Student painters vs professional painters in Ottawa

Every spring and summer, Ottawa homeowners see lawn signs and flyers for student painting crews, and every season they also get quotes from professional companies. Both can do good work, and both can do poor work. The label matters less than the answers you get to a few plain questions. Below is the checklist we'd use to hire any painter, us included, and how Maple Coat answers it.

The fair comparison

Painting companies are set up in different ways, some seasonal and some year-round. Neither model guarantees quality. What you want to know is who is on your walls, who is accountable if something goes wrong, and what exactly you're paying for.

What to ask any painter

1. Liability insurance. Ask for proof in writing, not just a "yes". Liability insurance covers damage to your home or belongings during the job.

2. WSIB. In Ontario, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board covers workers injured on the job. Ask whether the company is registered with WSIB and whether that covers everyone who will be in your home.

3. A written scope. The quote should name every room and surface: walls, ceilings, trim, doors, closets. It should also say how many coats and whether paint is included. Anything not written down is open to argument later.

4. Prep. Ask what's included: moving and covering furniture, washing, sanding, filling nail holes, protecting floors, and cleanup. Ask what counts as extra and how it's priced before work starts.

5. Price changes. Ask when the price can go up after you've agreed to it, and whether you can say no.

6. Warranty and touch-ups. Ask whether there's a workmanship warranty, how long it lasts, and how touch-ups are handled after the job, in writing.

7. Older homes. If your home was built before 1960, ask how they handle possible lead paint. Health Canada advises that lead paint shouldn't be sanded or heat-gunned.

8. Who actually shows up. Ask whether the crew is the company's own or subcontracted.

How Maple Coat answers those questions

• Insurance: Maple Coat Painting is WSIB-registered and carries $2M liability insurance. Email hello@maplecoatpainting.ca if you need a copy of the certificate.
• Crew: our own in-house painting team, no subcontracting. The crew starts one job a day, Monday to Saturday.
• Written scope and price: every room and add-on is its own line on your price, before HST, from our full price list.
• Prep: washing, light scuff-sanding and filling ordinary nail holes are in every room price. If a room needs more than ordinary filling, a flat minor-prep charge shows on your price before you send anything. What's included lists the prep, protection and cleanup.
• Price lock: once we've checked your photos, your price is locked. If the photos missed something, you see the new price before you book and can walk away at no cost. After you book, it never goes up unless you ask for more work or the crew finds hidden damage, and then you can say no and keep the original scope at the original price.
• Older homes: Homes built before 1960 get a lead paint check before any sanding.
• Timing: We confirm your start date and how long your job takes when you book.

What it costs with us

Walls, two coats, one colour, paint included, before HST:

Room size	Lived-in	Empty home
Small (office, laundry room, or a bedroom you choose as small)	$795	$715
Medium (bedroom, dining room, kitchen)	$1,035	$930
Large (living room, open main area)	$1,270	$1,145

Each room after the first in one order is $130 less, so any 3 rooms start from $2,125 before HST. Ceiling, trim and doors, closet and accent wall are each their own line. One offer per job.

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Related: cost to paint a room, how to prepare a room for painters, lead paint in older Ottawa homes.