Painting Tips - Painters Flair

How To Make Your House Stand out

16Nov2019

How to Make Your House Painting Stand Out?

By Nicky Taylor

Do you want your home to stand out? Choose a color that shows personality. Oftentimes, color makes you feel that your home is unique, especially to those people who live in a housing development wherein homes are built with similar style and architecture. In these areas, house painting is the only way to distinguish themselves from the others, so when it is time to get your house painted, then it sure requires some thought.

Picking house paint colors makes the exterior painting process more complicated. You may already have a color in your mind, but still not sure. If you pick colors that are dull, your house may seem flat and featureless. However, if the colors you pick are too bold, they might overwhelm the architecture and eventually upset the neighbors. Once you get your color right, house painting will highlight the most beautiful features of your home.

Quality house painting can even disguise architectural and design flaws, boost up the curb appeal and increase market value of your home. If you are renovating, it may contribute some to the cost and transformation of your house, but inexpensive compared to other renovations that you can have done. With a few tweaks of colors it could restore the glow of your house as it was before.

Your house must blend with its surroundings when choosing an exterior paint color combination, because if you don’t subscribe to the norm, your house will stick out like a sore thumb. If that happens, you will stand out in a negative way. Get color ideas from the house next door, but don’t copy. Just choose colors that set your house apart without clashing with nearby buildings. To be safe, stay in a single color family, although clashing of colors draw attention, too much of it detracts the details which doesn’t look good.

Try to maintain the balance of color over your entire house. A burst of a single color on just one part of your home may give it a lopsided appearance. Also, Consider blending into the nature around you. The landscape around your house is full of colorful expressions. It will be more appropriate if you live in areas full of trees, to use greens or browns. Along the beach might suggest blues, turquoises, and coral colors. Even the flower garden in your front yard can be a source of color to craft the color theme of your home.

If you’re planning to paint an older home, use a historically accurate color scheme, but if it’s new, use modern colors to dramatize architectural details. Different colors have different longevity and maintenance. Dark shaded colors for siding will make your house look smaller and will draw more attention to details. Dark colors with lighter trim will highlight details. So if you have a lot of trim, go for dark shaded colors for siding.

Although dark colors can conceal surface blemishes, they fade easier when exposed to direct sunlight, so frequent maintenance is imposed. Light colors make the house look larger and can reflect more light which makes your house vibrant. However, stains will show up more on light color shades, but fading is less noticeable.

House painting is a serious matter because paint colors can transform the overall appearance of your home. Studies shows that it can affect your mood. Therefore, it is recommended that if you live in the home, make sure you like your color choices and that they truly compliment the style of the home. Home itself is an amazing thing, and house painting just amplifies its beauty.

Nicky Taylor is CEO of a house painting and home improvement company. Nicky is a leader among the house painters in the north Atlanta Georgia area. He shares his knowledge on exterior painting and other home improvement topics at the above painting contractor links through articles and resource materials at the company website for anyone planning to undertake their own projects.

News, Painting Tips

Painting Your Interior Before Moving In

Beautifully painted interior. By Painters Flair home painters near me search term.

15Nov2018

Interior painting project details. — Modern interior with dresser. Wall mock up. 3d illustration.

When moving into your home you take a look around and remember all the wonderful reasons why this home is for you. But how about the walls? Are they already painted? Are they the colors you would choose for your home? Maybe they were not painted at all and they are all white. White is not bad, but is it warm, is it cozy, does it make your house feel like a home? If you know right away you want your walls painted then maybe it is best to do it before the Movers bring your furniture.

What you will want to do first is make sure the house has been cleaned, all corners, ceiling, baseboards, walls, windows. If there are any cobwebs or dust you want it removed, otherwise when you paint you will be painting it into the wall. Then you will want to sand out any bumps in the wall and fill in any cracks that may have been left from nails. Next thing you need to know, just as cleaning is easier when you start up and work your way down, so is painting, start up stairs and move your way down stairs. Also, start with the top of the room and work your way down, so you start with the ceiling, then you go to the walls, floorboards, windows, and doors last.

When starting with the ceiling, it is best to first paint where the ceiling and wall meet to outline the room, kind of like what you were taught as a child in a coloring book. Then using extra-long handled paint roller paint the rest of the ceiling in long straight strokes continuing all the way from one side to the other. Once it has dried completely apply a second coat.

Before starting on the walls makes sure the ceiling is 100% dry. It is best to wait at least 24hrs before moving from ceiling to wall. Now, prepare the room, using paint tape cover the edge where the ceiling and wall meet, and cover where the wall and either baseboard or floor meet. Also, do not forget to tape outlets, light switches and windows, unless you plan for all of these to also be the color of the wall it is best to prepare them as well. Now, start with the outline again, paint a strip where the wall and ceiling meet and where the floor and wall meet, repeat with where the windows are. Next using a paint roller, before the outlines dry, paint the walls, one at a time in long up and down strokes being sure not to make the walls look stripy. Once dry apply a second coat.

Painting the baseboards and windows, just like before you want to make sure the walls are completely dry, so this should be done on day three. Place the paint tape on the wall now to be sure the paint on the floorboard or window will not get onto the walls, also, if you plan to paint outlet or light switches this is a good time. Like everything else, do your edges first, and then continue to paint using a paint brush, not roller, once dry apply a second coat and move on to the door. Cover the door knob and paint the door, making sure to cover paint tape on any walls that may be connected to the door to ensure no paint gets on walls. And there you go, in just 3 days you have painted your home!

Toby Begley is a freelance writer currently writing out of Texas for Square Cow Movers. Square Cow Movers is the leader Austin Moving Companies, packing and moving any home providing great customer service with a smile.

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News, Painting Tips

Why Does Paint Bubble, Crack or Peel

13Jul2018

There will be those painting moments when you wondered why you started the project to begin with. Frustration bubbles when you just painted a room and noticed the paint is bubbling. You don’t want to stick with the project when the paint won’t stick either. Problems like these occur with painting contractors as much as they do with first timers caught with the painting bug. The difference is the painters have the know how to deal with these issues and correct them. Listed below are some common mishaps and what to do when they happen.

The paint won’t adhere to the wall:

This is usually due to paint incompatibility. If you apply a latex paint over a previous oil paint application, the paint will not correctly may not adhere. To correct this problem, you could either repaint the area with an oil based paint product. The more time invested corrective procedure would be to remove the old paint by sanding and priming the surface until it is prepped properly for using a water based latex paint.

Blistering:

Typically occurs as a result of moisture, however other causes could be responsible. Such as painting a warm surface, or inadequate surface preparation leaving the paint film to dew (especially in areas of high humidity). First, remove the source of moisture if possible. You will have to scrape the blisters off, sand the area and then repaint.

Fading:

Sunny exposures may cause premature fading of paint. The typical causes of this problem is using the wrong paint or paint mixture. Using a lower quality paint, over tinting or tinting a paint not intended for painting and using an interior paint outside on an exterior wall. It can also be the result of chalking. Make certain the paint you purchase is meant for the purpose you intend to use it for.

Picking poor quality paint can also result in loss of gloss retention. Good quality acrylic latex paints has a binder in it which is resistant to UV radiation, while other paints such as alkyd or oil paints absorb and breakdown.

Lapping:

You have painted your room and notice the separation of roller strokes, looking like you just painted. Gives the appearance of overlap, one wet layer overlaps with a dry layer. The only reason for this is not maintaining a wet edge while applying in the unpainted area and rolling back into the newly painted space. Always brush from wet-to-dry to achieve the uniform color and appearance.

These are the most common problems in painting and easy to fix. More extensive problems, like wood rot, consult your painting company for professional solutions.

Exterior Painting, News, Painting Tips

Exterior Painting – Prepping Your Home Before Painting

23Mar2017

Exterior painting service and painters Marietta Ga

The secret to a good paint job is to put effort into quality surface preparation. Paint preparation has the same importance as Painting itself. Correctly prepared painting surfaces take paint better, allowing it to completely adhere to a solid base, have a more beautiful, long-lasting finish. Preparation can be boring and consumes a lot of time but when you aim for the best, then you must undergo these processes.

Preparation is systematic. It should flow chronologically in order not to compromise other steps involved.

Cleaning

The outside of the house must be cleaned thoroughly as the paint won’t stick to dirt, grease, grime, or dust. The tool of choice is a pressure washer that develops between 2500 and 3500 pounds per square inch of pressure. However, using this machine requires experience, if not used properly it can damage your exterior walls. Just do not point the pressure washer wand upward on shingled or lap siding. If you point the wand upward, you run the risk of filling the inside of the walls with water. Don’t get to close to the surface of the siding either or you will gouge a hole in it.

If the house is peeling in areas, try to remove the peeling paint with the pressure washer. Be careful not to gouge the surface. If you don’t have access to a pressure washer then use a brush attachment to your hose which often comes with a reservoir of liquid soap below.

If this tool isn’t available, then you can wash it by climbing a ladder with a rag or sponge. If the siding has a minor discoloration, molds or mildew, use an anti-fungal cleaner to get rid of it. After cleaning, be sure to forget to rinse the house. Clean from top-to-bottom.

Drying

Once the house has been thoroughly cleaned, then allow it to dry. This factor is important because if the wall is not thoroughly dry, paint could peel prematurely and eventually the whole process would fail. If you plan to paint latex, wait one day. If oil-based paint is your plan, then wait 3 days. If you have used a power washer to clean the blistered paint, then you need to extend the time allowance for drying some.

Surface Preparation

Although removing the blistered paint is also important in the cleaning process, you will need to use a paint scrapper, putty knife or a wire brush to remove that will not come off with the pressure washer.

Check and address your siding and trim for any nail holes or cracks. Trim blemishes can be easily filled with all purpose Bondo. This works well on smaller gouges or decaying areas, but trim with larger areas of rot should really be replaced to avoid trouble in the future. After they dry, use sandpaper to smooth and level the Bondo surface.

Covering Surfaces

Mask or cover areas where you don’t want paint to spill. You should use the blue masking tape along the edge of the trim, door and window frames including the glass doors. Using blue masking tape and paper to wrap all these areas will decrease your work time. Cleanup will be a minimum. A hand held masking machine can make this a little easier.

Place plastic drop cloths over areas where paint may drip, usually on porches, roof sections, sidewalks, or driveways. This will also reduce cleanup time and produce a more professional looking paint job.

Now you are ready to paint. You are confident that the quality of your paint job will look like one being done by a professional. If you hire a professional painting contractor, then make sure that detailed preparation and repairs is included in your contract. Once all steps are followed, you are assured of a beautifully painted home for many years.

Nicky Taylor is president of a house painting and home improvement company. Nicky is a leader among the painting contractors in the north Atlanta Georgia area. He shares his knowledge on exterior painting and other home improvement topics at the above painting contractor link through articles and resource materials on various topics. The company website contains helpful information for anyone planning home renovation projects.

News, Painting Techniques, Painting Tips

A Painters Nightmare And Solution

23Mar2017

Hardie Plank Siding, Painting and Repairs

A Painter’s Nightmare

By Nicky Taylor

As with many things in life, often there is a silver lining in the cloud that’s raining on your parade. Many homeowners suffered loss during the 90s from having to replace the faulty Louisiana Pacific wafer board siding on their homes. While some homeowners were rewarded money for their losses some unfortunate homeowners who arrived late were rewarded noting. As frustrations rose to a deafening level during the nineties, most barely noticed the new product that was just entering the market.

During this period of time a new type of siding entered the market that offered the durability that most homeowners demanded. It was perfect timing for a cement based siding to enter the market. Many homeowners and builders rushed to buy Hardie Plank to replace the decaying siding that plagued the housing industry. Finally a siding existed that would probably outlast the owner. Most folks viewed this siding as an answer to prayer.

Most painters in our industry welcomed the siding. Not having to deal with swelling siding that wouldn’t hold paint, certainly made our job easier. While most homeowners and painters were excited about this new long lasting siding, most weren’t aware that keeping it caulked would become the new problem that everyone would talk about. The problem was and still is: How do you keep Hardie Plank caulked?

For homes that have exposure to sunlight and widely varying temperatures, keeping Hardie Plank properly caulked is a challenge. Hardie Plank expands and contracts a lot under these conditions. Most caulks simply do not have the elasticity to handle the expansion and contraction.

I have seen the expansion and contraction of Hardie Plank siding pull fresh caulk apart within 24 hours after application. It’s great siding to have on your home, but you better know what you’re doing when it comes to caulking all the joints.

You certainly can’t be economy minded with your purchase of caulk when Hardie Plank is involved, or you will be doing the job over again. Many painters and homeowners alike seem confused when selecting caulk for this siding. It has been my experience that you should be using caulks that comply with either ASTM C 834 or ASTM C 920. Applying a caulk that falls in this category is doing so within the manufacturers written instructions.

I personally prefer using an elastomeric caulk on my customer’s homes. Elastomeric caulks are made for masonry substrate surfaces. Sherwin Williams carries a product called Shermax Super Stretch Elastomeric Caulk that I find works well with Hardie Plank Siding. It has the elasticity to handle the constant expanding and contracting of Hardie Plank. All my crews are required to use this product and I see few problems with caulk separation.

One common problem that many homeowners find is the Hardie Plank itself was installed improperly. At least a 1/8 inch gap between siding and trim should be left by the installer to allow for a proper amount of caulk to be applied. The 1/8 inch gap is in accordance with caulking manufacturers written instructions. (leave 1/8″ gap between siding, trim and butt joints so adequate caulk can be applied.)

If less than 1/8 inch gap is available to apply caulk, then the caulk is too thin to handle the amount of stretching it must endure. I have seen Elastomeric Caulk separate where less than a 1/8 inch of a gap existed in the siding joints. Owens Corning also sells a very good caulk for this type application.

The last point I want to make is there are solutions to this common annoyance. As a painter it is your responsibility to deliver a product and service that will last. As a homeowner make sure you discuss your painter’s plans on how he is going to solve this common problem with Hardie Plank. This action will go a long way toward avoiding loss of time and money.

Nicky Taylor CEO of Painters Flair. Our web site is loaded with info and links. We have information for both homeowners and house painters.

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