Category Archives: Blog

Fall is here and winter is just around the corner. If you didn’t get around to those home improvement projects you were planning, don’t despair—all is not lost. The professionals at University Painters believe winter is an ideal time to tackle interior painting. The colder months bring snow days and time off from work during the holidays, offering the perfect opportunity to embark on an indoor painting project.

Professional painters are typically less busy during the winter than during the warmer months. As a result, it may be easier for contractors to work the project around your schedule. Painting your home’s interior during the winter could potentially save you money, as costs are often lower than in the summer. This means that you’ll likely reap the benefits of hiring professional painters with less expense than if you hired them for the same project during the summer.

Surprisingly, paint actually dries faster in the wintertime than the rest of the year. While the weather is warmer in the summer, this warmth also comes with a higher average humidity, which slows down the drying process. Although colder, winter’s weather is also much less humid, allowing the paint to dry more quickly. Of course, you’ll still need to ventilate the room by opening a window to take advantage of that crisp air.

Lighting quality may also be more favorable during the winter months. As the sun rises earlier, painters will be able to get an earlier start and finish earlier in the day. Any snow on the ground will reflect the sun, enabling painters to work in an ideal natural light speeding up the process. The better light also helps painters notice and remedy any missed spots or uneven areas.

There are plenty of home improvement projects that should be saved for warmer weather, but indoor painting isn’t one of them. If you’re considering an indoor painting project this winter, please contact University Painters at (800) 390-4848 or visit our website at https://universitypainters.com.

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Achieving painting perfection is often more about the preparation than the actual brush and roller work. When painting a room, the quality of the prep work can either make or break an entire paint job. Following these tips from University Painters will help ensure the best possible results on your painting project.

Before you begin, remove everything from the room. This includes anything on the floor or anything that’s attached to the wall, like outlet covers, switch plates, towel bars, and toilet paper holders. You can leave flush-mount sconces or light fixtures, but everything else needs to go.

Once the room has been stripped bare, cover up any exposed flooring with tarps, sheets, towels, newspaper, or plastic sheeting. Painters’ drop cloths are ideal, but they’re pretty pricey, and these alternatives work just as well. Put a folded towel in the doorway to wipe your feet so you don’t spread any drips— and there will be drips, no matter how careful you are.

Next, assess the condition of the walls. Are there any uneven spots or dimpling? Are there any nails protruding from the drywall? Are there holes from long-ago anchors? Hills and bumps need to be sanded down, and holes must be filled with spackle or joint compound. Once the spackle is dry, sand it until it is smooth. Lastly, remove any remaining dust with a damp sponge and a bucket of fresh water.

The final step is to grab a roll of that blue masking tape and start taping! Begin with any light fixtures and then move on to the baseboards and trim around windows and doors. A neat and even tape job will result in crisp, clean lines and a professional-looking finish.

After completing your quality prep work, you’re ready to paint! For more painting tips and ideas, please be sure to visit our website at https:// universitypainters.com. Or call us at 1-800-390-4848.

Many home improvement projects are a big disruption to our daily schedules, and painting is no exception. At University Painters, we do our best to keep the disruption to a minimum. Generally, there is no need for you to remain in your home while the interior is being painted, unless of course that’s your preference.

While we leave the ultimate decision up to you, many of our clients prefer to vacate their homes during the project. Painting the entire interior is likely to take several days. Before we begin, we’ll prep all our work areas in order to protect your furniture and possessions from any accidental paint drips or splatters. This allows us to work more quickly and efficiently than if we focused on individual rooms. We’ll carefully cover all the beds, furniture, and appliances for the entirety of the project, so it’s up to you if you’d like to live in the home during this process. If you wish to stay or have no other alternative, we can accommodate you by either completing one bedroom first or saving it for last so you’ll be able to sleep at home.

University Painters uses high quality paints and the odor is generally not a problem. If we’re only painting walls and ceilings, for example, the odor may not be an issue for you. However, if you are sensitive to smells you may want to find alternative accommodations while the work is being done.

The painting of cabinets often has a more potent odor, as the prep process for these surfaces may require additional chemical agents. Since every client has a different tolerance level, we recommend leaving the home if possible.

Of course, for smaller projects, such as painting only a few rooms, it makes perfect sense to stay if that’s your preference. We pride ourselves on accommodating whichever choice you feel most comfortable with.

Should you decide to leave your home, you can feel confident that we hire only the most trustworthy crews, and have no reservations about leaving them unattended. For more information on our painting services, please visit our website at https://universitypainters.com.

We’ve all heard about the dangers of lead paint, but is it really something we need to worry about? For most of us, the short answer is probably not. However, lead paint can pose a significant health risk, so it’s important to understand when it can potentially cause a problem.

Lead paint was used in homes built before 1978, when the federal government banned its use. Some states outlawed it even earlier, but all homes constructed prior to 1978 could potentially contain lead paint. It’s generally not a problem unless older layers of paint are chipping, flaking, or sanded into dust. It can be exposed through repairs, remodeling, or extensive wear and tear.

Exposure to lead paint can cause serious health issues, especially in young children and pregnant women. High levels of lead can cause lead poisoning or brain or nervous system damage. In children, even low levels may cause behavioral problems or learning disabilities.

Because of their tendency to chew everything in sight, toddlers are most likely to ingest lead paint, especially if it is flaking or peeling off the walls in an older home. Children’s bodies absorb lead much more easily than adults; and even low levels of lead can harm a pregnant woman’s developing baby.

If you suspect lead paint in your home, you can send a paint sample to a certified laboratory, or use a home lead test kit. They are readily available at home improvement stores.

When lead paint is present in a home, leaving it undisturbed is sometimes better than removing it, as long as the paint is not chipping or disintegrating. The removal process is labor intensive and should ideally be done by a professional. If the surface is in good condition, you can minimize the chance of lead exposure by covering it with wallpaper, paneling, or a fresh coat of new paint.

If you are concerned about lead paint, please contact the paint professionals at University Painters. Visit our website at https://universitypainters.com.

Your home’s curb appeal is the first thing visitors notice—and you want to make sure that initial impression is a positive one. As we live in our home day in and day out, it’s easy not to notice the little imperfections that can detract from its overall appearance. Fortunately, you can easily enhance your home’s curb appeal with a simple can of paint.

Picket fences are charming, and a well-maintained and crisply painted one is always attractive. However, if the paint on your picket fence is chipping or flaking, it will look a lot less appealing. Giving it a fresh coat of paint will bring new life to your fence.

Take a good, unbiased look at your front door. If it’s old and worn, consider replacing it. If that’s not in your budget, paint it! Look for a color that complements your home’s main hue and give that tired door an eye-catching makeover.

You might think of it as a mere mailbox, but if it’s ugly, it could very well be a big eyesore perched right in your front yard. A neatly painted mailbox, on the other hand, tells visitors that you take care of your home.

Although it’s often overlooked, your home’s front porch may benefit from some fresh paint as well. A new coat of paint on a concrete or wood porch can transform it into an inviting spot for relaxing and watching the world go by.

These may seem like little details, but they can mean the difference between having a home that looks neglected and one that appears well cared for. Call University Painters at (800) 390-4848 so we can spruce up your home’s exterior and make your home as inviting as possible. For more painting ideas, please visit our website at https://universitypainters.com.

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