You can now use the services of paint companies that offer complete painting solutions

Getting a paint job is usually the most troublesome part of doing up the house. From selecting a contractor to choosing the kind and colour of paint is a tedious process. Local contractors often take customers for a ride by causing unnecessary delays and coming up with poor workmanship and quality of paint.

Of late, paint companies have begun offering 'complete painting solutions'. Although this service comes at a slight premium (5-10 per cent higher than market rates), the advantages are prompt delivery and quality assurance to customers. Normally, the costs quoted are on a per square foot basis and include both material and labour charges. Asian Paints and Berger Paints offer 'Home Solutions' and 'Décor Service' respectively. While Asian Paints charges Rs 9-14 per square foot for its luxury emulsion paints, Berger Paints charge Rs 10.15 per square foot for its super-emulsion paints.

All you have to do is just call the company's helpline number and ask for its salesman to visit your house. Once you make a choice of the shade, rest of the painting work - scrubbing, putting, painting or cleaning - is taken care of by the company. The company charge for the entire work is based on the cost of material and labour, and in turn assures quality and promptness of work.

Asian Paints, for instance, has an approved list of contractors. While one of its contractors does your painting job, the company's own supervisors also regularly do the rounds to check work quality. Besides, a one-year warranty on the painted surface is given by the paint company. The painting work normally takes six days for a single room.

The charges range from Rs 5 to Rs 12 per square foot based on the quality of your wall surface and the paint type. For instance, Asian Paints for luxury emulsion charges Rs 9-14 per sq ft, Rs 7-12 per sq ft for premium emulsion and Rs 5-10 per sq ft for distemper. The price range is to indicate that the costs differ based on the condition of the surface on which it is to be painted. Similar indicative rates for Berger Paints are Rs 10.15 per sq ft for super emulsion, Rs 9.6 per sq ft for acrylic distemper and Rs 12.5 per sq ft for velvette, an oil paint. With all charges included, you wouldn't need to shell out a penny more.

Before you zero in on a paint company, ensure a couple of things. First of all, ask for a price quote and find out by cross-checking if the rates are reasonable enough. Then finalise the deal and keep a copy of the contract. Ensure that the time period, if mentioned in the contract, is adhered to.

Also, check if there are any other costs that would come in the picture in case some additional services are availed of. This is because a little bit of extra work could send the final bill zooming up.

Dos and Don'ts
• Avail of free services of the company's interior designers who guide you with choosing colours
• Avoid contracts where rates are more than 10 per cent of the market rate
• Ensure contract note is all-inclusive and comprehensive
• Contract note should have the 'time factor' mentioned
• Keep a copy of the contract note to check discrepancies

Muthukumar K ET Intelligence Group