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Now is the time to inspect your exterior paint
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- Created on Monday, 01 April 2013 10:14
Spring is here—and now is the time to inspect your exterior paint. Maybe it looks good from a few feet away. But closer inspection is called for.
Check for cracking
The summer sun over the last few years has been no friend to your exterior paint. Dry temperatures evaporate moisture, which causes the paint to crack. It’s relatively easy and inexpensive to prepare a wall for new paint that only has some initial cracking. A light sanding will do, and in most instances there will be no need for primer if you’re keeping the same color or close to it.
On the other hand, if cracking advances to actual flaking, then it will be necessary to scrape the surfaces and apply a primer in advance of your topcoat. This will necessarily be more labor intensive and costly. So getting on top of cracking paint now is a lot more economical than dealing with it later after it has deteriorated to flaking.
Also, the same ultraviolet rays that darkened your skin last summer were having the opposite effect on your exterior paint pigments: fading.
Look carefully at all your exterior walls
Painted surfaces on your southern exposures will be more faded and stressed than those on the north. A painting expert might recommend that you choose different kinds of paints and paint colors for different sides of your building. This isn’t a problem. It’s an opportunity!
In most cases it doesn’t cost any more to have two different kinds and colors of paint on your building’s exterior. Using more than one color will add more visual interest to your structure than a simple “monochromatic” treatment.
Don’t forget windows!
Your windows are exposed to the same heat-and-sun stressors as the rest of your home or commercial building. It’s pretty intuitive that the exterior window frames will need paint with the rest of your exterior—what you might call “trim work.” But check out the interior of those windows, too!
Ultraviolet rays will break down paint and polyurethane coatings. This exposes the wood to moisture that will collect on windows, particularly in kitchens and bathrooms. This promotes rot, and in the case of clear-coats, will fade the wood so that expensive “natural wood grains” become blotched with unsightly “sun stains.”
Learn about Genesis Painting
Exterior repainting requires special care and preparation for the results to last. Otherwise, weather will quickly take its toll and the paint will peel, fade, or flake. And it is exactly that kind of “special care and preparation” that gets shortchanged with discount painting companies.
With Genesis, you can rest assured that we will execute your exterior repainting project using the best painting practices, techniques, and standards along with premium paints and materials; and employing well-compensated and motivated people who regard painting as a career—not an “odd job.”
To ensure a sound surface to which your paint can adhere, Genesis guaranteed exterior repainting services minimally include:
- Hand-scrubbing and high-pressure washing all surfaces to remove dirt and chalk, using mildew removers and biodegradable soaps
- Scraping and sanding all surfaces to rid them of loose or peeling paint
- Performing minor carpentry repairs on damaged or rotted surfaces
- Removing and replacing loose glazing to protect windows from weather damage
- Caulking and sealing gaps to prevent moisture from attacking wood, metal, and paint
- Following lead-based paint protocols and other health & safety standards to protect you, our Painters, and the environment
- Using drop cloths, plastic, and masking to collect paint chips and protect nearby surfaces from drips and overspray
- Using only the highest quality paint and materials
- Keeping work areas neat from day-to-day; and performing a complete and through cleanup at the conclusion of your project.
Wise color-selection is crucial to your home’s salability
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- Created on Wednesday, 02 January 2013 11:04
Professional color consultants advise that whether you’re planning to sell your home in the immediate future or not for many years, you can significantly increase its salability by choosing both your exterior and interior colors wisely.
Contrarily, the wrong interior or exterior colors can make your home more difficult to sell, because prospective buyers might be unable to imagine it in alternative colors, or because they don’t want to add the cost of new paint to their impending moving and closing expenses.
Exteriors
If you live in a neighborhood, your home’s exterior color should be chosen so it’s complimented by surrounding houses. While having the only bright green house might appeal to your unique sense of aesthetics and avant-gardism, your prospective buyers will probably have more conventional taste and—being new to the neighborhood—prefer to maintain a lower profile.
Of course, you have more leeway if your home sits alone “in the country.” But green doesn’t go with everything: you still must take into account your property’s trees, shrubs, and other foliage. Otherwise your house might clash with nature, which is not exactly a selling feature. Think earth tones for bucolic settings: browns, tans, grays, greens, oranges, and darker reds.
Also, the integral design elements of your home are important factors. The predominant colors you choose must compliment those of the roof, stonework, bricks, and other architectural features. The majesty of a colonial-style home is complimented with exterior white. Contrarily, ranch-style homes achieve greater visual interest with more and contrasting colors.
Living-rooms
Careful choice of living-room colors can help you sell your home. Your prospective buyers will likely own furniture, which they will not want to replace or refinish to accommodate any unusual or bold living room palettes. At least not right away. Nonetheless, it pays to be a little stylish.
While white might go with everything, it’s not particularly warm or inviting. Creamy whites, muted beiges, and light gray tones provide more character than plain white—as well as neutrality and warmth.
Well-chosen neutrals can evoke a room’s potential inside the mind of prospective buyers relative to their own tastes and predilections. Contrarily, outlandish or otherwise polarizing colors can be deal-killers by preventing prospects from imagining the space other than the way it is.
Kitchens
Kitchens are a place where many tasks are performed: slicing, dicing, chopping, and sometimes even crafts and homework. Also, you can’t tell if something’s “rare,” “medium,” or “well-done” in the dark. So most prospective buyers are happiest with the brightest kitchen.
This means you should paint your kitchen in bright colors because they reflect light while adding color: pale yellows, light olives, and warm beiges for example. Avoid darker shades, which absorb rather than reflect light.
Nevertheless, stay away from plain white. Although it’s undeniably best at reflecting light, it can make your kitchen seem sterile, cold, and uninviting. Such an “institutional” feel will rob your home of its emotional warmth, which depreciates its salability.
Bedrooms
Most people don’t consider bedrooms as showcases, so there's little need for outré colors or trendy looks—at least for the purposes of salability. Instead, look to milder tones such as eggshell whites; beiges; and lighter grays, yellows, and olives.
Bathrooms
Bathrooms tend to be relatively small in older homes, which can discourage prospective buyers. So the trick is to use colors that emphasize space, such as warm whites. Avoid deep reds, browns, yellows, or blues. They make small rooms seem even smaller.
Did you know?
Genesis Painting of Madison now offers free color consultation services to its customers for both their indoor and outdoor projects. The company has hired Laurie Lundgren, a professional artist, muralist, and color consultant with 18 years experience providing services in the Madison area.
Genesis Painting has received the Angie's List® Super Service Award three consecutive years: 2010 and 2011 and 2012.
Beige rooms can really "pop" while creating a tranquil sanctuary in your home
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- Created on Monday, 01 October 2012 11:43
Most of us have been taught to choose beige paint as the ideal backdrop for our decorating schemes. But rather than delegating it to the background, beige can provide the ideal starting point for a tranquil living space that's nonetheless visually engaging.
Although it's an accommodating color, beige can really "pop" when it's layered with pure white, similar shades of itself, and when applied to various natural textures such as wood, parchment, leather, and metal.
Other enhancements include painting larger architectural details—such as floor moldings, window frames, or shutters—the darkest shade of your predominant beige. Laying differently-patterned floor rugs throughout the space adds even more visual texture.
The most successful "beige spaces" make aggressive use of patterns. For example, cladding a wall with horizontal wood strips that are painted a different shade of your predominant beige will create natural strips. Then, painting shelves or other built-in features yet another shade of beige creates unique visual interest.
Additions such as cane shades, grass floor matting, brass lamps, and leather furniture also add textures.
Did you know?
When you sign a contract with Genesis Painting, you'll be automatically entitled to a FREE onsite color consultation with Laurie Lundgren, a professional artist, muralist, and color consultant. Laurie will show you how an attractive interior or exterior can be transformed into a spectacular one by the intelligent application of color.
Genesis Painting hires professional decorator and color consultant
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- Created on Wednesday, 01 August 2012 07:45
Genesis Painting of Madison now offers free color consultation services to its customers for both their indoor and outdoor projects. The company has hired Laurie Lundgren, a professional artist, muralist, and color consultant with 18 years experience providing services in the Madison area.
According to Genesis Painting president Brandon Vincent, many people believe they haven't an "eye" for color, which makes them leery about specifying unique and varying shades of paint. So they tend to "play it safe."
"Unfortunately," he says, "this is how people oftentimes end up with four pale walls that fail to emphasize the unique dimensions, features, or furniture within an interior space. It’s also how they end up with exterior colors that don’t compliment or improve the outdoor appeal of their property."
In other words, "playing it safe" with color can actually be a poor investment, because you don’t get the full value from your painting project. Interesting color schemes enhance visual appeal, adding both aesthetic and financial value to your property. And since paint prices don't vary by color, doing so little if any more.
How color consultants work
Vincent says that customers often worry that a professional color consultant might suggest some outré color scheme that they won't like—and maybe should like—but don't know how to assess. So they avoid the whole enterprise and put beige everywhere. But professional color consultants—at least the good ones—are expert at executing your tastes, not theirs or anyone else’s.
For example, a professional color consultant will be logically interested in the colors you like—but will be equally concerned about the shades you tend to avoid. If you hate yellow because you think it makes you look pasty, then you'll feel equally pasty in a room predominantly painted that color.
A professional color consultant will also interview you about some decorating variables that are typically overlooked by do-it-yourself decorators. For example:
* What furniture, carpeting, and window treatments are staying?
* Are any being replaced?
* Will there be anything new in the space that isn't there now?
* Are your winter bedspread and accents different from your summertime ones?
With such information in hand, a professional color consultant will note the dominant shades that you tend to choose for your furniture, upholstery, and window treatments. If you own patterned upholstery, an oriental rug, or a large piece of artwork, the consultant might select the colors that excite you most from inside them.
Likewise, where neutrals are called for, a professional color consultant might recommend the specific whites and tans she finds inside your upholstery, rugs, or artwork—not some off-the-shelf beige from the Big Box home improvement center.
The same holds true for exterior spaces. A professional color consultant will notice the dominant colors in your neighborhood: trees and nearby houses for instance. She’ll consider your landscape: trees, shrubs, and flowers. And she’ll be particularly interested in the color of your roof, which most people couldn't tell you without peeking!
Choosing the correct stain requires care and knowledge.
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- Created on Wednesday, 20 June 2012 03:04
Interior or exterior? Latex or oil-based? Choosing the correct stain isn't as easy as simply plucking one off the shelf of your local big "big box" home improvement center, according to paint and painting industry experts.
Latex stains or "acrylics" are water-based. They clean up easily with warm, soapy water and give off little odor during application. This makes them an excellent choice for interior applications where there is little exposure to the elements.
Oil stains or "alkyds" are oil-based. This makes them more durable than oil-based stains and thus preferable for exterior applications. They require mineral spirits for cleanup and have a strong odor during application, so they need to be applied in a well-ventilated area.
The greater ease in applying latex stains tempts some painting contractors to recommend them for outdoor applications. This is usually for their benefit and not yours, and you would do well to seek other options before signing on the dotted line.
For example, a quality siding stain will have milder blockers and fade resistors that allow it to withstand the elements and constant sunlight. An exterior decking stain will contain all that plus scuff resistors and special binding agents to keep it from wearing away under foot.
Semi-transparent, semi-solid, or solid? Consult an expert!
Whether latex or oil-based, not all stains are made to the same specifications. Different chemical compositions affect durability as well as how they're absorbed into the wood, and there are at least three different kinds of each.
- Semi-transparent stains enhance wood's natural beauty by highlighting its grain and texture.
- Semi-solid stains contain more pigment and alkyd. This tends to hide some grain and texture but increases UV resistance and overall durability.
- Solid stains obscure even more grain and texture but thereby finish to a smoother surface, which is preferable in some applications and decorating schemes.
Of course, transparent stains will allow more natural wood color to come through. Conversely, opaque stains can support more pigment and so are available in a wider variety of colors than their more-transparent counterparts. As a rule of thumb, paint experts recommend more-transparent stains for a casual look and more-opaque stains for a polished and formal appearance.
