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Before Painting Services : The Bid Process

David Cunningham

Jan 20, 2025

3 Things to Remember When Collecting Bids

Besides collecting a minimum of 3 bid proposals per painting project, there are 3 important things to consider that help ensure that all bidding contractors submit an accurate painting service bid proposal and the associated contract documents. They are:


1) Consistency of Details

When collecting proposals from painting contractors, it is important to write down key points to discuss with the estimator. These key points usually include whether or not an outbuilding is included within the proposal, that the painting contractor has outlined "troubled areas" or prep requirements such as oil-based primer applied to raw or failing siding and trim, if there are any color choices already selected as deeper and more vibrant colors are more difficult to work with and highly contrasted colorways (black trim on a white house) are more difficult to achieve crisp clean transitions on.


2) Material Selection

This is an area I find a bit more confusing for our clientele. The important thing to remember when comparing different materials is actually not the manufacturer. It has more to do with the exact product line. A good painting contractor performing estimates should be knowledgeable about the paint line that they are selecting and will be able to offer you comparisons between different manufacturers. An example of this is if a client asks what paint we recommend, I always outline the supplier that we would like to use (in most cases Rodda Paint Co.) and what makes them stand out for this particular product line, such as " We would like to use Covercoat XL made by Rodda Paint, and the reason is because the same chemists that work at Sherwin Williams now work for Rodda Paint, and they have formulated this product line as a direct competitor to Sherwin-Williams Latitude. The key difference is it saves our clients an average of 7.00 per gallon on a 25 gallon house! It’s the same paint, and Rodda is owned and operated locally, so your money stays in Eugene, Oregon!" We also will give 5 year, 7 year, and 10year warranty options that reflect the low-tier, mid-tier, and high-end paint lines developed by Rodda's chemists to help with the selection process.


3) Warranty Guarantees

When comparing Painting companies, it is an important question to ask "what warranties do you offer?" The state of Oregon requires that all contracted work be warrantied for a minimum of 2 years and that the warranty can be verbally administered. This is why at Cornerstone Brushworks we will only give 5 year, 7 year, and 10 year warranties that include real provisions and requirements for fulfillment, and the digital representations are always emailed to our clients with their copy of the bid proposal, contract, and associated legal notices required by the state. If a painting service does not have a written and standardized warranty guaranteeing their service, then that is an indicator of shoddy craftsmanship." Furthermore, our warranties carry a seal that is registered with the state of Oregon, making our painting company the only painting company in Eugene, Oregon, to offer a warranty that is considered ironclad.

© 2023 by Cornerstone Brushworks. All rights reserved.

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