Category Archives: Maintenance

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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No matter what a structure is comprised of – brick, wood, aluminum or other material – there is no question that exposure to the elements can lead to the deterioration of the building. Perhaps one of the most damaging natural elements is water. Moisture can result in a variety of issues to the integrity of the building. It also can lead to other problems with air quality, roof sturdiness and even the heartiness of interior and exterior finishes.

Many businesses have taken to waterproofing their commercial exteriors to prevent the variety of types of damage that rain, sleet and other watery weather can cause. While it is always a good idea to consider waterproofing the building at the beginning of the construction process, it is a task that can be examined at any time.

Water can be devastating to a structure over time. What appears to be an inconsequential small drip can lead to damage to the building’s foundation, roof and all parts of the building in between. Water that sits at the foundation of a building can wear down even the sturdiest of materials and eventually lead to cracks and leaks as the water finds its way into your building. Cracks can also appear in windows and walls, roofs and decks that surround a building. Once this type of damage occurs it is often costly to repair.

When water finds its way into the roof, the structural damage it can cause may be very extensive. It can affect everything from the HVAC to ceiling tiles, furniture and floors. It also affects your air quality in the building. Often a small leak in the roof may go unnoticed and lead to mold and bug infestations.

Waterproofing a building can be done anytime from initial construction to renovations and is an excellent investment because it protects your investment! Waterproofing will ensure the structural integrity of your commercial (or residential) exterior. It will also ensure better air quality for businesses that do not have exposure to natural air through open windows and doors. Waterproofing also makes your building more energy efficient, preserves the value of the property and extends the lifetime of your building.

The experts at University Painters, Inc. are here to support you in the maintenance and presentation of your residential or commercial property.

Summer and fall are two of the most popular times to repaint a home’s exterior. The weather tends to move the job along – sunshine, clear skies and fresh air. But that doesn’t mean that you or the company you hire to paint the outside of your house may not make mistakes. Novice painters can find they overlook important steps that will cause the paint job to fade and crack much sooner than it should. The following suggestions should help you keep your home’s exterior looking fresh and new much longer.

• Don’t forget to prime the wood! There are several reasons for priming the wood before adding paint. First, if the wood is new and has never been painted, then adding a primer is an essential first step. Also if the wood has weathered or been stripped in advance of this new paint job – prime it! Otherwise you may add several coats and find that it is soaking into the wood the same way that water soaks into a sponge.
• Don’t paint in the middle of the day! Or when it is going to rain! Or it has just rained! Listen to the weather report for what is expected over the few days that the painting is expected to occur. Try to squeeze in your painting during a time where the skies are clear, and it is neither too hot or too cold (it could cause dew to collect on the home’s exterior). Also, it is better to paint in the early hours of the day. Excessive heat can compromise the paint’s long-term viability.
• Don’t scrimp on the paint. Sure, painting your home’s exterior can be expensive and most people are looking for opportunities to cut costs. But, one place that should not be open to a budget cut is the purchase of the paint. If the saying ‘you get what you pay for’ is ever more relevant – it’s when a homeowner invests in paint. If you are looking to cut the cost of paint, ask the company if they have online discounts or other cost savings – but buy the paint that will weather the best.

Are you in the market to have your home’s exterior painted? Contact the experts at University Painters, Inc. We don’t make mistakes!

Research shows that three-fourths of businesses in this country are small proprietorships or partnership-owned. These are companies that have become successful through the sweat, hard-work and dedication of the owners who often started out with only an idea. Indeed, small and medium-sized businesses have a lot to be proud of and part of this pride should show through in their building’s presentation. You want the outside of your company to be inviting and offer a professional appearance.

As a result, you may include building and grounds maintenance and upkeep as part of your annual budget. This may encompass regular painting to ensure the business always gives a fresh and inviting presentation. If so, there are certain steps that should be taken to keep that exterior pristine. While you may have heard some of this advice before it is valuable to revisit certain issues to ensure you are addressing them in a timely manner.

One way to avoid having to redo the paint job on the exterior of your building is to address maintenance on a regular basis. Begin by keeping the building’s exterior clean. Have your business pressure washed on a regular basis. This will remove grime, dirt and the dozens of other types of pollutants from the surface that tend to cause paint to crack and fade over time.

Regularly walk the grounds of your building all the way around. Look closely for maintenance issues that can cause problems with your paint job. For example, there may be small areas in which the paint is stripping or fading. Sooner rather than later is the best time to address these issues. Call in a professional painter to refresh these small places.
Keep the surfaces caulked and sealed. If you allow caulk and sealant to crack, it opens the door for a variety of problems with the paint job. First, it looks unsightly to see cracked caulking and sealant. Second, unaddressed issues can allow water to leak in and air conditioning or heat to leak out of the building and increase the cost of your utilities and maintenance down the road.

Your business’s exterior look is a reflection on you! Keep it maintained and you could be saving yourself hundreds if not thousands of dollars in the end. Contact the experts in building exterior maintenance at University Painters, Inc. It is our pleasure to partner with companies in their quest to look good.

If you have just invested in an exterior residential painting job, you want to enjoy it for as long as possible before it needs repair. But that can be tricky because your home’s exterior is subject to the natural elements as well as other pesky problems that can quickly cause the pristine look to disappear. Here are some great ideas for keeping that paint job looking new for as long as possible!

• Keep the home’s exterior ‘clean’. That means washing it down regularly. Some options for washing can cause the paint job to deteriorate more quickly. For example, although power washing is effective it is also harsher and may harm the fresh paint. Remember, that jet is designed to be powerful and is strong enough to even damage bricks. Choose a garden hose for cleaning and avoid harsh chemicals. Plain old soap and water should do the trick.
• If you have sprinklers in your lawn be sure their nozzles are turned away from the home’s exterior. The constant assault of sprinkler water can leave water patterns on your home and clogged sprinkler heads can have the same concentrated effect as a power washer. In fact, keep your sprinklers and their heads in good working condition for the sake of your plants, yard and home.
• Set some ground rules for children. For instance, they should not bounce balls or other items on the sides of the house. Set up a play area far enough away from the home to prevent marks from play items that could inadvertently hit the house. And, of course, no coloring or marking on the walls either.
• Although everyone loves the look of lush greenery and flowers adorning their homes, they can also damage the paint. The best advice is to keep an eye on your trees, bushes and flowers and cut them back if they begin to touch the home’s exterior. Many plants and bushes can leave marks on a paint job that are more difficult to remove than other dirt. As much as you may enjoy the look of ivy and vines crawling up the side of a home, be prepared to redo the entire exterior of the wall where the vines grew and perhaps the entire house to ensure it presents in one color.

Are you in the market for professional residential and commercial exterior painters? Contact University Painters, Inc. for a paint job you can be proud of!

If you have recently painted your home or business exterior or had a professional paint company perform the job, it should not be surprising that the occasional touch up may be required. Unfortunately, exterior surfaces of any structure are under constant assault by the weather and even the best paint jobs will need the occasional touch-up to keep them looking great. Let’s talk about touch-ups in this blog.

First, let’s agree that ‘touch up’ means to perform a quick restorative job or improvement to the appearance of something. In this case we are talking specifically about the outside of a structure. The first thing to determine is when the original paint job was completed. If your home or business was painted several years ago, then a touch up might be obvious because the color of the exterior may have faded from the weather. As a result even the tiniest addition of new paint can be obvious, creating a sheen that reflects the light differently than the paint around it.

One way to minimize this is to do a thorough annual inspection of your home or business exterior in search of areas that show signs of wear that would benefit from a touch up. Of course, this is best done in the spring or early summer in most climates but fall and winter are optimum for homes in the extreme southern climates.

Take into consideration whether the paint job or home itself is still under warranty and determine how this information can be useful in the touching up process. If the paint itself has a warranty you may contact the company for proper remuneration and satisfaction. If the company that did the painting offers a warranty, then they would be the next choice for contacting and addressing your concerns.

If you decide to undertake the touch up process yourself keep a few things in mind. First, lightly scrape any areas that you intend to touch up and make sure the surfaces are free from any debris. You may want to wash down the areas you are repairing and let them dry. Also do not overcoat the areas with the fresh paint – this will make the touch up more obvious. Finally, make sure your colors match as closely as possible.

Looking for a paint company to touch up the exterior or interior of your home or business? The professionals at University Painters, Inc. are at your service!

Summer is one of the best times to refresh the exterior of your home by adding a new coat of paint. It’s dry for longer periods of time, the sun helps to dry the paint more quickly and you have extended time frames where inclement weather won’t prevent you from working. Even so, there are some tips that will make summer painting more worthwhile and help to get more bang for your painting buck.

• The paint you are using will be exposed to the sun and heat throughout the painting process. When paint is open for any length of time the liquid within will begin to evaporate and the paint will feel thicker and be less likely to apply smoothly. As a result, you will probably need to ‘reconstitute’ the paint to keep it fluid. This means adding water to the paint itself. The formula is about 10% of the paint volume to keep it viable. When reconstituting it is also better to do this in ‘batches’ or smaller amounts of paint than putting the water directly into the gallon paint cans. The latter may cause your paint to become too watered down over time. Fortunately, there are products on the market that take the guesswork out of reconstituting.
• We cannot remind you often enough that the outcome will only be as good as the surface the paint is applied to. In other words, prep your surfaces in advance. Take the time to scrape off peeling paint, repair holes in the siding or wood, and wash down the exterior – giving it plenty of time to dry before applying that first coat of paint.
• Layer ice in your paint trays to help prevent evaporation when you are painting. Put a layer of ice in the bottom of the tray and then cover it with a disposable liner before pouring in the paint!
• Paint in the earlier hours of the day – after the dew is gone but before the sun is beating down!

If you need more advice or are looking for a paint company to complete your job, contact the professionals at University Painters, Inc.

Your home’s exterior is going to be subject to the ravages of weather no matter where you live. If you reside in the Northern, Eastern or Midwest states you are likely going to have evidence of snow, sleet and hail damage to the house as winter comes to an end. But, if you think that people who live in the sunny southern states don’t have their fair share of weather problems wreaking havoc on their homes, then you are mistaken. The unrelenting sunshine can cause just as much damage to a home as any of the elements.

The heat and sunlight that beats down on homes in Arizona, New Mexico and adjoining states can quickly degrade the variety of materials that makeup the exterior of the home. For example, plastics that comprise parts of the windows can crack, and the paint itself will wither and peel. Of course, there are many other issues that come with owning and maintaining a home in places where the sun always shines.

Southern states may receive as many as 300 days of sunshine out of 365 days in the year. At least five of those months also average temperatures well into the hundreds so that it is nearly as hot in the middle of the night as it is in the middle of the day! In these circumstances it doesn’t take long for the sun and heat to cause weather damage. The important thing to note about this is weathering does not just affect the home’s appearance – it compromises the home’s structural integrity as well. Even the most advanced plastics will become brittle and wood will succumb to warping. And no matter how high-quality the paint you apply, it will also degrade, particularly if it is a south or west-facing wall that gets the most exposure.

One way to combat these problems is to purchase paint that has UV-resistant qualities. Be proactive in walking the house and checking for areas that may need to be refurbished with new paint, caulking or other materials. Also it’s a good idea to speak to an architect and/or landscaper to find places where the roofline can be extended, awnings added, and trees planted that will all help to prolong the pristine exterior of your home.

Need some updating to your home’s exterior? Contact the professionals at University Painters, Inc.

Summer is a great time to refurbish and refresh your properties both business and home. Sometimes this only involves cleaning and painting the exterior to give it ‘curb-friendly’ appeal. It doesn’t matter if you are trying to sell it. The point is you are creating a point of pride for yourself and your family with your residential and commercial neighbors appreciating the efforts.

If you are throwing in some remodeling prior to painting what follows are some suggestions that should help you pay homage to the importance of being eco-friendly in today’s sensitive environment.

• Go all out. Begin by having your home inspected by experts in the field of environmentally friendly homes and businesses. Energy efficiency is one of the most important considerations and there are many professionals who can come in and advise you of upgrades and changes that will save you money in the end. The same is true of keeping your indoor environment as free of pollutants as possible. You want your home (and business) to be a safe haven for your loved ones and customers. Attending to the environmental safety by getting advice and collaborating with professionals who are knowledgeable in this field is an essential start to your summer projects.

• Are you a fan of some of the most upscale retailers who use recycled materials to create their furniture and home good products? Then you should be willing to take that upscale taste to a new level by considering the use of recycled materials when you are refurbishing and upgrading your home and business. Not only is this an environmentally-friendly approach to renewing your property but it is cost effective as well. Recycled products can cost a quarter of what the price of new materials go for. Speak with your contractor in advance and make the use of recycled materials a priority.

• Choose paints that are environmentally friendly when you begin to address the updating of your interior and exterior surfaces. Low VOC refers to volatile organic compounds that are not harmful to the environment and humans. Many painters now use this type of paint exclusively in their work and recommend it to their customers. It can also be described as ‘organic’ paint and should be your first choice when painting your home.
Finally, recycle the materials you remove and/or use in your upgrading process. The less materials going to the dump or being discarded the better for the environment. Need advice on your summer painting project?

Contact the professionals at University Painters, Inc. It will be our pleasure to serve you!