Scam Artists. Nobody likes a scam artist. The only problem is that you usually cannot identify a scam artist until after you have already been scammed. So, how do you avoid this costly mistake?
Well, when you are searching for an exterior house painting contractor there are a number of things that you can do in order to avoid being ripped off by one of these crooks.
The first thing that you will want to do is investigate. With everything being easily accessible online these days, you should not have to break a sweat in finding information on a prospective painter. So, my first recommendation is to research online. Review the contractor’s website, find reviews on the company, and ask around to your family and friends. Word of mouth reviews are often very reliable.
The next step that I would suggest taking is to ask the exterior house painting contractor for references. Once he provides these references be sure to contact all of them. You will need to investigate. W hen you speak with the references, you will need to ask a lot of questions. Don’t let the contractor off of the hook that easy. Remember that it is your hard earned money that you are spending. You have the right to make certain that you are spending it with the right candidate.
If you do these 2 things you will more than likely be matched with a quality exterior house painting contractor that will perform and execute quality work. If you fail to do the above listed suggestions, there is a great chance that you could hand your money to a scam artist.
By: Nicole Martello
How to Find a Legitimate Exterior House Painting Contractor
March 10th, 2010 by admin No comments »Painting Jobs – Going Rate, Hourly Rate Or Selling Price
March 9th, 2010 by admin No comments »
Calculating overhead – Secrets of knowing what hourly rate to charge for your work.
Let me ask you a question. What hourly rate should I price my work at?
Or, What is the going rate for painting work?
I wish I had $5.00 for every time I have heard someone ask that question of another painter.
So what?
Here are two more examples of “so what”.
1 – I am a 35 year old married man with 3 kids, a big mortgage, and my wife is a stay at home mom. I pay all my medical expenses out of pocket. I have two painters and two tucks with all their bills and expenses. I pay for workers comp and liability insurance on our combined payroll. And of course if I get hurt my government won’t allow me to collect disability; because, I am the owner.
2 – I am a 45 year old man living with my wife who is tenured teacher in a big upper class public school. Her job pays all medical expenses and insurance. We bought our home 20 years ago, and the mortgage is small for today’s standards. We are childless and have no major expenses.
Different needs, both business and personal, so what do they charge?
The “going rate”, or whatever that is. The problem with selling our services for the “going rate” is that the “going rate” is someone else’s rate, not your rate. So to ask anyone what the “going rate” is a sure fire way to work for an hourly rate lower than you need.
You should ask yourself what your “going rate” is. That is, what do you need to sell your jobs at in order to do the best job you are capable of and make what you need plus profit. The way to know is to add all your costs including what you need to earn and diving that by the amount of hours worked.
Just add all your costs, for the year and divide by your historical hours worked. That will be your “going rate” not some number thrown out in order to be the lowest bidder. And that is usually what someone else’s going rate is.
The problem with most people in our business when calculating overhead is not including everything.
For example, do you pay yourself to do an estimate? We all advertise “free estimates”, they may be free to our clients; but, they are not free to us. Leaving out things like this will give you a lower number than what is needed. And the greatest challenge of painter/craftsman/ business owner is to learn to think like a businessman before thinking of himself as a painter.
By: P E Cavanaugh
Indian Paintings : Glorious Heritage of India
March 8th, 2010 by admin No comments »Indian Painting reflects the glorious culture and heritage of India into incredible variety of colors and styles. Painting in India is a long practiced tradition. This creative form of art inspired generations of artists as their passion or profession.
Indian painting has adopted variety of techniques and styles in its journey to the world of arts. The new techniques and innovations have made it more enriched and versatile. Indian paintings are invaluable visual records of history. We can delve deeper into the periods of history through these indelible pieces of arts. Celebrate the true spirit of India with the potpourri of Indian paintings from the house of ethnic paintings.
Painting was practiced in India from the pre historic times. Various scenes of animal hunting and tribal wars were sculptured in the rocks and caves that came to be known as cave painting. The rock paintings of Bhimbekta are said to be the most archaic of the Indian paintings (5000B.C). The cave paintings of the Ajanta and Ellora are the modified versions of Bhimbekta. A combination of murals and frescos, the paintings spellbind with their aestheticism, meticulousness and workmanship.
The tenets of Indian painting and the various earlier forms of the art are to found in books like ‘Mudraskshaka’, ‘Vishnudharmottara’ and ‘Vinayapitaka’.
The Indian painting has several styles of paintings under its domain. Miniature Paintings are one of the most popular among them. Beautiful images from the epics and mythologies, idols of Hindu gods and goddesses and royal court scenes were depicted on pieces of glass, paper, marble, silk and leather in these paintings.
The paintings were highly appreciated for their rich colors and dazzling effects. The Rajput School of Miniature Paintings, The Deccan School of Miniature Paintings and The Mughal School of Miniature Paintings are sequels to original miniature paintings.
Thangka Paintings are form of Buddhist arts that were imbibed from the Buddhist missionaries of Tibet during the time of emperor Ashoka. The word ‘thangka’ is a Tibetan word meaning paintings on flat surfaces. Thangka paintings were laid out on silk and cotton materials. They could be folded in and rolled out according to the necessity.
Used as scrolls the various thanka paintings find Buddha and Bodhisattva in various meditative postures. ‘Buddha Mandala’, ‘Shakyamuni Buddha’and ‘Maitreye Buddha’ are some popular images that are figured in the paintings. The paintings inspire us to awaken our true spiritual self.
Madhubani Paintings are the exclusive paintings of the ‘Mithila’ region of Bihar. The rural women of ‘Mithila’ used to carve out their aspirations and imaginations in their mud built doors and walls. These came to be known as ‘Madhubani Paintings’. A charming folk art, the humble paintings now adorn the art galleries and cozy domestic interiors. Warli Paintings bring out the customs, beliefs and the lifestyle of the tribal people of Maharastra in bright colors and designs. ‘Pata Chitra’ is the traditional painting form of Orissa.
Deities of Hindu gods and goddesses and mythological figures are portrayed on large sheets of fabrics in this painting. Modern Indian Painting reflects India in the post-colonial era. The paintings can be perceived in the works of Jamini Roy, Mukbul Fida Hussain, S.K Bakre and S.H Raza.
