Basic wall painting

Basic wall painting is the easiest interior painting that we do. It is also the most common painting project homeowners do themselves. Before we arrive we ask that you remove and put away all of your pictures, artwork and knick knacks in the room. We do not ask you to move any furniture, our crews will move all furniture and replace and we will also remove and replace most window treatments. In rare cases specialty draperies will have to be re-hung by professionals, also if you have any large items on walls that you need help with we will be glad to assist you in removing and replacement. Next we will prepare the room by covering furniture and floors. Then we patch any minor wall defects such as nail holes, cracks and minor dings and dents. Taping, sanding and removing switch plates and outlet covers are next and finally we paint the walls by brush and roller and return the room to the condition we found it. We also will vacuum if necessary to clean the floors before putting everything back together.

Drywall repair

Drywall repair is something almost all homes are in need of to some degree. Weather its a small hole from a door knob or cracks from the house settling.We first will cover all areas and furniture to contain dust as much as possible. The damaged area is cut out to a uniform shape, boards are installed behind the damaged area and the new drywall is installed. In the case of cracks we wil open up the crack and remove any loose drywall or plaster. The patch or crack is then taped with paper drywall tape and 3 coats of drywall mud are applied, sanding the final coat. If there is paint available we can touch up the new patch or paint the entire room. You can expect a fair amount of dust from this process. The bigger the patch the more dust there will be. You can also expect to do a thorough dusting in the room being worked on and possibly rooms in the same area.

Ceilings

Ceiling work is one of our specialties. Below is a list of all the ceiling work we do and what you can expect from each one.

Basic ceiling painting

Before we arrive we ask that you move any table lamps of other taller items that may get knocked over. You usually do not have to remove wall hangings, draperies or move any furniture. We will prepare the room, move furniture and other things as necessary. We then hang plastic around the entire room and cover all furniture. Any stains are first treated with a stain blocking primer. We then spray the ceilings with two coats of paint, spraying one way on the first coat and the opposite way immediately following the first, this process ensures that we have not spray marks or misses on the ceilings. We then return the room to the condition we found it. Even though we use low tack tape occasionally when we remove the tape it will take a spot or two of the wall paint off which will have to be touched up. You can also expect a little dust once we remove the plastic and are finished. This is from the sprayer and cannot be avoided but it can be kept to a minimum.

Popcorn texture repair and ceiling repair in general

As in basic ceiling painting we ask that you move any table lamps or other taller items that may get knocked over. We then prepare the room, moving furniture and other things as necessary. We then hang plastic around the entire room and cover all furniture and floors. Next we scrape down the damaged area, patch as needed for a smooth surface, and prime all stains. We then spray the appropriate texture to match the existing texture as close as possible. In some cases we will re-texture the entire ceiling to ensure consistency. After the texture has dried, usually the same day depending on the size of the patch we will then paint the entire ceiling with two coats of paint. Finally we remove the plastic and return the room to its original condition. Depending on the size of the patch you can expect the room to be out of commission for a maximum of two days with one day being the norm. This can be a messy project but we keep it as clean as we can by covering all common walkways and using booties to minimize tracking of texture into other parts of the home. You can expect a fair amount of dust depending on the size of the patch.

Popcorn removal for smooth ceilings or knockdown texture

This process usually requires the entire room to be empty. After the room is clear we cover the floor with drop cloths and then plastic. The ceiling is sprayed with water and the texture is scraped off. This is an extremely messy process but is contained to the room being worked on by covering all common areas into the room with drop cloths. We also use boot covers when working in the room and remove them upon leaving to contain the mess even more. Once all the texture is down we wrap up the plastic and dispose of and remove the drops and shake outside. We then cover the floor again. If we are doing a smooth ceiling we skim coat the entire ceiling with two coats of drywall mud letting the first coat dry before applying  the next and sanding the final coat. The ceiling is then painted with two coats of paint. If we are doing a knockdown texture we will skim coat then the knockdown will be applied, let dry and painted. This process takes several days from start to finish and produces a large amount of dust. The dust will travel into other parts of the home and you should expect to do a thorough dusting once we are finished.

Wallpaper removal

Wallpaper removal is almost never an easy job and is always messy. No two wallpaper stripping jobs are the same and sometimes even the same paper in the same room will come off differently in different areas. This is why we usually bid this job on a time and material basis. Before we arrive we ask that all wall hangings be removed and all knick knacks moved. We also ask that if we are working in kitchens or baths that all counter tops are cleared. We will move all furniture and remove and replace window treatments as necessary. On rare occasions you will have to have your draperies re-hung by a professional. We start by covering the floor with drop cloths and plastic. By trial and error we determine the appropriate method to remove the paper. Usually this is accomplished with a chemical and water to break down the glue holding the paper. Once in while we will use steamers to get stubborn paper off. We only use the steamers as a last resort due to the time involved using the steamers. Once all the paper is removed we clean up the mess and re-plastic  the floor. We then wash the walls with a solution of water and the same chemical we used to remove the paper. This is an extremely important step in preparing the walls for paint if all the glue is not removed the paint will fail and crack.  After the walls are dry we repair any damage with drywall mud, let dry, sand and finally paint with two coats of paint.. In extreme cases of damage the room will have to be primed with an oil based primer to seal the damaged drywall prior to repairing damage.

Wallpaper hanging

This is usually the least messy of all types interior coatings applications. Before we arrive we ask that you remove wall hangings and knick knacks. We will move furniture and remove and reinstall window treatments. On rare occasions you will have to have you  draperies re-hung by a professional. We then prepare the area using drop cloths and covering furniture if neccasary. We then patch the walls as needed and hang the paper. Our hangers can get a lot of paper hung in one day so unless you are having multiple rooms hung, or we are stripping the existing paper first you can expect us to be done in one day. You can also expect almost no dust or mess from this job other than having to put your things back.

Enameling

This is the most time consuming of all the interior work we do. Because of the smell and dry times involved with oil based paints it is suggested that you not stay in the home while we are painting with oil based paints. Before we arrive we ask that you clear the room of all knick knacks and breakables, if we are enameling kitchen cabinets we ask that you empty them prior to our arrival. We then prepare the room by covering all furniture or removing it from the room. The woodwork to be painted is then sanded, cleaned by vacuum and wiped with tack rags. We then will spray a coat of primer and back brush if neccasary. The following day we caulk the woodwork, sand, vacuum and wipe again. The woodwork is then sprayed with a first coat of paint. The following day a final coat of paint is sprayed. While we can paint woodwork by brush the finish that is achieved by spray  is far superior to that of a brush. It is suggested that any rooms were the woodwork is being painted have the walls painted as well. This ensures that we are able to do a thorough job caulking everything that needs to be caulked.