How to Choose an Exterior Painter (What to Ask Before You Hire)

This is not a "yes or no" question. Every contractor will say yes. The question is how much coverage they carry and whether you can see proof before they start working on your property.

Ask for a Certificate of Insurance. A COI is a one-page document from their insurance company that shows their policy limits, the effective dates, and who is covered. You are looking for commercial general liability insurance at a minimum of $1,000,000 per occurrence. Ideally, the contractor and every crew they send to your home should each carry $1M — giving you $2M in aggregate coverage on your project.

Why does this matter? Because if a crew member drops a ladder through your car windshield, falls off a scaffold onto your patio, or spills a bucket of paint on your neighbor's driveway, you want an insurance policy paying for the damage — not a contractor promising to "make it right" out of pocket. Uninsured contractors are cheaper for a reason: they are transferring the risk to you.

If a contractor cannot produce a COI within 24 hours of you asking, that tells you everything you need to know.

This is one of the most telling questions you can ask. The answer reveals how the contractor's business is capitalized and how much they trust their own work.

A contractor who requires a deposit — whether they call it a "materials deposit," a "scheduling fee," or a "good faith payment" — is using your money to buy the materials for your job. That means they do not have the working capital to fund the project themselves. In some cases, it means they are using your deposit to finish someone else's job. In the worst cases, it means they take deposits from multiple homeowners, do a poor job or disappear, and you are left fighting to recover money you should never have paid in the first place.

A well-run painting company buys materials and coordinates labor at their own cost, and collects payment only after the work is complete and you are satisfied. If a contractor needs your money before they have done any work, ask yourself why — and consider whether that is a business you trust with the outside of your home.

This is the question that separates a $3,500 paint job from a $5,500 paint job — and it is the question most homeowners forget to ask. The answer determines whether your new paint will last 3 years or 10.

Ask specifically: Will you pressure wash before painting? Will you scrape all loose and peeling paint? Will you recaulk, and if so, which joints — just the ones that are visibly failing, or all of them? Will you prime, and if so, which surfaces — just bare wood, or the most vulnerable areas like the groundline and roofline? What product do you use for caulk — builder-grade acrylic or premium elastomeric? What primer do you use?

A vague answer — "we do all the prep" or "we make sure the surface is ready" — is a red flag. A contractor who takes prep seriously can describe their process in detail, tell you what products they use by name, and explain why each step matters. A contractor who brushes off the prep question is almost certainly cutting corners in the areas you cannot see once the topcoat goes on.

Here is the uncomfortable truth: prep is the most expensive and least visible part of an exterior paint job. A homeowner cannot tell from the curb whether the caulk was replaced or just painted over, whether the groundline was primed or skipped, or whether bare wood was spot-primed or ignored. You only find out 18 months later when the paint starts peeling in the same places it peeled before. Ask the prep question, and pay attention to the specificity of the answer.

The answer should be a specific brand and a specific product line — not "premium paint," not "the good stuff," not "whatever you want." If a contractor cannot tell you the exact manufacturer and product name they plan to apply to your house, they are either using bargain paint and do not want to say so, or they have not thought about it, which is worse.

In North Texas, you want a 100% acrylic exterior paint with UV-resistant pigments, mildewcide additives, and a resin system designed for heat and humidity. Sherwin-Williams, Benjamin Moore, and PPG all make exterior products at this level. The specific product matters because it determines the warranty, the expected lifespan, the color retention, and how the paint performs under the extreme UV and temperature cycling of a DFW summer.

Also ask: how many coats? Two full coats is the standard for any quality exterior paint job. A single coat may look fine on day one, but it will show thin spots, uneven coverage, and premature wear within the first year. Any contractor offering a single-coat exterior job is cutting a corner you will notice quickly.

Verbal warranties are worthless. "Just call me if anything happens" means nothing when "anything" happens two years from now and the contractor does not answer the phone.

A real warranty is a written document, included in your signed project agreement, that states exactly what is covered, how long the coverage lasts, how to file a claim, and what the contractor will do if a covered issue arises. Ask to see the warranty document before you sign the proposal — not after. If a contractor cannot produce a written warranty, they do not have one.

Also ask what the warranty covers and what it excludes. A workmanship warranty should cover defects in the contractor's work — prep that was done improperly, paint that peels or fails due to poor adhesion, surfaces that were missed or inadequately coated. It should not be expected to cover acts of God, physical damage, homeowner modifications, or normal wear and fading. Clear warranty language protects both you and the contractor.

Some painting companies bid jobs with one crew and show up with a different one. Some subcontract the work to crews they have never met. Some use a rotating cast of day laborers. None of these practices are inherently wrong, but you deserve to know who is going to be on your property for three to five days.

Ask: will the same crew be here for the entire project? Are the workers employees of your company, or are they subcontractors? If they are subcontractors, are they insured independently? Is there a single point of contact I can reach throughout the project — one person who is accountable for the work and the communication from start to finish?

The best painting companies assign one project manager or owner to your job and keep that person involved from the estimate through the final walkthrough. The worst ones hand you off from a salesperson to a scheduler to a crew lead you have never met, and by the time you have a concern, nobody can tell you who is responsible.

Every legitimate painting contractor should have photos of recent work — before and after shots of completed exteriors in your area. If they do not, it means one of two things: they are too new to have a portfolio (which is not necessarily disqualifying but is worth knowing), or they are not proud enough of their recent work to show it.

Look at the photos critically. Are the cut lines sharp and clean? Is the coverage even? Do the colors look consistent? Are the trim lines straight where they meet the siding? Is the landscaping, driveway, and surrounding area clean and free of paint drips? These details tell you more about a contractor's quality standards than any sales pitch.

If you can, ask for the addresses of recent projects (with the homeowner's permission) and drive by. A photo on a website can be filtered, cropped, and cherry-picked. A house you can see in person tells the truth.

Every contractor will tell you "we stand behind our work." The question is what that looks like in practice.

Ask: if I notice a problem after the job is done — a spot that was missed, a section that is peeling, a drip that dried on the wrong surface — what is the process for getting it fixed? How quickly do you respond? Do I call you directly, or do I go through a customer service line? Is there a charge for warranty visits?

The answer should be simple and direct: you call one number, you talk to one person, the issue is inspected within a few days, and if it is a workmanship defect, it is corrected at no charge. If the answer is complicated, involves escalation procedures, or includes caveats about "assessing the situation," you are hearing what the warranty experience will actually feel like — and it will not feel good.