Category Archives: Design

As any realtor will tell you, enhancing your home’s curb appeal is the number one way to both increase its value and make it more inviting to visitors. Planting flowers and keeping the lawn well-manicured is a great start, but painting the exterior of your home will make the biggest impact on its overall appearance.

When deciding on a color palette, there are many factors you’ll want to take into consideration. For example, do you live within an HOA or historical district that regulates which colors are acceptable? If so, you’ll be more limited in your options. You don’t want to choose colors that get all the neighbors talking—and not in a good way.

If your property is more secluded, you’ll have the freedom to express your own style without others second-guessing your choices. Homeowners who live in a wooded neighborhood or a town with many cloudy days might want to go bold with a barn red or sunny canary yellow to add a little pizzazz to their world.

The paint you select should complement your home’s architectural style. A stucco Southwestern pueblo home that looks great in a light adobe tan probably won’t be too attractive coated in a deep azure blue. That same blue, however, could look absolutely stunning on a little cottage in the Florida Keys. Context is everything.

Once you’ve settled on the primary exterior paint color, you’ll need to decide on hues for the trim, shutters, and window frames. A tastefully contrasting front door and garage door will elevate your home’s entire design. The challenge is to make your home stand out while at the same time exist harmoniously with the surrounding landscape and the other homes in the neighborhood.

The team at University Painters is happy to offer paint color suggestions that will work well for your home. Please visit our website at https://universitypainters.com/.

If you’re looking to personalize your home, give it an updated look, or just brighten things up a bit, a fresh paint color is the best place to start. When it comes to deciding whether to do the job yourself or hire professionals, how do you make the choice that is right for you and your home? Here are some important things to consider.

Let’s face it – painting your home requires a lot of time, effort, and equipment. With our busy schedules and day-to-day lives, any way to make things easier is a huge benefit. Perhaps one of the greatest benefits in hiring a professional to do the painting is that you don’t have to do any of the hard work. Just leave it to the professionals!

A major downside of DIY painting is the hassle of handling the materials involved, as well as uncertainty about the finished product. When you trust professional painters with your home’s transformation, you can rest assured that the job is going to be done correctly and efficiently, with an end result that will leave your home looking polished and beautiful.

Of course, the most important part of the process is that it meets your individual needs and preferences. You will still be making the important decisions to suit your personal taste and overall goals for your home, such as the color and finish of your paint, only without the added stress of doing the physical work yourself.

Thankfully, if you are looking for experienced painters who you can trust, you have come to the right place. University Painters, Inc. offers services to fill all of your painting needs, including both interior and exterior painting, wallpaper removal, drywall repair, and so much more. With skilled painters and quality products, you can count on an end result that you will be delighted with. Visit us at www.universitypainters.com.

If you are a business owner that operates from a brick and mortar site, you should be asking yourself if you are getting enough ‘bang for your buck’? In other words, have you given any thought to allowing your building to be an advertisement, like a billboard that catches the eye of potential customers and draws them in? In today’s highly competitive market this may be an excellent option for getting the word out about your company without having to enhance your marketing budget. Here’s how.

• Think about the colors of the building’s exterior. If you have a business card, website or other item you use to promote your brand, hold it up against the building and consider how to apply it through the proper paint and accessories, like lighting or signage.
• Investigate what researchers say a color invokes in potential customers. Blue building exteriors tend to make customers feel a sense of calm or peace. Is that what you want your business to say? If you sell mattresses and bedding, it’s perfect but if you sell power tools you might want to go in another direction. For the record – yellow says energy or vibrancy, red says drama, black says elegance or maybe secrecy, and green says health. Of course, there are variations to this and you may want to mix and match colors on a trial basis before settling on a final choice.
• Make sure your logo can be neatly and pleasantly worked into the exterior in a way that complements (and compliments) your brand. Look at this experience as an opportunity to bring your business card to life but be sure to try it on a small scale before transferring it to the building itself.
• Investigate the building codes and requirements before investing in creating your exterior work of art. Some areas do not allow for changes to a business exterior, others will invite it under certain circumstances and in other cases you have carte blanche to do what you please!
• Find a commercial paint company that has experience in creating exterior branding on commercial buildings. This takes part artist, part professional. Do your homework and interview several companies before making that final decision. Ask to see their work and be sure you have a rapport.

In the market to change your commercial exterior? Contact the professionals at University Painters, Inc.

If you are in the market for a residential or commercial paint company, you will probably want to interview a few before making the final decision. The customer is usually very attentive to price and what the company provides as far as surface preparation and final presentation but they often overlook who is responsible for the final clean up and what that actually entails. That is often one of the most common complaints of customers who bemoan the fact by saying, “Hire a commercial paint company? Why should I when I have to clean up after them once the painting is done!” Let’s consider clean up after a paint job in this blog.

If you are getting quotes for a residential or commercial paint job you should always include a request for how the property will be left at the end. In other words – what do the painters consider to be their responsibility when it comes to leaving the property in pristine condition and where do they draw the line? Maybe they clean up after the painting is done but only do so for a price. And what is clean up anyway?

• Start with the materials required to complete the job. Who purchased the drop cloths, brushes, paint and ladders or other materials? If you supplied the materials, ask in advance if it is their practice to close them, fold them or otherwise ready them for neat storage as part of the finishing process. Frankly, a painter who will leave materials lying around after a job requiring the customer to do a final clean sweep is probably not going to get a referral. Smart paint companies include this in their estimates or as part of their service.

• The best paint companies will be attentive to their tools all through the painting process. In other words, they clean their brushes and rollers on a daily basis as part of their end-of-the-day requirements. Paint cans do not have drips all around them because they have been kept up throughout the job. Drop cloths are always neatly folded and evidence that a painter is on site is generally not visible at day’s end.

If you are in the market for a residential or commercial paint company that includes clean up as part of their normal services, contact the professionals at University Painters, Inc.

If you are in the painting business, you must become familiar with a variety of structural materials. It’s surprising the variety of items that are not made of wood but still require the occasional paint job to look fresh and new.
One perfect example is metal buildings. Many buildings are constructed of steel and metal buildings are often made of steel but there is a difference. Steel is an alloy and metal is a chemical element. While this may seem technical – it is important to know if you are going to be asked to paint something.

Common types of metal buildings are sheds or stand-alone structures. There are also metal homes as well. There are several reasons you want to paint a metal structure regularly. First, it will improve the aesthetics. More importantly, keeping a metal structure painted will better ensure its longevity and durability. Metal is subject to rusting. This is true whether it’s painted regularly or not. Rain and other environmental contaminants are the ‘enemy’ of metal buildings!

Just as you would inspect your home’s exterior for signs of wear and tear, the same should be done with all structures on your residential or commercial properties. As you walk around the structure look for evidence of paint that is peeling, flaking or otherwise lifting off the metal building. Too, examine the exterior for signs of rust and corrosion. Finally, determine if the exterior looks worn or chalky. Any of these are obvious indications the metal structure should be painted.

The process for painting a metal structure starts with removing the rust and filling any holes. There are multiple approaches to removing the rust. You may decide to purchase a chemical remover. But citric acid and abrasive tools are another way to remove rust from metal.

Next, prepare the surface by washing it thoroughly with soap and water. If you intend to use a power washer do so with caution. The surface of a metal building does not require the same amount of water pressure as a regular building. Be sure to rinse all of the soap off the metal, then let it air dry. Next apply the paint.

Or, you could contact the experts at University Painters, Inc. We provide exceptional service and guarantee your satisfaction.

I daresay that everyone thinks they can paint their own home. It seems like an easy enough thing to do. What do you need but a couple cans of paint, a few brushes, a sunny afternoon with music playing in the background with a cold one in one hand and a roller in the other?

This is the type of thinking that keeps house painting companies busy. House painting is a profession and the tools you need and approach you take is what separates the professionals from the amateurs. Let’s look at the items you need that will set you apart and allow you to call yourself a professional.

First, a professional painter has the accounting and receipt tools that prepare them to make quotes on a project. They have a set rate per foot and charges for other itemized needs such as power washing or repairing cracks. The professional painter is able to put together a quote that covers all parts of the job from beginning to end that can generate a contract that is fair to both parties.

Second, a professional painter has a way to advertise their business while they are on the job. That might come in the form of signs that say something like ‘this house is being painted by…” or labeling on the service vehicle that includes the name of the business and phone number. The true professional always has business cards at the ready to hand to a potential customer or inquisitive neighbor who may have questions.

Third, a professional painter has a variety of ladders in different sizes, painting overalls with the company name, and tarps, brushes, rollers, tape, extension poles, paint sprayers, paint edgers, exterior color swatches and exterior prep tips. A power washer is essential, if that is to be a contracted part of the job, and will add to the breadth of services you can provide.

Finally, a professional painter has a professional attitude. You should be attentive, reflective and capable of answering questions about a customer’s needs.

Now, if you have questions about exterior home painting, contact the experts at University Painters, Inc.