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Repaint,University Painters
Regular Post
Written by Colleen Kalil

Reasons Your Paint May be Cracking

Heat and humidity can take a serious toll on your home’s interior and exterior paint. One very common issue is evidence of your interior paint job showing signs of cracking. Prior to fixing the problem you must first determine why the paint is cracking. Otherwise you may find yourself repainting much sooner than you expect!

• One of the most common causes of paint cracking is not putting in the time and effort in preparing the surfaces to be painted. Paint adheres better when the surface is clean with no evidence of peeling or damage. It is a good idea to wash down the walls, sand any rough spots and apply primer before applying the color.
• DIYers like to think that painting the home’s interior or exterior doesn’t require any expertise. We applaud those who want to take on the job of painting your own home. To ensure you don’t end up with cracks be careful not to apply too little or too much paint. Our advice is to apply the paint in thin, even layers. Painting is not a job that should be rushed. Take your time – it will save you time in the end!
• You know the old adage – you get what you pay for? Well, that is especially true of paint. If you try to cut corners by purchasing cheap paint, it may cost you more in the end. There is ample evidence that the more expensive paint brands hold up better and have a longer lifespan.
• Make sure the home is at the proper temperature to ensure the paint will adhere properly. If the interior of your home is humid it will make the walls wet and the paint will not stick. If the home is too cold it will also have a negative effect on the paint’s adherence.
• Do not add a second coat until the first is completely dry. This will cause the paint to crack. You may need to wait a day or two between painting. Investing the time now will save you time and money later.

Better yet – let the experts at University Painters, Inc. complete that indoor paint job for you!

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Painting,University Painters
Regular Post
Written by Colleen Kalil

A Simple Kitchen Do-Over

We’re all spending more time indoors these days. And just like ‘familiarity breeds contempt’ – the same holds true about your home. Do you find yourself walking out to your kitchen to prepare breakfast, lunch or dinner and averting your eyes from your surroundings? That is likely because you are tired of the worn-out, faded look that stares back at you. Short of an entire kitchen make-over what can you do? We have a suggestion to brighten your kitchen and your mood!

Redo your kitchen cabinets! Now, at first this may seem like too-easy of a fix that will not bring the results you are looking for. But, after years in the business, we know just what freshly painted kitchen cabinets can do for a kitchen. Consider that in many kitchens the cabinets take up the greatest amount of space. They are above and below the counter space and usually circle the entire room. If you have an island, more cabinets might be found there. In other words, your cabinets may take up 50% or more of the visual space you are looking at.

Perhaps you didn’t realize the impact of cabinets before now. Maybe, when you purchased the home you liked the color of your cabinets. But over time everything presents better with a new look and that is as true of kitchen cabinets as a new hair style!

So here is some advice that may help you in your decision to redo your cabinets.

• First, get out there and see what the latest styles and colors in kitchen cabinets are being marketed today. That may require you to visit some home stores where you can browse or talk to an expert on cabinets.
• Second, you may want to take the time to visit home openings of developments that are being built. They often offer the most up-to-date looks on kitchen cabinetry.
• Third, use the internet! There are dozens of sites devoted to updating a kitchen appearance by painting your cabinets.
• Fourth, bring in a professional paint company or two to get their perspectives.

Once you know what look you are going for, make that change! For more information on kitchen cabinet refacing, contact the professionals at University Painters, Inc.

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Repaint, University Painters
Regular Post
Written by Colleen Kalil

Suggestions for Sprucing Up Your Home for the Holidays

With Thanksgiving right around the corner and no time or money available to create that perfect holiday exterior we have some suggestions that will give your home’s exterior a pleasant, fresh holiday look.

  • Clean your windows. You can hire out the project if you don’t have the time or don’t want to put in the effort. Nothing says dingy like a home full of dirty windows. Windows tend to hold all of the indoor and outdoor invisible pollutants that waft through the air. Over time they can make your windows look dull. This is a simple trick that will help make your home shine!
  • Do a total once-over of your home’s grounds. If you live in an area that receives lots of rain and snow wait for a dry day and roll up your sleeves. Trim the hedges, do a final raking, and you might even consider power-washing the exterior to give it a fresh clean look. Then add some decorations and ‘voila’ you have a home that exudes beauty! Neat, tidy exteriors are inviting. If you don’t want to power wash the entire exterior of your home you may decide to target certain areas that get a lot of traffic, such as the front door and porch or patio.
  • While you’re outside you might as well take the time to clean out the garage. Give it a good going over because it may be several months before you will be able to do this again. Consider the task as working from the ‘outside in’. You start with the exterior of your home and finish your fall cleaning and organizing and then you can move indoors for more of the same. If you have a shed or other outbuilding it deserves your attention as well. Organizing and maintaining your property is cheaper than letting things fall into disrepair and having to pay to repair and rebuild.

Well, there you go. A day’s worth of elbow grease and you have revived a dwindling exterior. Now all you need to do is add some decorations and its holiday time!

Remember, when its time to paint your home or business contact the professionals at University Painters, Inc.

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Painters,University Painters
Regular Post
Written by Colleen Kalil

A Vision for Your Conference Room

If you are a small business owner, you are aware of the importance of presentation to attracting customers. You keep your building’s exterior and grounds pristine because this invites people to consider your product or services. It’s like a paperless commercial calling card. There’s nothing that brings more pride and satisfaction than pulling up to your business each day and seeing what you have built!

We would like to suggest you pay the same attention to your building’s interior as well. Often, there are certain rooms in your business that tend to get less attention than others which leads to a ‘worn out’ look. This may be your employee lounge, production area or storage area. Make it a habit to walk your building’s interior on a regular basis to identify rooms that may have fallen into disrepair.

If your company conducts business with customers on site, you likely use a conference room. This is definitely one place that you want to be your show piece! How often have you used yours in the last month? Many organizations use their conference rooms to give talks or lectures, hold staff meetings and meet with potential and current clients. The conference room is an extension of your business’s professional presentation and you want it to reflect the company’s message. It is one of the main areas that should always be ‘staged’ – it is your business interior’s first impression in many instances.

Take the time to look your conference room over with a critical eye today. Does it look dingy? Something as simple as a fresh paint job can give off a silent message to employees and customers. It says you value them as workers and potential clients. However, do your homework and create a total plan.

That should include consideration of what technology might be an important asset to your conference room. Today’s conference rooms often house the most advanced and innovative technology as well as comfortable and well-appointed furnishings. They are understated, comfortable, technologically enhanced and a great place to get business done.

Create a vision for your conference room. Then contact the professional painters at University Painters, Inc. We can make your ideas a reality and turn your conference room into the most useful place on your commercial site.

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Professional Painter,University Painters
Regular Post
Written by Colleen Kalil

To Stain or Not to Stain – That is the Question!

There are many differences between staining an item or painting it. First, the chemical makeup of paint and wood stains is distinctly different as are the circumstances of their use. The choice of either for interior and exterior use will depend on the type of wood it is intended to cover. Rough surfaces will look better with stain while smooth surfaces will look better with paint.

There are similarities in paint and wood stains. For instance, both can be either oil or water-based. Stains also come in gel form as well. Oil based stains are less environmentally friendly but if you are staining indoors it is important to ensure you have ample ventilation (which, of course, is important when painting indoors also).

Relatively new to the marketplace are gel stains. This type of stain is the consistency of a thick paste, so it does not penetrate into the wood like thinner stains or paint. The advantage of this stain type is that the natural wood grain tends to shine through more clearly and without blotches – which often occurs with oil and water-based stains. Finally, stains enhance a wood-look where paints can change the mood and color completely.

Paint is mostly oil-based or latex. Oil-based paints are most often used for interior paintings while latex is the preferred type of paint for a home’s exterior. The reason for this is that latex paint resists fading and is also weather-resistant in all types of climates.

There are other differences in paint and stain as well. Stain soaks into the wood while paint acts as a film that lays atop it. Too, paint is much more expensive than a stain. Surfaces that are going to be painted generally need to be primed in advance which is extra time and effort. Staining a surface requires little to no preparation. Stains also act to enhance the substrate (surface) and accent the fact that it is a wood surface. Paint provides an altogether different outcome.

Finally, stains are easier to maintain. That does not mean they last any longer because there is no evidence of that. Stained exteriors, fences, furniture or other materials will require regular maintenance the same as if an item has been painted. Latex is generally preferred for exterior painting because it weathers better than oil-based paint and is more resistant to fading and chalking.  Latex paint is preferred for all climates, but particularly for harsh climates found in all parts of the country. 

Keep these things in mind when you begin to plan upgrades to the interior or exterior of your home. Don’t hesitate to contact the experts at University Painters, Inc. for all your painting needs!

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Interior Painting,University Painters
Regular Post
Written by Colleen Kalil

Sprucing Up Your Home With Accent Walls

During the dark and dreary days of winter, sometimes you crave just a little, well . . . color! Adding bright splashes of color to your home’s interior is a great way to cheer up your home and yourself, especially when it’s cold and drab outside. Whether you want to add a lot of color or just a few inspired touches to your home, University Painters can help. If you’re not ready to paint your entire interior, choosing a few walls to accent with complementary hues might be the perfect solution.

Unlike other decorative strategies like wallpaper, paint is much easier to change if you decide to modify your decorating scheme in the future. There’s also a virtually endless range of hues to choose from, whether you prefer adding vivid tones to contrast sharply with your current palette, or would rather have softer, muted colors that blend in with the rest of your decor.

Accent walls are appropriate for every room in the house. In the living room, kitchen, or dining area, one bright wall can add a pop of color that transforms the look of the entire space. In a bedroom, you might want to do two opposing walls in a complementary shade, and tie it all together with a coordinating fabric bedspread or duvet. Or, paint the wall at the head of the bed to create a natural focal point. For a small powder bathroom, you can go bold and paint the entire room in a color you wouldn’t dare use in the rest of your home. It will contrast with the gleaming white porcelain and provide guests with an unexpected pop of color.

Some large rooms can seem cavernous and unwelcoming, and an accent wall is an ideal way to break up the space. It draws the eye to a single area in the room so it becomes less of an overwhelmingly huge space. Whatever your vision or ideas for an accent wall, University Painters can help you achieve them. Please visit our website at www.universitypainters.com.

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Painting,University Painters
Regular Post
Written by Colleen Kalil

How We Choose Our Painters

At University Painters, we pride ourselves on hiring only highly skilled and qualified professional painters to work on your project. While paint may not seem like something that needs too much thought, a great (or terrible) paint job can either make or break the overall look of a home, building, or office space. Hiring an experienced contractor is vital to achieving a professional result.

As our client, you may wonder how we choose our painters, and what kind of training they must undergo before we assign them to a job site. When evaluating potential painters to hire, we thoroughly research their prior experience and talk extensively with their references. Getting the details right is important to our business, so we make it a point to bring only the most detail-oriented workers onto our team.

Painters must be familiar will all the required tools, including a range of brushes, rollers, scrapers, and sanders. They must also be skilled in the use of various texturing tools and know which ones to use to achieve the desired effects. Different tools are required depending on whether the work is done on the interior or exterior of a building while other tools are used for special techniques, styles, or textures.

Knowing which kind of paint to use on a particular project is important for a successful outcome. Paints vary not only by their color, but also by their thickness, texture, sheen, drying time, and a host of other considerations. Painters who choose the wrong products for the job could end up with peeling, cracking paint, or simply a paint job that just doesn’t look as good as it should have.

While it’s not the first thing that comes to mind, a painter needs a great deal of manual dexterity in order to achieve a smooth, crisp finish. They must also have the strength and physical ability to move equipment efficiently and safely, as well as a good sense of balance to avoid falling off ladders and roofs.

Our teams at University Painters possess all these skills and abilities, and put them to work for you. For more information on our complete range of services, please visit our website at https://universitypainters.com.

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exterior painting,University Painters
Regular Post
Written by Colleen Kalil

Getting More ‘Bang’ for Your Painting ‘Buck’

It’s the time of year when people want to spruce up their home before family and guests knock on the door. Perhaps you don’t have the time or money to redo the entire outdoor façade or indoor rooms. So, we would like to suggest that you consider making some choices that will target certain areas of your home that when highlighted, give it an overall updated and fresh look. What follows are several ideas for a quick paint splash that will have you feeling smart about your painting decisions.

• Walk the perimeter of your home and take a few pictures of certain areas you believe would benefit from a slight upgrade. Then wait a day before looking at the photos so you can view them with a ‘fresh eye’. You might even ask for input from friends and family. It’s hard to be critical of yourself and your belongings and that includes your property!

You may find that perhaps the front facing outdoor wall has a dingy, worn look. It might do with just a little power washing (on a good day when the sun is out to dry it off). Or upon closer inspection it seems that your shutters, windows or front door could use some refurbishing. Why, sometimes even repainting the trim will result in a fresh glowing façade!

• Don’t forget the indoors, too! Again, do a complete walk-through of your home from top to bottom and be critical of areas where family and friends may gather during the holiday dinner or party. Try to look at each room through the eyes of your soon-to-be-visitors. What do you see? Are there scuff marks or paint chips? Perhaps a particular room has a lackluster presentation. Suggestions for upgrades may include everything from painting an accent wall to redoing the trim around doors and windows.

Who doesn’t love the holiday and entertaining? We all want to put our ‘best foot forward’ but that doesn’t mean you have to invest a small fortune to give your home a fresh look indoors and out. From our perspective a little paint can go a long way in making your house look fresh indoors and out!
If you are in need of painting expertise, contact University Painters! Your home is our business!

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Repaint
Regular Post
Written by Colleen Kalil

Environmentally Sensitive Painting and Staining

Today’s consumers are more aware than ever of the impact their decisions have on the environment. For decades, Americans have been painting the interiors and exteriors of their homes with ‘abandon’ and frankly little thought about how that excess paint will affect everything from landfills to the water table. In this blog we will offer some brief insight into the subject and hopefully leave the discerning homeowner better prepared to make ecologically sound decisions!

It should come as no surprise that the ingredients in most interior and exterior paints are toxic. Paints and stains may contain lead, petroleum and a variety of other unhealthy materials that can have long-lasting and unexpected outcomes. Science has labeled these paint ingredients as VOCs or volatile organic compounds. This means the chemicals evaporate fairly quickly at room temperature. While this is advantageous in the short term, anyone who has been around a freshly painted indoor or outdoor area can attest to the fact that the ‘fresh paint’ smell lasts for a few weeks. It can have negative short and long-term health impacts. Water-based paints will have a significantly less negative impact, but they are not entirely environmentally safe.

All types of paint are classified as ‘chemical waste’ and must be disposed of accordingly. It is important to take the time to understand the various types of paint and their chemical makeup in advance of its purchase. The best advice is to buy paints with the lowest VOC possible – there are even paint companies that claim to make 100% eco-friendly indoor and outdoor paints.

If you want to be environmentally aware then another suggestion is to buy only the amount of paint you need. Often people overbuy and then are left with the decision of what to do with the excess paint. Unfortunately, the decisions they make are generally not supportive of the environment.

Other ways to minimize your impact on the environment when painting or staining your home is to properly store the paint then reuse or recycle it in the future. By placing plastic wrap securely over the top of the paint can before tightly securing the lid, you are creating a seal that will keep the paint fresh and usable.

Finally, if you are unsure of what to do with excess paint or stain, contact your industrial waste specialists in the area. They will be happy to help.

Want a fresh and environmentally sound look to your home? Contact University Painters, Inc.

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Paint Colors,University Painters
Regular Post
Written by Colleen Kalil

Which Color Palette is Right for Your Bedroom?

When it comes to giving your home’s interior a new paint job, you’ll no doubt want to consider what color is right for each room. Important things to consider are what each room’s purpose is, what decor scheme you’re going for, and the desired emotional effect. We spend a lot of time in our bedrooms, so what wall color you choose is important. Here are some tips to help you make the right choice.

A bedroom is a place for rest and relaxation, so you might consider a soothing color palette. Soft shades such as pale blue, soft gray, and lavender create a peaceful mood. Blue is a popular choice for bedrooms, and for good reason. Deeper shades provide a sophisticated backdrop for traditional furnishings, and lighter shades transform your bedroom into a tranquil oasis.

If you’re a fan of bold colors, you can still incorporate these into your bedroom decor, but you must use caution. Vivid hues of red and yellow can be very emotionally stimulating. Try a muted tint, or add a splash of color on one wall. Intense colors can be a great accent behind your headboard, or on a wall with large windows.

Dark colors, even black, can work in a bedroom. It’s all in the accessories. For example, pair deeper shades with white furnishings and dashes of color here and there. Add a yellow bedspread, or turquoise pillows. Try incorporating white curtains and colorful wall art. Get creative with brighter accents to create balance.

Of course, neutrals are always a safe choice. Not only do shades of beige and ivory create a calm backdrop for the room, but they also allow for a lot of versatility. You can change out your bedroom’s accessories according to your mood, or even the season. Now that fall is here, a warm tan or amber brown will look fantastic with your autumn decor.

The most important part of your decision is choosing a professional painting service. At University Painters, we’re dedicated to getting the job done right. Let us help you make your house a home. Contact us at universitypainters.com, or at 1-800-390-4848.

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