Posts Tagged ‘Painting’

Finding House Paint Colors for You

Friday, September 25th, 2009

You have always thought you were reasonably intelligent.  Even the teachers back in school used to say so.  You managed to land a good spouse and job.  It doesn’t make sense that the house paint colors in the home improvement stores are seriously kicking your butt.  It’s all very simple, the primary colors, red, blue, and yellow, are the basis for the rest of them.  All you should have to do is decide which one you like and then work from there.  The thing is there is more to house paint colors than just that.  Take a look at a few of the places you can go to get good ideas on what colors to have painted on your house.

House Paint Colors

Unless you are more brave than smart, it’s very likely you have a professional painter or contractor in mind for this job.  Who cares if he or she is laughing about you behind your back at the bar after work?  You need to know what colors are going to look well on your home.  The laughing part was just a little joke.  Most contractors love nothing better than to be able to use their knowledge and experience to help other people and their clients out.  It’s not like you have to take the advice if you don’t want to.

Most homeowners don’t have a home improvement library right in their house.  However, there is a local place that does.  That’s right; the local library can be of huge help figuring out what colors to use on your house.  Block off an hour or so to visit the library and peruse their home improvement magazines and books until your heart is content.  You can either check out the book to show your contractor or use the library’s copy machines to take the magazine article with you.  It doesn’t really matter where you find your house paint colors as long as you find ones you like and can live with for a long time to come.

Garage Door Makeover Plans Revitalize Your Home’s Exterior

Monday, November 3rd, 2008

Every looked at the front of your home, and wondered what you could do to spruce it up?  Perhaps, garage door makeover plans would be a great option to rev up your home’s exterior. Changing the appearance of your garage door can do wonders in terms of helping update your curb appeal and it can be a simple and inexpensive process.  With garage door makeover plans for beginners, you can change the look of your home on your own – and still get compliments that would make a professional garage door specialist blush.

To begin your garage door makeover plans, you need to determine what will look best with your home.  If there is a particular color you want to add to your garage door, that’s a great place to start.  Head out to exterior paint stores to get sample papers of the various options they sell.  Then bring these colors home and hold them up for appraisal. While this isn’t a very scientific method of selecting paints, it can certainly narrow your choices.

Garage Door Makeover Plans for Curb Appeal

Once you have chosen a paint color, you can begin the next step of garage door makeover plans: painting.  While it might be easier to have a professional finish this task (and often less nerve wracking), if you’re not choosing a particularly bright color, you should be able to handle this task on your own.  If the paint is a darker color than the paint that’s already on the surface, you may be able to add the new paint right to the surface.  To make sure you can, add a coat of primer first to help the new paint adhere to the surface.  Apply one to two coats, depending on the all weather exterior paint you chose.

Finally, if you want to add a few fun details, consider outlining certain sections of your garage door, if you have molding or wooden inlays which are a part of the door.  By using bold colors to accentuate these designs, you can add definition to your home as well as curb appeal.

Ready to get started with garage door makeover plans? Here are some tips to help you choose a contractor.

Professionals Know How to Paint a Floor Covering

Friday, October 17th, 2008

You have to give it to the dedicated souls who do their best to take care of the major projects around their homes on their own.  They spend their limited free time taking care of some of the hardest and mind numbingly boring jobs on the planet.  Of course, things get complicated when a bit of work comes up that is outside the realm of their experience.  Let’s take how to paint a floor covering for example.  Most of us would think that all you have to do is throw some paint on the floor, let it dry, and you have a perfectly good looking painted floor.  That’s not exactly how it works.  It takes more time and effort than that to have the look and durability you were after.  It’s really best to save yourself some time and look into having a professional contractor take care of these things for you.

How to Paint a Floor Covering

In most cases, how to paint a floor covering usually refers to how to paint a concrete floor covering.  After all, most of us don’t run around trying to paint our carpets very often.  With a concrete floor, the preparation for painting can be a bit involved.  The very first things your contractor will do are clean and degrease the floor.  Any dirt or oil that is clinging to the surface of the floor can seriously limit the ability of the paint to adhere properly.  The floor will also have to be checked for any curing compounds as well.  Other aspects like moisture levels and its profile, the actual task of painting the floor can begin.

Another part of how to paint a floor covering you can count on a contractor to know that you don’t is painting a hardwood floor.  While it sounds strange to cover the natural beauty of hardwood, some cases warrant it.  Once again, deep cleaning and conditioning of the floor are first on your contractor’s list.  He or she will also have to help you pick out the proper type of paint for this kind of job.  in short, painting a floor covering isn’t like spray painting your wrought iron yard furniture, it’s going to take time, experience, and know how to get it done properly.

For more information on how to paint a floor covering

The Qualities of Good Exterior Paint

Monday, August 4th, 2008

When it comes to home improvement you are likely to hear one material over and over again.  Nothing is as effective or as inexpensive as paint when it comes to improving the appearance the exterior or the interior of a house.  On the outside of the house, you will want to use as high quality paint as you can afford.  Exterior paint is good for painting wood, vinyl, or aluminum siding. It can also be used to breathe new life into stucco and concrete walled homes.  Of course, you have to determine the best type of paint to use for the job and type of siding you have on your house.  However, regardless of the type of paint, every good one should have the following traits.

Exterior Paint

Have your contractor or look yourself for exterior paint with blister resistant qualities.  If it isn’t marked on the bucket or can, the employees in the paint or home improvement store should be able to give you further information about the stuff.  It’s also imperative that the contractor not paint a wall with any moisture on it.  The surface must be completely bone dry to ensure that blistering not occur.

Another feature to look for in your exterior paint is chalking resistance.  Chalking is common with many inferior paints.  We have all seen the white residue that sometimes appears on the surface of houses and other objects when the paint is degrading.  Once again, if you are unsure about the quality of the product you are using, it’s best to ask the professionals about the best brands for the job.

Of course, you don’t want to spend all of that money on a product that isn’t going to last.  It doesn’t matter how good your painting contractor is, if the paint isn’t formulated to retain its color, you aren’t going to be happy with the appearance of your paint for long.  Fading is often a problem with the lower quality paints. 

For more information on exterior paint

What Painting Contractors Do

Friday, August 1st, 2008

At first it can seem like a good idea to take care of a painting job around the house yourself.  It makes more sense economically until you figure out the special equipment you need to make the job look great, the time involved, and all of the flat out hard work.  The chances are really good you don’t have things like painter’s tape, rollers, brushes, and pans for the paint lying around.  Besides equipment, what about the need to move furniture out of the way, put down drop cloths, and the time it will take to tape off the places you want to protect from the paint?  It suddenly makes a lot more sense to hire painting contractors doesn’t it?  Here is a brief look at what you can expect a good painter to do for you:

One of the first things your painting contractor is going to do for you is suggest the best kinds of paint for the surface you wish to cover.  You don’t use the same paint in the bathroom that you would use in the family room.  There are moisture issues and other factors to worry about.  When you have painting contractors on the job, they will take care of those details for you.  You can also expect your hired professionals to be informed about the need for primer and what kind is going to be the most effective.

Painting Contractors

Many people think in order to paint a room; all you need to do is throw up some paint.  Surface preparation is a huge part of a well done paint job.  It’s also very time consuming and a lot of hard work when done correctly.  Long before the primer is put on the walls, the painting contractors have already cleaned, sanded, and made repairs to the walls. 

The painting contractors have a lot to do before they apply the paint of your choice.  You will find that the painted surfaces look nicer when you allow the professionals to take care of it. 

For more information on painting contractors

The Debate Over Painting Wood Colored Trim White

Monday, July 28th, 2008

When you decided to change things up in your house, you never expected quite so many options.  All you want is a classic look and you have decided that painting wood colored trim white is going to give your home the look you want it to have.  It’s a good thing the contractor works for you and really isn’t a position to tell you how it should be done.  At any rate he or she isn’t going to question your color choice.

It seems when it comes to wood trim and how it should be treated people have some very strong opinions.  The big political debates are nothing compared to the disagreements you can find on this subject.  The truth is it’s your house and if you want white trim, then have white trim.  This method for sealing the trim ends up looking crisp and clean.  There are a few tips from the interior design pros you might want to keep in mind and pass along to your painting contractor though for the best results.

Painting Wood Colored Trim White

In order for your white trim to fit in with the image you have in your mind, you will likely want to choose an off white color.  White paint with no modifying tints often can look strange, almost like something out of a doctor’s office or hospital.  If the OR is the look you are going for, then it should be fine.  Otherwise make sure you are using a modified paint. 

When painting wood colored trim white, many homeowners are concerned about the doors in their home.  It’s perfectly acceptable to leave the doors wood colored if you want.  One of the many advantages to owning your own home is that you have the option to paint it however you wish. 

For more information on painting wood colored trim white