What to Ask Before Hiring a Painter?
What to ask before hiring a painter is the list Blair opens with in our first FAQ video. He looks into the camera in a black Castle Painters polo and says, "Hey Knoxville. I'm Blair with Castle Painters. We're a residential painting company here in Knoxville." From there he names the work we do, the places we go, and the questions he hears every week. He wants those questions asked out loud, so you know the process before we come into your home.
What to ask before hiring a painter in Knoxville
Blair calls them "the normal FAQs," the questions "we get asked on a weekly basis," and "all the FAQs that people generally have before hiring a painter." Then he says why they belong in the conversation: "it's something that we want you to ask so you can be familiar with the process that we provide when we come into your homes."
He names four:
- What kind of sheen should we use?
- What does it cost to paint a home or a room?
- What does the schedule look like?
- What does our preparation look like?
Sheen is which finish goes where. Walls, ceilings, and trim do not have to share one shine. Our Sherwin-Williams paint sheens guide is the longer version of that question. Use it, then ask which sheen fits the rooms in your house.
Cost, in his wording, is two jobs sitting inside one question: a home, or a room. Ask which rooms and which surfaces the number includes. When you want that number for your own place, request a free estimate.
Schedule is how the days run on your project: what happens first, and what you should have ready.
Preparation is the work before the finish, and the care taken while paint is going on. You can already see a piece of that in the Clinton room behind him. Ask what preparation looks like for your furniture, your floors, and the surfaces being painted. Interior painting in Knoxville is where we describe interior work as a service.
Ask those four before you hire. The rest of the clip is who we are, the three services, and where he says we go.
The Clinton room behind him
He turns slightly and says, "as you can see, we're doing a bit of an interior over here in Clinton." The room is tall, with angled ceilings, a ceiling fan, and large windows onto trees. Furniture is covered in plastic. White captions sit along the bottom of the frame. The Castle Painters logo is in the top right.
Two painters are in the room with him, both in white Castle Painters t-shirts with the logo on the back, and jeans. One is high on an extension ladder, painting near the ceiling. The other stands at the foot of the ladder and holds it.
That is the job you are looking at: an interior underway in Clinton. He does not name a street.
Interiors, exteriors, and deck staining
After the first place list he says, "All your residential painting needs. We do interiors, exteriors, we'll do deck staining." The Clinton footage is the interior. Exterior work and deck staining are named in that sentence. Exterior shows up again as a still at the end of the video: a painter on the siding of a grey house.
The three service pages, if you want the work itself rather than the question list:
They roll up to painting services in Knoxville.
The first place list
He gives places twice. The lists are not the same, and they should stay separate.
The first time, right after he says we are a residential painting company in Knoxville, he names Sequoyah Hills, Farragut, "a little bit of Maryville," Tellico Village, Loudon, Clinton, Karns, and Kingston. "A little bit of Maryville" is what he says on that pass. It is his phrase, not a coverage rule added later.
Pages for the places on that first pass:
- Painters in Sequoyah Hills
- Painters in Farragut
- Painters in Maryville
- Castle Painters in Tellico Village
- Painters in Kingston
Loudon, Clinton, and Karns are in the sentence. Clinton is also the interior on camera. Those three do not have their own page in this set.
The second place list, and the 30-mile line
He comes back to geography just before he signs off. This pass is Sequoyah Hills, "greater Knoxville, TN areas," Tellico Village, "we go all the way out to Kingston," and "a little bit of Lenoir City." Then: "we try and stay within a 30-mile radius of our hub."
Lenoir City is on this pass, not the first one. Maryville is on the first pass, not this one. "A little bit of Lenoir City" is how he says it at the close, the same way "a little bit of Maryville" was how he said it at the open.
Painters in Lenoir City is the page for that line. For the wider area he calls greater Knoxville, see Knoxville house painters.
"Our hub" does not get a street in the video. The 30-mile radius is the distance he says we try to stay inside.
Letting someone into the house
After the questions, he says, "And we don't take it lightly, all the trust factors that go into letting somebody into your home, to be honest." He leaves it there. The practical version is the one he already gave: ask about sheen, cost, schedule, and preparation so the process is familiar before anyone is in the house.
What the end card puts on screen
Around 1:26 the Clinton room cuts away. The card is a photo of a painter on the exterior siding of a grey house, with this text:
- "Castle Painters — Because your home is your castle."
- "Thanks for watching! We appreciate your support."
- "Family-owned local painters"
- "Reliable service you can count on"
- "Quality results that last"
- "Call or visit us today! 865-606-6999"
- "Visit our website castlepainters.com"
A banner along the bottom says, "Like, comment & subscribe! For more painting tips & home inspiration."
"Family-owned local painters" is a line on that card. Blair does not say it in the minute before the card. The other two checkmarks are on the card the same way: "Reliable service you can count on" and "Quality results that last."
When you want to talk
His last line is, "Anyway, I'm Blair, and we hope to chat with you soon." The card shows the phone. Call or text 865-606-6999, or request a free estimate and bring the four questions with you.
More from the series will sit on the Knoxville painting blog.
FAQ
What to ask before hiring a painter?
The four Blair names: what kind of sheen to use, what it costs to paint a home or a room, what the schedule looks like, and what preparation looks like. He wants you to ask them so you know the process before we come into your home. Sheen is covered in our sheen guide. A figure for your house starts with a free estimate.
Where does he say the company works?
He says it in two passes. First: Sequoyah Hills, Farragut, a little bit of Maryville, Tellico Village, Loudon, Clinton, Karns, and Kingston. Second: Sequoyah Hills, greater Knoxville, Tellico Village, all the way out to Kingston, a little bit of Lenoir City, and within a 30-mile radius of our hub. He does not give the hub a street.
What do you see besides Blair?
A tall Clinton interior with angled ceilings, a ceiling fan, large windows, and furniture covered in plastic. Two painters in white Castle Painters t-shirts: one high on an extension ladder painting near the ceiling, one at the bottom holding the ladder.
What does the end card say?
It shows a painter on the siding of a grey house, the line "Because your home is your castle," and checkmarks for "Family-owned local painters," "Reliable service you can count on," and "Quality results that last," plus 865-606-6999 and castlepainters.com.
Which services does he name out loud?
Interiors, exteriors, and deck staining.