6 Questions To Ask Before Choosing An Accent Wall

How do I vet a contractor claiming he can install accent walls?

Spoiler alert! I’m VP of sales of a Custom Accent Wall Company called Oakmond Gold.

First, I want to tease you with our latest project north Austin.

Rainfall Spear Accent Wall with rare wood stained spears to unite the wood of the floor and railing

Now. You’re here for 6 questions to ask before choosing a contractor to install an accent wall.

My intention for this article is not to poo-poo on other contractors. However, there are way too many bad jobs out there. Accent walls are a relatively new market and a lot of handy man ‘adjacent’ specialists are saying they can do it, but they do a poor-to-mediocre job of installing. Then folks are stuck with it permanently on their walls. (Or they have to pay someone 3x to tear it off and fix the damage.)

So here are 6 questions you should ask a contractor to ensure that they’re legitimate and skilled enough to complete the job:

1. How many designs have you installed successfully? This should be an obvious question, but no one asks. I always have to tell clients proactively. You wouldn’t want a surgeon with one operation under their belt, right? You don’t want someone with under 10 designs coming into your home and nailing wood onto your walls. Look for 200 or above. And make sure they do complicated and simple designs. This will tell you that they have the math acumen to complete many different types.
2. Can I see up close photos of your jobs? Don’t ever hire a contractor without seeing close up images of the corners, connections, and transitions within past jobs. If they do quality work, they will be proud of the details and take pics of the work. But if there are noticeable gaps, exposed nail holes, messy paint jobs, or anything else that looks fishy, just walk away. It’s not worth the risk.

This is a very simple grid design installed by a “Handyman” — It took us 5 hours to tear it down

3. Are these pics yours or Pinterest? We want to make sure they’re not showing you screenshots of projects they found on Pinterest, and claiming it’s theirs. On the other hand, it’s fine to scroll through pinterest and ask if it is something the carpenter can do. Just make sure you’ve seen a lot of their original work — there SHOULD be pics with them in it, water bottles from a long day’s work, tools, ladders, etc.

4. How big is your accent wall installation team? If the team is bigger than 4–5 people, you’re rolling the dice. Why? The work has to be done very carefully with every cut and revision. Highly skilled master carpenters are rare. If they have a large team, and they’re installing 3–4 walls a day, they’re not top quality. You will end up with strangers in your home, who are not getting paid well enough to take pride in their work.

5. What other services do you do? If they do everything as a company, for example: Cabinets, Flooring, Tiling, Plumbing, Electrical, etc. Well, I just wouldn’t recommend it. Again, these designs are going to be front & center in your home. They’re permanent. You need a master carpenter who is also an artist. Contractors that “do everything” are not masters. This is the number one reason we tear down so many bad walls. Guys who do “everything” and “figure it out” as they go. Don’t make this mistake.

These are clearly not precision cuts

6. How do you arrange payment? If they want 50% up front, that’s too much. If they want 100% up front, don’t do it. I’m not saying that everyone is trying to scam you, but good businesses want you to feel confident throughout the whole process. At Oakmond Gold, we ask for a 20% deposit and then the rest of the payment is due when you are satisfied. It only makes sense if you are a healthy business.

BONUS Q: Are you insured? Ask for proof of insurance. If I need to tell you why you should ask for insurance, there are bigger problems at play.

Okay, that’s all for today.

Again, if you’re interested in transforming the experience of your home with designs that reflect your creativity and personality…

…OR, you’re done accepting the flat white walls that society has thrust upon your home…

…AND you’re in Austin, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio…

Reach out to me at: Oakmondgold@gmail.com

Or visit our website at Oakmond Gold.

My name is Anthony, it was nice to meet you, thanks for reading!