Before hiring a painter, you should get a detailed estimate from them. This should include costs for labor, materials, paint, and the timeframe of the project. Covering details upfront will prevent issues from emerging later on. Ask the painter if they charge for travel time, whether their estimate includes pressure washing and caulking, and any other questions you might have.
Celebrating 35 years in business, Shoreline Painting & Drywall Inc is a family owned and operated company located in Norwalk, CT. We transform houses into world-class homes by using the right mix of artisans and painters, state-of-the-art tools, and five star eco-friendly materials, all under a structured management team. We engage each project with integrity, first class workmanship, and pride, and we guarantee and stand behind our work. We are fully bonded, licensed and insured.
There are a number of measures you can take to prevent mold on the exterior of your home. Anti-mold paint works to stop mold from spreading. Still, anti-mold paint does deteriorate when exposed to prolonged sunlight and moisture. To prevent mold damage from spreading, it’s best to act fast. In order to ensure that all the mold is eradicated, we recommend calling a professional mold removal company.
If you have two weeks, a ladder and some experience, this makes an excellent DIY project. On most surfaces, it is forgiving of mistakes and easy to work with. Correcting mistakes only adds more time and not much more expense. However, a professional will get it done faster and with a better finish. If you don’t have 2 to 3 weeks to spare, find a professional painter near you today.
06/14/17: Renato completed an exterior painting project for our relatively large single family home in Stamford, CT last weekend. Project did not begin well especially with the prep, repair/carpentry work, but then Renato took full control and ensured that the work done was to our satisfaction. The final result is outstanding. Minor damage to window screens, gutters and plants. Ensure that your window screens, gutters, and shutters are numbered and stored indoors or if kept outdoor covered properly against the elements. The project can be extensively delayed due to rain and you may find yourself dealing with insects and/or flooding in basement and dirty/bent/ mismatched screens/gutters/shutters. Overall we had a good team working on our project and we are satisfied with the finished product. The house looks great!
I hired a painting company to paint my house and garage. Price was about $5,000.Sherwin Williams paint T-1000. When he was questioned about the paint peeling two days after he painted the garage he quit even with a contract not a very professional person. So,now I have to find someone else to paint my house.After 3 weeks of them trying to paint around the rain. The original time frame was 3-4 days.Yes 3 weeks and all that got done was a small two car garage that could have been done in two days.I know he did not prep correctly and properly I will end up having to redo the garage. I went to Sherwin Williams and got the colors.So beware even with a contract and good references.
The Ceiling. For ceilings, flat is recommended, except semigloss or satin should be used in bathrooms with showers/tubs. Some customers opt to go with a different finish for ceilings in general, to create a specific design look, i.e. high gloss ceilings on dining room tray ceiling to make a statement, or eggshell ceilings throughout to look modern and make a statement.
One of the most common home-improvement projects can also be one of the most enjoyable for the entire household. While some aspects of interior room painting, such as masking and “cutting in,” can require some experience and skill, applying a fresh coat of paint to a ceiling or wall or doorway is often a matter of a good brush, a paint tray, and some sweat equity. A coat of fresh paint may be all that’s required to revive a living space that’s faded a bit.
It's up to you. Outside is much harder because it requires more prep, patience, time, help, money and of course, effort. I have been painting my own houses and rental properties interiors for 20 years, and I painted the exterior of one, once. I then had it promptly done again by professionals who said it would have been cheaper if they didn't have to undo my work first. My advice is to get pros for the outside because everyone will see it.
The Cutters. Someone with meticulous attention to detail and a steady hand should be assigned the job of "cutting in," or painting a straight edge where needed, such as along a wall where the ceiling does not get painted. Many products are available to assist, but none work as well as a person who's good at doing it freehand. Ensure this person is skilled (ask them to show you). A poor, jagged, wavy or splotched cutting-in job will jump out at you every time you walk by it. Why more than one cutter? This job is nerve-wracking and painful to hands and arms after a few days. You'll want to give this person a break after a few walls.
Latex paint refers to water-based paint, the most popular and environmentally friendly paint. Since latex paints provide great color retention, they’re ideal for exterior walls that face a lot of weathering. Latex paints are also a good option for interior walls that are subjected to a lot of moisture, such as bathrooms and laundry rooms. Additionally, latex paints dry faster than oil-based alternatives and produce fewer odors.
Similar to exterior mold, mold is more likely to emerge in warm and humid areas. That being said, rooms like bathrooms and basements are more prone to mold. To preemptively prevent mold, use paints that are mold resistant. Should you find mold on a wall in your home, you can clean it with a simple solution of one part bleach to four parts water. If the area is large, you may want to leave the cleaning to a professional.
The next step up is a semigloss finish, which has the level of reflectivity that makes an impression but can be challenging to apply. Semigloss paint provides great coverage and is easy to clean but is less forgiving when it comes to brushstrokes and overspray. The highest-end finish is full gloss, which looks very luxurious when the job is finished, but requires a surprising amount of prep work and painting experience to apply correctly. It is also on the expensive side, so it is often used sparingly on door frames, window treatments and accent walls.
Flat, or matte finish on the no-shine end of the finish spectrum. A friend to walls that have something to hide, flat or matte paint (the terms are interchangeable) soaks up — rather than reflects — light, has the most pigment, and provides the most coverage. It's good for adults' bedrooms and other interior rooms that won't be roughed up by kids. That's because it's tough to clean without taking paint off.
Exterior paint averages $25-$40 a gallon, and a 3,000-square-foot home takes 15 or more gallons of paint, or $375-$600 just for the paint. However, really premium paint can cost $50-$100 a gallon, or $750-$1,500 for that large home. Doing it yourself also requires renting a pressure washer or sprayer for $50-$100 a day; extra-long ladders or scaffolding at $20-$75 daily; and a power sprayer for $50-$100 daily, plus masking tape, drop cloths and other supplies. However, it's possible to paint a large, two-story house for materials-only costs of $400-$600.
If you are painting for a client, skip the paint in the bucket, and use large trays. For faster completion and still quality results the 5 gallon bucket and strainer work great as well as a wood filler, 5-in-1 tool, screw gun (drill), metal joint compound tray, metal putty knife, wide drywall knife, mini hand-held paint containers (for brushes), and a mini-roller and corresponding nap (for edging, after cutting in with brush on the bottom, top and sides of wall, and the sides of ceilings, so that you don't see brush lines).
Scale has one of the biggest impacts on deciding whether to hire painting help or take matters into your own hands. If you want to paint your home, consider whether or not this is a realistic task to take on yourself. For instance, is your house multiple stories or a townhouse? Do you just want to paint the kitchen or the entire exterior? Once you factor in the time it takes to do the prep work and lay down multiple coats of paint, a DIY paint job can get complicated. If the house painting job is extensive, you may want to leave it to professionals.