It comes up during a weekend conversation. "Isn't it time we painted the house?" your spouse asks. And a small shudder rips through you as you visualise the coming hassles: hunting for a reliable painting contractor, haggling with him on quotations, several trips to the hardware shop, shuffling your furniture as painters invade your house, layers of dust all over. | |
| The worst nightmare: even after all this, the paint may start peeling off after six months. You may get gypped. |
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| Some of hassles may be unavoidable, but the paint companies reckon they reduce your heartburn. Asian Paints (Home Solutions), Berger Paints (Home Decor) and Goodlass Nerolac are three companies that offer to do the job on a turnkey basis - they come, they assess, they execute and they exit. |
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| Some of them additionally offer value-added services, including advising a prospective customer on colour schemes, the right decor, aesthetics such as lighting, furniture and furnishing, and, yes, even vaastu. |
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| Asian Paints and Berger offer individuals a one-year warranty on the painted surface - something most local painters do not. While the former offers its services in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai. |
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| Berger Paints' service is available in Bangalore, Kochi, Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata and Kottayam. Goodlass Nerolac operates only during some months and is season-focused. The service is currently only available in Mumbai and Delhi in April-May, September-October and December-January. |
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| Costs vary - even for the same company - depending on the quality of paints chosen and the city. Asian Paints, for example, charges between Rs 4-Rs 10.60 per square feet (inclusive of labour and materials) for different paint varieties in Delhi, while the cost for Berger Paints varies in the range of Rs 4.42-Rs 7.61 per square ft (inclusive of labour and materials). |
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| The lower end of the price range will obviously get you distemper; at the upper ranges you get plastic emulsions and flat finish paints. In Mumbai, Asian Paints' costs range from Rs 5-13, depending on the paint, primer and fillers selected. Berger's price range varies from Rs 6.35 to Rs 13.40 per sq ft. Goodlass Nerolac offers services in the range of Rs 2.75-4, at the lower end of the spectrum. All these are, however, only indicative rates and most paint companies customise their quotations depending on the kind of service required. |
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| How does one set the process in motion? You could start by filling up an online form at the websites of any of these companies or call them on their toll-free number. |
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| Among other things, you have to give details like your name, address, and the approximate area that requires to be painted. The company then sends in an executive to evaluate the space, determines whether civil work needs to be carried out, measures the space and gives you an approximate estimate for the whole job. |
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| If you agree to the initial estimate, it is followed up with a technical visit by company officials who give you a final estimate and specify the timeframe in which the work will be completed. A sales associate may help you select an appropriate product shade combination. |
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| You have to make a single payment for the job, including the cost of material and labour, after which authorised applicators undertake the job. |
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| If you want the value-added services, the companies bring in architects and interior designers who advise prospective customers on colour cues, utilisation of indoor and outdoor spaces, decor sense, et al. |
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| Berger provides extensive colour consultancy which you can opt for after you give the company the contract to undertake the work. If you only want colour consultancy, the company charges Rs 500 for that service. |
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| If the work does not finish as per schedule, the company cuts a stipulated amount from the bill for each day of delay - which is usually in the range of Rs 200-Rs 300, depending on the labour costs involved. |
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| While Goodlass doesn't really offer the same kind of services as Asian Paints and Berger, it allows customers to choose from an almost infinite variety of shades that can be customised to match your choice of curtain, upholstery, fabric or any other colour sample you bring along to 30 counters across the country. |
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| This is possible through a spectrophotometer branded Magic Eye which the company has set up at dealerships. The colour you customise will be branded and coded according to your name and you can refer to it at any point of time. |
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| THE COLOUR OF MONEY |
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| While the positives of turnkey painting jobs are obvious - hassle-free work, quality guarantees and timely completion of work - the negative is that the overall costs could be 10-20 per cent more than your local paintwala. |
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| But that's a small premium to pay for the quality of work. Both Asian Paints and Berger offer one-year warranties. |
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| There's no stipulation as to the size of the job "" paint firms are ready to even do up just a wall. The toll-free number for Asian Paints is 1600-22-5678 and for Berger Paints 1901-33-3355. |
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