Painting Inspirations by ColourWorks

Save the painting headaches - How to eliminate paint fumes and odors

2011-08-09T09:49:00.000-04:00

I just got this email from a man with a serious and all too common painting problem:

"Hello,

I stumbled upon your paint fume suggestions (http://www.ideamarketers.com/library/printarticle.cfm?articleid=409203)

We have just painted our concrete basement floor with an alkyd paint, and the resulting fumes were overwhelming and gave the whole family headaches. The sliced onions in water overnight did the trick! Just wanted to pass this along, and thank you for publishing this webpage.

Regards,

Maurice Steinman"

And THAT's exactly why I publish these articles to help people like Mr. Steinman and his family.

And I appreciate the feedback!

Does A Painter Really Have to Look at Your Home to Give You an Estimate?

2011-02-07T18:53:00.003-05:00

Almost everyday I'm approached by home owners who want a painting estimate right at that moment they request it. If they call our office, they're looking for a quote over the phone. And if they contact us through our website or email, they want an estimate sent to them by email. But can a painter or painting contractor really do this?

To find out, let's take a look at how a painting estimate is arrived at.

"Square footage", for example, is a term batted around quite a lot. But it's usually the home owner who's using the term. Not the contractor. The email will come in, "I've got a 1900 square foot condominium. How much to paint it including walls, doors, trim and smooth ceilings?" The short answer given by any knowledgeable painting pro is, "I have no idea!" Why? Because there are so many variables left out of the equation that it's virtually impossible to give a reliable quote on painting like this. And the first variable which is almost always misquoted by the home owner is the value of "square footage".

When someone tells you the square footage of their home, it's usually lifted from the real estate documents they were given when buying the home. But this only represents floor space! And unless you're only seeking to have your floors painted, this figure is relatively useless to a painting contractor since the floor space can be broken into 2 rooms or 30! Each having a significant difference in the amount of surface to paint. The square footage a painter really needs to work with is the area of all the wall surfaces which is only rarely measured by the Realtor or home owner. In fact, the only time I was ever given the correct square footage for painting by a client was when the client happened to have been a painter once himself.

Ok. So then, isn't it enough to give the home owner a calculator on the painter's website to plug in the square footage of the walls and add up the number of doors and windows and baseboards, etc? Sure! If it's a brand new home that's never been lived in or painted. This is how contractors estimate new homes and commercial properties before they're built by doing "take-offs" from architectural drawings. But that's not how the residential repaint world works.

When a home has been standing around for a while, it develops things like stress cracks, popped nails, water stains, rust stains, failed caulking, joint separation and on and on. And all of these happen whether someone is living in the home or not. So then, you add on all of the "occupational distress" like picture nails, frayed drywall corners where the vacuum cleaner hose keeps rubbing, gouges in the plaster from moving furniture and water damage from the toilet that overflowed and came through the dining room ceiling fixture. Again. The probabilities are endless. But each and every one of these types of surface flaws must be addressed properly and professionally by the painter before the paint cans are even opened.

Then there are those who request their painting estimate sight-unseen claiming that "there are no surface flaws" or "the place was just built 6 months ago so I only want to change the colour" and other such ideas of a prepless paint job. But the fact of the matter is that there is no such thing as a prepless paint job.

Even if there were no repairs, no caulking needed and all surfaces are as pristine as the day the builder's painted it, the painting contractor must do a thorough inspection of the surfaces to determine their porosity, texture and propensity for adhesion (or lack thereof). Most paint used by builders is a commercial grade paint used only to finish the place off and make it appear clean and new. It is NOT intended to endure years of living or even common handling for that matter. This type of coating is porous so it absorbs particles from the air and if you tried to wipe something off of it, you would be removing the paint as well. To properly deal with this common situation, this type of coating often needs to be primed thoroughly to seal it before the painter can properly apply a good quality acrylic latex. Or, at the very least, a top-quality 100% acrylic latex would have to be applied straight over such a paint to be sure of lasting results. And in every circumstance, the surfaces must be sanded to ensure proper adhesion and a professional finish if not only to simply make it smooth.

So as you can see, with no paint job being a prepless paint job, not all floor space is divided the same and not all coatings are created equal when it comes to re-coating, there can be no way of providing a fair and accurate assessment of a paint job unless a qualified professional painting contractor inspects the space and the surfaces thoroughly within it.

Hire A Painter Tips Series - Red Flag No. 1: The Painter's Estimate

2010-11-21T12:07:00.001-05:00

The Painter's Estimate may look good, sound good and have an attractive price. But do the details clearly define what you, the painting customer, want from the paint job for the money you're willing to spend? If it's a "Painter's Estimate", the details will always weigh in favor of the painter's profit and not always what you thought you were paying for.

There are, of course, many levels and standards of workmanship available in painting; each representing different levels of cost. So it's very important to discuss the care and attention to detail you're expecting while your painter is doing the initial assessment as this needs to be spelled out on the written estimate and represent the price level quoted. If you don't go over this critical aspect of what to expect during the painting process and final results, you're asking for a "Painter's Estimate" where the painter decides what you will and won't get .

The most common display of the painter's estimate disconnection between painter and client, is when the job has started and you find corners are being cut by the paint crew. They may be plastering straight over cracks that should have been taped. Or they're not sanding at the very least to promote the adhesion of the new finish coats. Then if you stop your painter to ask why these basics are being skipped, you may be referred to your quote to discover that there was no mention of providing any of these services in the first place. To add insult to injury, you may also be told that any service not detailed on the written estimate is now extra and will cost you more just to get the most fundamental preparation done on your paint job.

To avoid this sticky situation, you should watch for the signs on the estimate before even considering hiring such a painter. One painting estimate does not fit all. Look for written evidence of specifics you discussed with your painter during the estimation process. If the estimator said they will prime everything before painting, read to make sure full priming is listed on your quote and not just spot-priming. Or if you were told they'll use top-line paint from a particular paint manufacturer, make sure your estimate has the paint spelled out for you so you can look it up online specifically to verify it's everything claimed to be by the painter. Otherwise, you may find that the only similarity to what was promised was the brand of paint. The painter can easily substitute a low-line paint from the same manufacturer if it wasn't detailed on your quote for you to know the difference.

The point is, if it isn't written don't expect it. The "Painter's Estimate" only benefits the painter. What you're looking for is a "Customer's Estimate"; one which clearly spells out all the details you can expect for what you're paying. And if there are any grey areas, be sure to ask that they be spelled out for you in writing before you sign and the work begins. But if nothing else, know this: if the estimate dictates too many aspects of the job which were never discussed with you directly, or worse, leave you with too many questions, you've got a Painter's Estimate and the wrong sort of painting contractor to be dealing with.

Obviously you're not expected to know everything about the painting trade to hire a painter. But you should hire a painter you can trust to do what's best for you, your property and your budget. So if you're looking at a "Painter's Estimate" void of the personal details of your discussions or dictating too many details which were not reviewed with you and leaving you with more questions than answers, you should only proceed with caution if at all. It's easier to spend a little more time finding another upfront and honest painting contractor who will be transparent in their operations and methods and advising you on best practices for a professional paint job. Not the other way around.

Happy painting!

About The Author
DEE POTTER, with his company, ColourWorks Painting is a Toronto, Ontario area painting contractor who's helped hundreds of home owners and businesses get the most out of their properties with creative and money saving solutions to their painting, repair and decorating challenges. To learn more about ColourWorks Painting solutions and services visit http://www.PaintByColourWorks.com

A Painter's Thanksgiving

2010-11-10T14:20:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving is a time for reflection and a lot to consider in review of this year. 2010 has presented new challenges for our painting business and the painting industry as a whole. Where just a couple of years ago you could hang your shingle on the front lawn and take orders by phone, now it seems painting companies need the branding genius of Coca-Cola and the marketing budget of Microsoft just to get the phone to ring! And if your business means as much to you as mine does to me, you’ve probably researched and discovered as I have that the reason you’re phone doesn’t ring like it used to is because people don’t make phone calls like they used to. They’re online! They’re looking for their local painting contractor through internet search engines. Not the Yellow Pages. And when they find a painter they’re interested in hiring, they email or fill out the contact form on the painter’s web site long before they pick up a phone.

So why am I going on about how customers are finding painting contractors here at Thanksgiving? It’s because my company, ColourWorks Painting, has made it through the rough patch that was 2010 by focusing on our web presence and developing the way we service our customers online. And for the success of our business and the longevity this has brought, I am truly thankful!

I am also thankful for my family who has been there to share in the successes as well as the failures.

I am thankful for our loyal customers who find and create reasons to hire us each and every year (and some many times a year!).

I am thankful for the extreme level of competition amongst Toronto painting contractors which has kept us on our toes and has created a very high standard for painting professionals in our fair city to the ultimate benefit of our customers.

And finally, I am thankful that this year, ColourWorks Painting has been restructured and made stronger by this new age of small business to better meet the challenges ahead and undoubtedly prosper through the rest of this year and 2011.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hire-A-Painter Tips Series - 7 Critical Red Flags Your Painting Estimate Is Warning You About

2010-11-02T22:22:00.001-04:00

Let's face it, hiring professionals to paint your home or business is not something you do every day. It can feel clumsy and awkward when you don't really know what to look for and it's convenient to fall into the mindset that "they're all the same". After all, if a painting company advertises its services somewhere, they must be professional, right? And if they're all professionals, then the only difference you have left to choose from is price. Right?

If only it were that easy. The fact is, painters and painting contractors are as wide ranging and varied as your meal choices in an international food court. So how can you tell the good ones from the bad? Or, more importantly, the wrong ones from the right one for YOU? And wouldn't you like the right answer to these questions before you hire your painter?

The answers are most often found right on your written painting estimate. Of course, price matters. But it's the estimating process and final written quotation which tells you what to expect for your money.

That is, if you know the signs.

7 Warning Signs Your Written Painting Estimate Is Giving Away About Your Painter

The "Painter's" Estimate. Do the details of the painting estimate reflect what you want or what your painter wants? You may have told your estimator where you want painting done, but did you discuss how it should be prepared and with what materials? If you don't know to ask, you may find your estimate fills in the blanks for you with short cuts and poor finishes you didn't expect.

The "Blanket Painting" Estimate. It's all too common to see a quotation for painting where the claim is as simple as, "we will paint all rooms at this address for $XXXX.xx". It sounds great! Everything in the house is going to be painted for a low price. Perfect! But is it? Beware quotes with too few details. These make for great escape routes whenever the painter doesn't produce the vision you had in mind.

The "Name Brand Paint" Estimate. Using top brand names always looks great on a painting estimate. You've heard the name so you feel there's a certain credibility associated with that particular paint manufacture. And in many cases, you'd be right. But did you know that the biggest and the best paint manufacturers in the world make both great and not-so-great paint? More to the point, does you painting estimate detail which of these you're getting on your paint job? Chances are, if you didn't discuss it during the estimate assessment, your written estimate will leave it open to interpretation (usually the painter's interpretation).

The "Low-Ball" Estimate. When the price is too good to be true… you know this one. Or at least this phrase should sound familiar. But when it comes down to making that final decision on which painter to hire for your project, you get giddy looking at that fabulously low quote when all the others "cost so much". Now emotion takes over and you can't pass up saving all that money! But before you sign the painting contract, ask yourself this: Do you honestly believe that this particular painter knows something that all the other painting contractors don't to cost so much less? Did he sound more knowledgeable with information the others didn't have? Chances are slim against it and not worth the risk.

The "No Guarantee" Estimate. All the details sound good but there's no recourse being offered if things don't go your way. Can you afford to have the job fixed and repainted now that you've paid for a paint job with no guarantees? And even if you can afford it, do you really want to pay twice and have the painting results you were expecting take twice as long?

The "No Standards" Estimate. Standards of workmanship should be spelled out so you have the same frame of reference as the painter in deciding what constitutes a properly painted surface. Otherwise, it's all subjective in the eye of the beholder. There are painting industry standards published by the PDCA (Painting and Decorating Contractors of America) which are used to protect both painting customers as well as painting contractors in a court of law if necessary, to uphold the bar set by the painting industry to best serve customers with a means by which to judge a professionally finished surface. Even if you're not a member of the PDCA, these are the Painting Industry Standards and a good contractor will at least make you aware of them to scrutinize their work if it ever comes into question.

The "Where's The Proof" Estimate. The painting estimate reads like the painter took the words right out of your mouth and mind… and so it should! But if it's not backed up by other customers with similar painting projects to verify they can do what they're claiming, are you sure that's what you'll end up with? There's a lot of painters and painting contractors out there vying for you business. You owe it to yourself to make sure you've checked there references to weed out the pros from the cons.

Happy Painting!

About The Author

DEE POTTER, with his company, ColourWorks Painting is a Toronto, Ontario area painting contractor who's helped hundreds of home owners and businesses get the most out of their properties with creative and money saving solutions to their painting, repair and decorating challenges. To learn more about ColourWorks Painting solutions and services visit http://www.PaintByColourWorks.com

Toronto Painters video - ColourWorks 416 920-4482

2010-10-28T18:02:00.000-04:00

Plastic Drywall Taping Knives

2010-10-28T13:33:00.002-04:00

Plastic Drywall Taping Knives: This blog post is from a company in the U.K. who sell drywall supplies. They've used the article, "Do-It-Yourself Invisible Crack Repairs" posted here on Painting Inspirations to punctuate their product illustrations. I'm glad I could be of help to them!

How Painting Your Home Saves You Money and the Environment, Too!

2010-10-24T16:40:00.001-04:00

The biggest problems facing people today are the state economy and the state of the environment. And often it seems impossible to save your money and be good for the planet, too. Well, we can't solve all the problems of the world by ourselves but we can do our part. By preserving what we have instead of replacing with new, by improving the efficiency of our home climate control and by keeping it from escaping it into the wind, a good paint job may all you need.

Yes, painting. "Painting" is the name we use for the trade of "finishing". But it takes a whole lot more than painting to produce a quality finish. In fact, the most important part of the entire painting process is the prep work: filling and caulking. In essence, sealing your home!

Once all the cracks and holes have been filled and somewhere between priming and painting, a good painter will seal the gaps and seams around all your doors, windows and baseboards with a good quality paintable latex caulking. This not only gives you clean straight lines between wall and trim surfaces, it also eliminates air transfer in these areas between inside and out. And that means better climate control for greater comfort, lower energy bills and lower gas emissions into the environment. All in all, energy and cost savings for you AND the planet!

Another good tip while you're painting is to take advantage of this opportunity to have your painter install insulators around the house in other places where air leaks traditionally occur. Many older homes are poorly insulated leaving structural gaps where air can easily flow between the interior and exterior. The most obvious, of course is your exterior doors. While you're having the doors and door frames painted, have the weather stripping replaced at the same time. It makes the painting process easier to have the old weather stripping removed first anyway and leaves a cleaner finish in the end with new stripping installed after the painting is finished. And bear in mind, if your weather stripping has paint on it from paint jobs gone by, it's not providing you the draft protection it should. Paint causes the weather stripping to become stiff and rigid leaving these area vulnerable to cracking, splitting and creating gaps instead of sealing them with a snug, pliable fit.

Electrical wall outlets are another classic spot for air transfer. Particularly electrical boxes mounted on the inside of exterior walls. One of the first things any good professional painter will do before he begins prepping is to remove all the wall plates to paint the surface behind them. So before the plates go back on when the painting's done, take a moment to install an inexpensive pre-cut foam insulator for electrical boxes found at any any local hardware store. These little foam pads can reduce air flow between exterior walls dramatically enough that the Canadian government, as part of their eco-energy program, actually pays home owners to install them!

Right now, the best thing you can do is reduce waste and save money wherever you can. Painting your house may seem like a decorating luxury but in fact, it's the cheapest way to maintain the integrity of your building's structure and increase the value of your home while paying off in energy cost savings. And in these times of economic uncertainty, go with what you can be sure of. Your home is your castle and castles can be plenty drafty. Take care of your home with a simple and cost effective paint job and it will take care of you for years to come.

Happy painting!

DEE POTTER is a Toronto, Ontario area painting contractor who's helped hundreds of homeowners get the most out of their properties with creative and money saving solutions to their repair and decorative challenges with his company, ColourWorks Painting. To learn more about ColourWorks painting solutions and services visit http://www.PaintByColourWorks.com

Do-It-Yourself Invisible Crack Repairs on Smooth & Textured Surfaces

2010-10-21T21:50:00.000-04:00

For centuries, builders have been surfacing their home and building constructs with textured masonry and other stucco finish materials as a cost-saving short-cut to producing consistent looking profiles. For example, why do most new homes have blown stucco ceilings (aka - "popcorn")? Producing a visually flat ceiling (or wall) surface takes a great deal of time and materials. And it takes master plastering skills to hide the flaws of uneven drywall and finish each tape join with the required 3 coats of plaster drywall compound. But with a textured coating, the builder can throw up the drywall roughly as it may sit, tape it with only a single coat of plaster and the resulting flaws all disappear under the illusion of a "level" textured surface. The results look new and even, the builder saves time and money and hopefully passes those savings on to you. It's a perfect solution!... Until it cracks.

Fixing a smooth surface crack

When a crack develops on a flat wall or ceiling, the repair is rather simple. You cover it with a strip of paper tape (if indoors) or mesh tape (indoors or out), skim over it with your putty knife and the appropriate interior or exterior patching compound in three thin coats (each one wider than the last to float it out with the surrounding surface as smoothly as possible) and sand it just enough to remove any edges.

Smooth plastering like this is easy to achieve with some practice once you've grasped these fundamentals. And while you're practicing, there are no errors that can't be easily fixed with either a little more plaster or a little more sanding. The most common mistake is in applying the compound too thick. This creates excessive sanding and bulgy looking patches.

But what about the crack on a textured surface? Obviously you can't just tape, skim coat and sand it. The result would be a long flat patch in the middle of a textured profile (which I've seen far too many homeowners stuck with in my career). It stands out like a bad rash and adds insult to injury. You can't undo or fix a repair like this. The only way to get rid of a bad stucco repair is to remove all the textured material on the entire surface and replace it with new. That's a costly venture and can be avoided if the repair was done properly the first time.

Working with textured materials

There's often the misconception that one can simply remove the textured coating of masonry or popcorn stucco (or what have you) from around the damaged area to fix the substrate and then replace the textured material on just this spot. It sounds reasonable in theory so long as you're using the exact same material as replacement. But in practice, it's almost always impossible.

With a great deal of skill and expertise, a finisher can bevel the outer edges of the damaged area so that when the new material is applied over the exposed substrate (drywall, brick, concrete, etc.) it can be gradually eased toward the outer edges without overlapping the surrounding material to keep it level with the existing grade. But even this shows a slight ridge around the repair and is noticeable to those who know it's there... namely, YOU. And this is the best that can be done without complete replacement. The more common approach I've seen people try is to simply try covering the crack with more of the same material used on the overall surface. The problem with this is that anything you add to the surface of a textured profile only magnifies where the damage is with a hump in a sea of bumps. So what do you do if you're not a master mason and don't want to spend the money on complete removal and replacement of your stucco just to fix some cracks?

Easy crack repair for textured surfaces

To understand how to repair a crack one should have an understanding of the anatomy of the crack. Sometimes created by sudden impact, sometimes by the long (or short) natural process of shifting and settling and often by water leaks, the crack is a break in the solid substrate. And through the laws of weight and gravity, the crack can only shift, grind and grow. It never gets smaller and it rarely stays the same. No matter how you repair the crack, you'll only mask it from eye while it continues to thrive below the surface waiting for its chance to reappear. That is, unless you want to go through the costly and messy process of replacing the entire substrate. But who wants to do that if there's an easier way?

Ultimately, you want a repair to be invisible or at least, depending on the severity of the damage, unobtrusive to the eye. To accomplish this in the middle of a textured surface, the repair has to fill the crack, preserve the surrounding texture and not reopen as the surface shifts over time. Solid drying fillers such as plaster and drywall compound can easily fill in the crack but do little to preserve the texture and usually result in bad approximations of the surrounding surface at best. They also dry hard and brittle allowing the underlying crack to easily break through the surface in short time. So the ideal material must remain flexible to keep up with the movement of the crack and it has to make the crack disappear within its native profile. What can do all this and be easily applied?

Latex caulking.

In cases where you can't paint the surface for one reason or another (e.g.- a very large exterior wall in an unpainted tinted masonry), use a colored caulking that best resemble the surface colour and be sure to wash away as much of the material from the outer edges of the crack as possible before it dries.

A flexible repair is a lasting repair. As your home shifts, expands and contracts, so does your latex caulking crack filler.

Happy painting!

DEE POTTER is a Toronto, Ontario area painting contractor who's helped hundreds of homeowners get the most out of their properties with creative and money saving solutions to their repair and decorative challenges with his company, ColourWorks Painting. To learn more about ColourWorks painting solutions and services visit http://www.PaintByColourWorks.com

House Painting Odors - Getting Rid of the Smell

2010-10-21T21:04:00.000-04:00

Homeowners, especially those with small children, often ask me how to get rid of paint odors. It's such a big concern for some folks that they'll ask me about potential odor control before they even book the painting estimate.

The good news is that the evolution of house paint has come a long way with low-odor and even odorless lines for some applications. The bad news is there are still so many reasons to use the smelly stuff, especially if you're repainting an older home. Alkyd (oil-based) and shellac or alcohol primers are especially effective in sealing water damage and old oil painted surfaces to upgrade them to Latex top coats. But they're also very smelly with potentially long-lasting vapors. Even the most common low-odor alkyd paints often used today to repaint wood work can have a lingering odor for days under the most ventilated conditions.

So how do you get rid of the smell?

I've just received an email from a mother asking me that very question. Her young child's room was painted almost two weeks ago and she's left the windows open and the fan on ever since. Still, the paint smell is strong enough that she's concerned about letting the child sleep in the room.The painting of this room involved a lot of priming to cover the dark brown oil paint used by the previous home owner. Since the color needed to be lightened up and the surfaces converted to a far more Eco-friendly Acrylic Latex, a common top brand Alkyd primer was used to give the whole room a fresh start. And although it had "Low Odor" printed on the can, it obviously was NOT odorless. To compound matters, all the woodwork had to be finished in a leading "Low Odor" brand of Alkyd semigloss which produced a smooth lustrous finish as well as a migraine inducing vapor.

So what can you do? Well, there a few ways you can overcome these situations beyond obvious ventilation to control,eliminate and even prevent odors from lingering.

"An ounce of prevention".... Before there was such a thing as "low odor paint" we used to add a splash of vanilla extract to every gallon of oil paint to make it "low-odor". It was cheap, easy to do and had no effect on the color. Now that low-odor alkyd paints are commonplace on the market, adding about a tablespoon of vanilla extract makes them virtually odorless.

Or, as in the case above, the painting is already done. It's too late for vanilla and the smell won't go away as quickly they'd like. What's happening here is that the odors are being trapped in the walls while the paint cures and probably in all the fabrics and rugs in the room as well. They need something else to absorb them for good. So, here's what I advised her to do. Cut up a few onions and place them in a couple of bowls of cold water. Put one of the bowls in the room and the other in the closet. As simple and crazy as it sounds, the onions absorb and actually eliminate the paint fumes and odors... sometimes as quickly as overnight!

I first learned this trick while creating a baby's room about 17 years ago. I had spent about 5 weeks converting a badly crumbling and dusty old attic room into a nursery pending the baby's birth. And as it turned out, the baby was born about two weeks early and was ready to come home just as I was finishing the project. The job required a lot of smelly primers and sealers to bury decades of neglect and water damage. As was customary in those days, I added vanilla extract to minimize the paints' odor (and damage to my brain cells) but the smell wasn't clearing up fast enough to bring the newborn in. The home owner's Nanny, who was moving into the bedroom next door (and who was also troubled by the smell) used a couple of bowls of cut onions in cold water over night and the smell was gone the next day. I couldn't believe it!

I've recommended this technique ever since with great results. But it should be noted here that this example was in an empty room. In the case of a fully furnished room, as in our case above, you should consider airing out clothing, drapery, rugs or anything else which might be trapping the odors and give them a shot or two of Febreeze to do the trick nowadays.

Now sometimes, there are extreme cases where odors are simply not an option. Some people are highly allergic to the VOCs (volatile organic compounds) contained in paints and the tints used to color them. Some can become quite ill with even short term inhalation of the fumes. In these cases, you have to resort to the whole gamut of tricks:

Before you paint, empty the room completely to make sure there is nothing that will trap the odors.
Open all the windows before you open the paint cans and keep them open throughout the entire painting process.
Add vanilla extract to your Alkyd, Alcohol or Shellac based paints. (Latex paints don't usually need this step as they're relatively low-odor to begin with).
Place several bowls of onions around the room (as above) while you paint to absorb the fumes as they escape.
When the painting is finished, seal and remove all paint cans, bag your drop sheets in plastic before taking them out through the rest of the house (or throw them out of the window if possible) to keep from spreading the fumes they've trapped indoors.
Refresh your supply of onions in water as the old ones will have had their fill of vapors by the time your finished the painting.

Of course, these tips are offered in connection with interior painting but you should also try adding some vanilla to your paint when painting the exterior in Alkyd coatings as well. It saves the painter a lot headaches... literally. But whether inside or out, these simple ideas combined with some good old fashioned common sense should produce a fresh new look with clean, breathable air you can live with.

Happy painting!

Hiring A Painting Professional - How To Avoid The Wrong Painter For Your Project

2010-10-20T12:25:00.000-04:00

If you've ever gone through the process of hiring a professional to paint your home, you've probably found it daunting to select the right one for you and your project amongst the wide range of quotes and contractors available . And if you've never hired a painting professional before, there are a few things you should know to get the most out of your selection and maximize the return on your decorating investment.

A good painting professional is easy to find if you know what to look for. One of the most crucial elements of selecting a good painting professional is the confidence and evidence they display to show they'll be around in a year or two years after the paint has long since dried. By all means, get referrals from your neighbors, friends and family who've had good experiences with a painting contractor. But don't stop there. Favor the referrals from those who have had several successful projects completed by the same contractor. Then look into their level of investment in their company. You should find them advertised in multiple vested forms. Not just on the first page of a Google search for "house painting". They should be on page one of a Google search for the exact form of painting you require ("concrete basement floor painting", "exterior wood restoration painting", "new construction spraying" etc). Then, this same painter should have an ad or two in the leading local business directories for which they would have made a substantial outlay. A membership with your Better Business Bureau and other well established and accountable industry associations like the PDCA (Painting and Decorating Contractors of America) is also a good sign. But don't take the symbol on their advertising as proof. Anyone can cut and paste a logo these days so call these agencies to verify the company's status. This will give you the peace of mind in knowing you're dealing with an industry professional; not an imposter, a seasonal student painter or a fly-by-nighter with a brush out for a quick buck. You should also pay attention to the lawn and truck signs of painters in your area as a good starting point to see if they show up in any of these other established promotional avenues. And if they don't, they're either too new to trust your home with or they're possibly too aloof and fleeting so as to escape accountability should anything go wrong.

So, now that you've done your preliminary search for the best 3 or 4 candidates (and if you've truly done this homework you won't need to see more than a few) it's time to invite them to bid on your painting project. Each one shows credibility and establishment in the community with a web portfolio specifically detailing experience with your type of project. So give them a call. Are they easily reached? Or, if you have to leave a voice mail, does the answering message reveal the company name you were expecting? Or is it an unidentified voice who just asks you to leave a message? Does the recording make you feel welcome and grateful for your call? Do they return your call in a timely manner or leave you hanging for a day or two? And when you actually reach the person responsible for estimating, are they rapid and knowledgeable in their responses to your questions or do they seem to lag, flounder about or remain vague? You'll always do best with a contractor who can answer your questions straight away in a relaxed and confident manner rather than someone who's too quick and cocky or slow and uncertain. An experienced professional with your best interests in mind will seem very comfortable with you and the details of your project.

Once you've spoken with two or three painters you feel comfortable with, try to set them up to meet with you at either staggered times of the same day or at the same time on different days. This way, you'll know that each one of your estimators had the opportunity to see the project under roughly the same conditions. It's very important to compare "apples to apples" when reviewing painting quotations. There are so many variables involved with getting your home from the condition it's in to where you want it to be. You want to be sure that each of your painting candidates have the same details and most importantly, your specific expectations. If they all have a slightly different idea of the results you're looking for, then you're going to get some widely varying quotes which may or may not represent what you expect for your money. The best thing you can do is to make detailed notes of exactly what you want done and how you want it done (where applicable) so that your instructions are identical with each of your estimators.

Then, of course, you want to see who is best connecting with you and the concerns for your home. Does the estimator ask YOU for all the solutions to your problems? Or do they provide you with helpful suggestions and innovative ideas to work WITH you in creating your home? Usually, choosing a painter who wants to work WITH you and not just FOR you is the one who will most care about the results. They should have a feel for what you're trying to accomplish with your repairs and decorating. For instance, they should understand the difference between "redecorating a house to make it your home" and "fixing up the place so you can stage it for sale". And this difference will show up in dollars and cents.

So why aren't all painting quotes roughly the same for the same work?

First, let's consider the independent painter. There's a world of range in this option alone. The good, the bad and the terrible! And when considering them during the estimating process, the "Nice Guy" or "Gal" who means well may also be the worst painter you can't bring yourself to fire. Or there's the "Picasso" who knows he's a great painter but won't move your furniture out of his way and other such "menial" (but necessary) tasks because it's "beneath him". Or you may get lucky and find the perfect independent painter who can do a great job for you. But the good one's can't start the work when you need them to because they're spread too thinly. And then a year later, you can't pin him down when you need him because he's too busy. Or worse, you can't find him again at all because he's left town for greener pastures or left the business entirely due to burn out.

So maybe you should consider trusting your home to the national brand name painting contractor. After all, these are the firms that have been around awhile, have advertising in all the right places, have served thousands of customers, and have so much work going on all the time that they must be good. Not to mention, their overhead and materials costs are the lowest of all painting services. So they must do great work without having to charge you as much, right? Wrong. What they don't spend proportionally on administration and paint they put into heavy marketing to stay front and center in people's minds. They know how much your confidence is worth for as long as they have that, the quality of their work is secondary. After all, who are their workforce? Independent painters just like the ones we've reviewed. They come in all the same types and calibers of people only they don't get paid as well as the truly independent. And with lower pay comes lower responsibility. They often don't take the same care and attention to detail as you would hope for the large corporate fees your paying.

Which leaves us with the local contracting firm; a small business with a dedicated group of career painters. This contractor is not to be confused with your regional chapter of seasonal student franchises whose painters only gain their proficiency by the end of the summer. Look for the contractors who employ the same painters all year round to give you the best performance. This category can also contain all kinds. But there are fundamental differences here that can improve your chances of getting great value and service. In fact, the unique form of this organization can most often provide you with the best of all worlds. The establishment, availability and security of a large corporate firm (without the higher price) mixed with the personal care and attention of a good independent painter. Having several crews to work with, these contractors can usually accommodate your timetable with at least one or more painters ready when you need them. And with several jobs on the go at all times, these contractors have an increased cost advantage over the independent painter. Although they could never get paint as cheaply as the large corporate firms, they do have a much greater savings on materials than you or the independent to keep the pricing under control in your favor.

Still, when selecting your local contracting firm it's very important to do all the preliminary investigation we've covered here to be sure you're dealing with a reputable and honest company. Unfortunately there are still a lot of shysters out there who set themselves up with a business card and a truck to take your money and run. Or worse, they take your money, damage your home, steal your belongings and then run. And it's these con artists who can make the homeowner feel wary about the entire industry even though they only represent an average of 10% of the painters out there. Most painting contractors are there to help you honestly. But it's entirely up to you, the customer, to check them out for all the signs of credibility even before you call them for a free estimate. And don't let anyone charge you for an estimate as this, too, is a sign that they're probably not legitimate.

So look for the signs (both literally and figuratively), verify their claims of industry affiliations, and rule out the "low-ballers" and the "high rollers" once the quotes are in and you'll be in good painting company. The best value and service can almost always be found in that middle range of pricing between the independent and the corporate contractor. And if you're dealing with a roster of only local reputable companies, you'll also most likely find your ideal candidate somewhere in the high end of middle pricing. Here is where you'll usually get the most for your money in both service and peace of mind.

About the Author

DEE POTTER with his company ColourWorks Painting is a Toronto, Ontario area contractor who's helped hundreds of homeowners get the most out of their homes with creative and money saving solutions to their repair and decorative challenges. Visit www.PaintByColourWorks.com for more info.

Painting Tips - When to Paint an Accent Wall

2010-10-20T11:56:00.000-04:00

Interior accent wall painting is often a fast and inexpensive way to make an ordinary room look extraordinary. By painting a contrasting colour to the room's adjoining walls, we create a new and pronounced dimension of depth to make the space seem longer, shorter, wider, narrower and sometimes taller or shorter than a monochromatic paint color scheme will allow. The question is, what accent will give you the new dimension and appearance you're looking for?

Color pronounces our perception of light and space. This perception produces an emotional response depending on how we perceive the light in the space to create feelings of warmth, coziness, vibrancy or calmness, for example. And with the addition of accent wall painting, you can dramatically alter the feel of the entire interior space not only by adding another dimension to the room but also by having the surrounding paint colour read differently to the eye. So the first thing you want to establish when choosing your paint colour palette is how you want the space to feel.

Case in point, we're working on residential interior condo in downtown Toronto for a devout Toronto Maple Leafs fan. So naturally, he wanted his whole condo painted in dark blue and white to really immerse himself in his beloved team. Now, the entire condo is less than 500 square feet with the open living space itself representing less than half of that. Pretty tight condominium space for a dark blue accent wall. And the Toronto Maple Leafs' blue is so dark in fact that it would cut the intensity of daylight captured through the window in half by painting just one wall! Also, because the living and dining room are one long and narrow open space, painting such a deep colour on one of the long side walls would really crowd the room to make it seem even longer and narrower.

But what's important here is how the customer wants to feel in his condo. He wants his paint colors to reflect the passion and enthusiasm that he has for his team. And the long side wall in this case was the only partition wall he could hang the flat screen TV and the framed pictures of his Toronto hockey heroes. Looking further into the rest of the colors surrounding the room, the larger furniture was all black. The TV, black. And the frames and matting of his hockey portraits were black and Leafs Blue. So painting this accent wall in a deep dark blue was really going to cramp the space and over power his prized possessions so they were hardly noticeable.

So what do you do when you MUST have a certain really dark accent colour but don't have the space for it? You bring it down a couple of notches. Tone it down and brighten it up with a mid-tone version of the same deep colour you're going for. The result? The space appears bigger. The artwork and furniture stand out rather than getting lost in the darkness and the overall contrast is less shocking and more comfortable to eye over long periods of time. But most importantly, it feels like the vision you were going for in your mind because the accent colour is still bold and rich, but allows enough light to reflect off it to truly enjoy the paint colour in all lights, day and night. In this case, by sheer coincidence, we chose Benjamin Moore "Toronto Blue" as the accent colour for this space which just happened to be half the tint value of the almost black-blue the customer originally wanted and now looks fantastic! It couldn't look more "Toronto Maple Leafs" if the team decorated the condo themselves!

If you start with the basics in choosing your colour palette, you can't go wrong. Start with how you want to feel when using the space. Invigorated? Soothed? Focused? Then, look carefully at the colors in the room that will be there after you paint. The furniture. The window dressings. The wall hangings. Then, generally speaking, choose a light or medium tone colour that is a complimentary or neutral thread through all of these items. Be sure to check your colour behind each room element in both day and night lighting. Or at least in the lighting you're most often using the space. Then decide the prominent display you'd like to feature after the painting is done. It could be a painting or some other piece of art or wall hanging you enjoy and pick out an accent colour from it. It could be ever so slight strokes of red or chocolate or eggplant barely noticeable from afar but found in the small details of the piece.This is a good place to start in choosing your accent colour. And if you've done your "homework" correctly in choosing the paint colour for the rest of the room based on a common thread of all room elements described earlier, then your main colour will also be compatible with this feature piece you're getting your accent colour from. And Voila! Instant designer colour palette!

Now all you have to do is choose which wall to paint your accent colour. An easy way to decide is by choosing either the wall you look at most or the wall you're seen against most (as in an entry hall, for example, with the accent colour behind you as you open your front door). In the case of painting a living room, for instance, people often watch TV against a wall they look at most of the time when they're in that room. An accent colour behind a TV or a piece of wall art also allows you to feature them prominently when positioned against a rich background. On the other hand, in painting a bedroom it's very popular to paint the headboard wall an accent colour to give the illusion of a bigger bed and present a grander, more sophisticated look to the room. But here again, we have the feature of the room (the bed) being displayed in front of accent colour. Of course, you can decide where you'd prefer to add your splash of colour to any room with an accent wall, but start your decision-making process by considering the wall where all eyes turn most and you can't go wrong.

Happy painting!