The customer of a residential contractor is a general contractor, an interior designer, a cabinet maker or a homeowner and on any given day, at any given moment, these customers expect us to have answers for questions like these:
Can you make it look like vintage wallpaper? Can my brick home be painted? Why did the paint peel on the walls in my stairwell? Do you know which wood finishing product to use for cabinetry my clients chose to have laminated with an exotic wood veneer for their pool house?
Does an accountant know the answers? A chef or a veterinarian? No, because the answers come with years of learning a trade that involves chemistry, physics, geometry, meteorology and by the way, an artistic eye for color theory and a natural talent for application. And yet, residential painting is often an undervalued service in our country.
One of my favorite Dilbert cartoons underscores how we can contribute to our own flagging worth by illustrating a wood chuck posing as a contractor who has just submitted an estimate. Dilbert reads the estimate back to the contractor by reiterating that it says he’ll do the work for a chance to gnaw on wood. To which the contractor replies, “Too high?”
We painting contractors often compete in a chance-to-gnaw-on-wood market, when the truth is that we represent a trade requiring knowledge in art and science, a trade whose work is most visible to the eye, a fact that sets us apart from all other building trades. And that deserves recognition.
On this 125th anniversary of the oldest painting trade association in the country, congratulations PDCA (Painting and Decorating Contractors of America) Painting Contractors! We are the best. 
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