Spring Preening: Repainting Your Home Exterior

Quick – when was the last time your home’s exterior was painted? Chances are, if you can’t recall, perhaps it’s been a little too long. Experts recommend that wood siding get a fresh coat every 3-7 years while stucco can go anywhere between 5-6 years between coats. If you’re doing the math and finding that your house exterior is due for repainting, here are a few reasons why there’s no time like the present to repaint your home. Spring Means Optimal Outdoor Conditions Just as the blooms come out in spring, it’s recommended that the paint, brushes, and rollers should, as well. Springtime – especially late spring – brings along with it the best outdoor conditions for painting your home’s exterior. First off, exterior latex paint provides the most protection and durability and is best applied when the temps are neither too hot or too cold. Secondly, spring tends to be a little drier, meaning that there’s less moisture, humidity, and precipitation, both enemies to a successful repainting job. Pre-empt Costly Future Repairs Repainting your home’s exterior welcomes in the unique opportunity to give the outside of your home a great and detailed close-up look that you don’t always get. Preparing the house for a repainting can uncover the smaller, sometimes overlooked, issues that require attention before a coat of new paint is applied. Issues such as wood rot around doors, windows, and chimneys and fastening loose shutters should be addressed prior to repainting. Provides a Protective Coating Without a proper coat of durable paint, your house is susceptible to the fierce climatic conditions without the necessary protection, leaving your house to essentially fend for itself when it simply cannot. The swing between hot and cold temps stresses paint, causing it to potentially crack and peel, therefore exposing the sensitive wood underneath, then allowing moisture in the form of rain, snow, ice, and frost to permeate, shortening the life of the wood dramatically, inviting mold and mildew in. Keep it covered with a fresh, thick coat of durable exterior latex paint that’s professionally applied. Boost Curb Appeal When people think about spring cleaning, thoughts often lead to the interior of the home. But just as necessary is the upkeep of the outside of the home. Curb appeal is essential when you want your house to look its very best. Without the time and financial expense of renovation, the easiest and cheapest thing you can do for your home’s curb appeal is to give it a fresh coat of paint. It instantly boosts curb appeal (and helps to increase home value) and its wonderful results should never be underestimated. Green Remodeling understands all too well the need for repainting the exterior of your home. Not only do they realize how important it is to the life and well-being of your house, but how important it is that it’s done in a professional manner under optimal conditions so as to give it the best look and protection possible. At Green Remodeling, we don’t cut corners and don’t take shortcuts. Our skilled painters have the experience and seemingly artistic ability to transform your home exterior from drab to fab. Contact Green Remodeling today for a free estimate and consultation before the hot, humid days of summer kick in.    

Repainting Your Home’s Exterior

Keeping up with the exterior of your home is one of the biggest maintenance burdens that comes along with all the joys and pains of home ownership. If your house has more than one side of wood siding, painted brick or stucco, exterior painting is a tiring, time-consuming job. Heck, even if it’s just trim and windows, it’s a big job! At Green Remodeling, we have the resources, skills and experience to finish this job quickly and make your home beautiful again! When to Repaint There are many reasons to repaint a home. Over time, repainting becomes necessary as paint weathers away. The typically time between exterior paint jobs is 5 to 10 years. Then again, you may want to repaint your home even before the paint starts to expire either because you’ve had a change of heart about the color you choose or because you want to boost your curb appeal before selling. The most common reason homeowners repaint is obvious: they’ve simply had the same old color for a long time and feel ready for a change. Often, by the time they’ve decided to go for it, the paint itself is starting to fail and is becoming a maintenance issue. Finished siding will begin to fade and flake after a certain period of time that depends entirely upon the quality of the outdoor paint used. When inspecting your home’s paint job, what you’re really looking for is peeling, cracking and discoloration. You may want to rub the tips of your fingers across some painted surface – do they come away chalky? This is the result of paint breaking down. The areas you should pay particular attention to when determining if you need to paint are: door seals and window castings, lower sections of siding, edges of porch floors, eaves, railings and any shady areas. While you’re at it you may also want to check out how your home’s caulking is holding up at any wood-to-wood connections. If you don’t know exactly what you’re looking for, we’d be happy to help you perform a thorough inspection on your home’s exterior. Painting to Sell Even if the old paint on your house is holding up just fine, if your home is on the market, repainting is one of the most inexpensive and most impactful remodeling options available to you. Because it’s so much less expensive than, say, kitchen remodeling, it’s sure to provide you with excellent return on investment. After all, some pressure washing and a fresh coat of paint can greatly increase its curb appeal which gets more potential buyers in the door in the first place. Think you’re ready for an estimate? Want some more exterior painting ideas? Give us a call! And remember, we don’t just paint. If you get done repainting and decide that your home’s interior could use a little facelift too, you can bet we’re ready to make it happen.

Why Hire a Professional Paint Crew

There’s a reason we call ourselves “Green Remodeling” and not “Green Kitchens & Bathrooms” or “Green Basement Refinishing,” although we love recreating kitchens, bathrooms and basements. The reason is that we don’t want to limit ourselves to any one area of the home or any one type of refinishing. We’re happy with almost any project we can get our hands on, from full-on basement finishing to stripping and staining furniture. Interior painting may not seem as interesting as gutting an old bathroom or building a basement bar from nothing, but we’re passionate about it nonetheless. Green Remodeling offers interior painting services to all of Atlanta and Atlanta’s suburbs. Our qualified painters have all the necessary skills to make sure your painting project is done properly. We understand the importance on prep work. We’ll help you find the perfect blend of color and texture to make your walls, trim or ceilings come to life! Our skilled contractors can handle whatever paint project you’ve got and make sure the job gets done right. Our trained and skilled employees take great care to protect everything in your home before starting any project. They tidy up at the end of each work day and they’ll try to minimize their presence in your home as much as possible. Our interior painting services include walls, ceilings, doors, shelving, mantels, paneling, trim, cabinets, stairs, handrails, entertainment systems, antiques and more! If it’s bigger than a paintbrush, we can paint it. Some folks think painting is easy and virtually anyone can do it. Not so. DIY paint jobs are popular but rarely do homeowners have the right tools or supplies to create a professional paint job. We got all the tools, tints and tricks to beautifully paint any surface in your home. You need more than a can of paint and a high-quality paintbrush to create a professional paint job. Certain wall textures need certain tools. We know when to use a brush, when to use a roller and when to use an edger kit.  Many do-it-yourselfers lay it on thick and add paint to cover up mistakes. But thick coats don’t hold up as well as thin coats. When we paint a home, we promise your walls will dry correctly, cover your old paint and give you a great new look that lasts and lasts. We know how to assess the existing walls, protect 100% of your floors and belongings and tape over your trim. Many older structures have oil-based paint on the walls. But homeowners most frequently turn to latex varieties when they want to paint. The problem: You can’t put latex over oil unless you’ve coated it with special primer first or your new paint job will peel off as soon as it’s dry! Unless they really do their research, this is a mistake any amateur paint crew could make. You certainly won’t be up against problems like these with Green Remodeling.  

What are “Green” Products and How do they Help Me and My Home?

If you asked 10 people what it means for a product to be “green”, you would probably get 10 different answers.  The truth is, there are many different attributes that allow a product to be called “green.”   This can range anywhere from being made of recyclable material to the cleaner or more efficient manner in which they are manufactured.  Basically, “green” products can loosely be defined as products that lower their negative impact on the earth. The most recognized classification for green products is whether they are made from recycled materials or are themselves recyclable.  Manufacturers are finding many inventive ways to use recyclable material to create interesting things.  Take for example glass countertops.  There are companies that take particular bottles for their coloring (Heineken for green, Skyy Vodka for blue, wine bottles for red) and use them to create beautiful unique countertops.  These countertops are quite a fitting choice for a basement bar or wet bar area. In many cases you can also remodel your home using items salvaged from existing or demolished buildings such as bathtubs, sinks, and cabinetry. Doing this lowers the demand for having these items manufactured and in turn lowers the strain on the environment from the factories making these items. Sustainability is a big part of classifying a product as “green”. Sustainability in the remodeling world has multiple definitions.  It can refer to the replenishment of the resource from which the product is made.   This is called “sustainable harvesting”. Many hardwood floor manufacturers have programs to plant a tree for every tree they cut down. Bamboo has become a popular green flooring choice for this reason. Bamboo grows at an incredible rate, reaching maturity in 3-5 years, as opposed to trees which require more than double that time. It is more durable than traditional oak hardwoods and is also a bit more resistant to water. Another popular “green” flooring choice is cork.  It is considered sustainable because one tree can be harvested multiple times. It is a natural insulator, dampens sound, and is hypoallergenic.  Because of its softness, it is great for those who have children or back/knee problems. Sustainability can also mean being extremely durable with low maintenance requirements.  This longevity keeps it from needing to be replaced in the near future.  Examples of this would be HardiePlank Siding and LVT flooring.  HardiePlank siding will not rot or warp like it’s real wood look-alike and is made to last for many years.  LVT flooring is virtually indestructible, can be cleaned with anything, is water resistant, and does not require any maintenance such as refinishing.  Another example would be using LED light bulbs.  They can last for 20+ years before having to be replaced.  They also use very little energy to create the same output as traditional light bulbs which is another aspect of being a green product. Reducing energy consumption is another attribute of a “green” product.  Not only does this lower the impact on the earth, but it also lowers utility bills.  There are many products which are aimed at reducing energy costs such as Eco Wraps (an insulating wrap placed around your house before the finish is applied), Low-E Windows, Energy Star Appliances, etc. A product can also be considered “green” if it does not produce or contain any contaminants.  As of the late 70’s paints with lead have been banned; however, many paints and stains used today still contain harmful substances called VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds). VOCs are toxins that are released into the air as the paint cures. They can cause symptoms ranging from asthma attacks and complications, decreases in enzymes in the blood which help the nervous system function properly, and cancer.  The good news is that paint manufacturers have begun to make products with low or no VOCs. They are water-based, which makes for easy cleanup since it is not considered hazardous waste, has little to no odor when applied, and has no ozone depleting contaminants. As you can see, there are many great products that can be used in your home that can be considered “green”.  Many do not cost you any more than you would pay for a non-green product and can in fact save you money in the long run. Just being aware of the product’s qualities can help you make a more informed “green” decision.