Category Archives: News

The test results from the do-it-yourself lead paint kit you sent off are back, and the news is not good—lead paint is present in your home. Removing lead paint is a big project, but taking these precautions during the renovation process will help protect your family’s health.

Ideally, your family should live somewhere else while the work is completed. Children and pregnant women are most at risk, so if you can’t relocate the whole family, this is the perfect opportunity for your kids to have a long visit with grandma.

The job requires protective clothing including goggles, gloves, and coveralls. The most important piece of equipment is a NIOSH-approved respirator to avoid inhaling fumes and lead-dust particles.

Before you begin, you’ll want to prepare your work area by making sure the dust and paint chips will be contained. Seal the area, close all heating vents, and cover the entrance with plastic sheeting. Remove all furnishings and window coverings. Heavy items that cannot be moved should be completely draped with thick plastic and tightly sealed with tape.

Even if you are working outdoors, be sure to place drop cloths on the ground to avoid soil contamination. Don’t work on windy days, and seal doors and windows to stop paint dust from entering your home.

Using chemical stripping techniques instead of sanding is less likely to spread lead dust. Stripping agents are also potentially harmful, so they must be used with care.

When you are done for the day, remove protective clothing and footwear and wash separately from household laundry. Using a spray bottle filled with water and a drop of dishwashing liquid when wiping down surfaces will prevent dust from spreading. Be sure to vacuum the area and put all waste into a sealed bag or container before disposal.

To have this work performed professionally, contact the painting experts at University Painters at (800) 390-4848 or visit their website at https://universitypainters.com.

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With the wide variety of paints available on the market, choosing the right brand can be a daunting task. One thing you don’t want to do is skimp on the quality of the paint you use on your home. In the long run, some cheaper paints may end up costing you much more in additional materials, not to mention time, energy, and frustration. As with most purchases, you get what you pay for, and paint is no exception.

Whether you’re planning on hiring an experienced painting contractor or are a do-it-yourself novice, choosing the right paint is the first step in ensuring a satisfactory result.

The name-brands such as Benjamin Moore, Sherwin Williams, and Behr typically offer premium products. They are more expensive than lesser-known brands and provide a consistently reliable product. Of course, there are many smaller companies that also produce excellent paint. So how do you determine whether a paint is high quality and will give you the results you’re after? For the novice painter, it can be tricky. Here’s a quick primer on what makes a premium paint.

All paint is comprised of three elements:

1) Solvents that suspend the other ingredients in the paint, allowing it to be spread smoothly and evenly
2) Pigments to color the paint
3) Resins to bind the pigments together

High quality paints have a high concentration of fine pigment particles and premium resins. This results in a smoother application and a lasting finish. Lesser quality paints are diluted with a higher percentage of solvents and will require more coats with potentially inferior results. Selecting the right paint the first time around will not only be more cost-effective, but will also save you time and spare you energy and frustration.

University Painters uses only the highest quality paints for all their interior and exterior projects. If you have any questions about your choices, please give us a call or visit our website at www.universitypainters.com.

The contracting industry is all abuzz lately because scamming is wreaking havoc with manyr businesses. Here are just a few examples of what you as a consumer should be on guard against!

While technology has been a boon to the human race – opening up new and wonderful possibilities in all areas of life – it has also become an avenue for tricking people out of their hard earned money. Texting is the latest medium for scamming. For example, a bona fide painting contractor recently received a text asking for a quote on a job. But, several mistakes appeared in the request and the contractor politely explained that he only gives quotes once he has seen the structure and can do a walk-through to better estimate the amount of time and work that will be required. The scammer then stated he was out of town and he was giving the contractor permission to go ahead and make the quote. The contractor put the issue to bed by saying that he would contact the realtor who recently sold the home and see if he would be willing to open the house up. By the way, the home had been recently purchased but it had been done in a different name than the scammer gave. Once this offer was made the scammer ended all contact.

There are other fraudulent schemes that contractors and consumers should watch out for. One is a request for the payment to be made in full up front before any work has begun. Reputable and licensed contractors will provide a contract and the usual amount that states will allow to be paid upfront is 10% of the total cost.

In fact, if you have a painter that does not want to provide a contract who says you should just take their word for it – move on! There is are guarantees without a contract. Contracts are legally binding and should be signed by both parties. With all the exceptional painting companies in the business you should have no trouble finding the right one for your job.

As if the aforementioned hustles aren’t enough, still another bit of trickery is for the contractor to ask for more money because they ‘ran into unforeseen problems’. The responsibility to provide an accurate quote for all work to be done rests with the painting contractor. Any unforeseen problems will be their responsibility unless you have requested changes.

If you are in the market to have painting done at your house or place of business, contact the honest professionals at University Painters, Inc.

As with any interior paint, you want to know that the paint that is on your walls is the best paint for your walls. As far back as 1978 and even before that, the Federal Government realized the dangers of lead-based paint. In 1978 the Federal Government put a ban on the sale of lead-based paints to consumers. Unfortunately, even today there are still older homes with lead-based paint on their interior walls.

The Federal Government believed that there were many ways that humans could be exposed to lead-based paints. It was believed that the exposure could be airborne, or through food, drinking water, soil and of course dust from peeling paint. But what were some of the reasons behind the ban being ordered? Here are a few ways that humans were being affected that set the ban in motion:

Depending on the amounts of exposure, it ranged from learning disabilities, severe behavioral problems to brain and nervous system impairments. Whether it was from toddlers ingesting the paint to pregnant women being exposed to the lead-based paint, the threat was real for mental and physical disabilities. Pregnant women were believed to give birth to children with disabilities if exposed.

In recent years, many precautions have been put in place to protect the consumers from exposure. Starting with sales of lead-based paint being discontinued to painting contractors having to take classes and become certified to work on older homes, the government is stepping up to assure consumer safety.

If you have any concerns about your home and would like some answers from a qualified professional, please feel free to contact us at University Painters.