about your budget with our estimator. He can easily give you some general pricing on what you might need to spend. He will also listen to your concerns and goals of the home and give you his recommendations if you are unclear on what you “need” to spend. If you have an old home and need help finding painters, a window repair specialist or a skilled carpenter, please give our office a call or send us an