Green Painting – Environmentally Friendly Painting Tips in Annapolis
Take extra measures to ensure your painting project is an environmentally safe experience. The best quality acrylic paints are products that contain low or no volatile organic compounds (otherwise known as VOCs). These products reduce the emissions of VOCs into the home which improves indoor air quality and reduces urban smog. Check the labels on the cans for LEED certification to ensure you are using a low VOC product. LEED certified products are considered “green” or “environmentally-friendly.”
Following are tips for “green” painting:
Use all the paint.
When possible, use every ounce of paint you buy. The extra coat will provide walls with more protection. Or, ask a friend, family member, or neighbor if they could use some extra paint for a small project.
Seal it tightly.
Any unused paint should be stored in tightly sealed cans and placed upside down to help maintain the seal. Don’t pour leftover paint down the drain.
Dispose of paint properly.
To dispose of paint, convert it to a solid waste then dispose of it with your regular trash. To convert it to a solid waste, remove the lid to allow the water or solvents to evaporate. Do this in an area where children cannot tamper with it.
Hold off on cleaning tools immediately.
For projects that will take more than a day to complete, try wrapping your tools in a plastic bag for reuse instead of cleaning them at the end of each day. The tools will last overnight or even a few days if kept out of the sun.
Scrape the paint.
Upon completion of your project, scrape any excess paint from the can, latex rollers and brushes with a stir stick or wall scraper. Doing so prior to washing will make them easier to clean and is easier on the environment. When washing equipment, be sure to do so in a sink or similar drain so it is treated instead of ending up in the ground and in our drinking water.
Use quality water-based acrylic-latex paints.
Pure acrylic latex paints are more environmentally-friendly since they contain low levels of solvents. If using a water-based paint over an old solvent-based paint, be sure to follow the instructions for surface preparation which generally involves a good cleaning and a light sanding.
Your Annapolis painting contractor offers green painting solutions for your next painting project.
House Painting to Increase Value of Your Maryland Home
Once you buy a home, you need to consider some of the improvements you can make to increase value. This is important because visual attraction is an essential feature when you are selling property. Maryland house painting is a simple solution if you are looking for a way to increase value. Painting creates a dramatic effect but most people often overlook it. Painting can increase the value by about 29%. You can go for neutral, warm or dramatic colors. It is also possible to use a combination of neutral colors and energetic colors like blue, sage, aqua, and orange.
It is important to pick the right colors if you want to resale your home at a higher value. Bright colors like yellow are a good choice for the exterior of the house but you need to pick the right shade. To get the right one, visit several paint stores before you settle on one. The stores have a variety of combinations that you can use on the exterior part of your house. When it comes to combinations, you should know that three colors better than two colors. Using two colors can limit how much money you get for the house.
To sell your house fast, use fun colors. Choose three or four colors to use on the exterior. Using more colors helps to define the different architectural details on your house. If there is some wood trim on the exterior, use some gloss paint.
When painting the house, the sale price you want to get should be put into consideration. Colors with complex and mutes shades can help to attract buyers who are well educated. To attract buyers who have low incomes the best colors to use are simple ones. Complex colors include tints of brown and gray and they usually require more than one word to describe them. If you own a low priced house and want to sell it off for a higher price, use a simple color like tan or yellow. Both of these colors can be accented by green trim, white or blue.
For the interior of your house, it is better to use colored walls instead of white ones if you are trying to sell it for a higher price. Colored rooms tend to make people feel better therefore they are more likely to purchase your house. For the entryway, you can use the same of colors or shades that you used for your exterior. This is a good way of creating harmony on your property and buyers are more likely to purchase the house. The family and living room should have a lighter shade of the color used on the exterior part of the house. If a buyer likes the colors used on the exterior, they will be interested in looking inside therefore you can be sure of getting a sale.
When selecting the paint colors to use on your home to increase the value, think about how each of the rooms is used. To attract buyers, you can use colors like egg yellow, celery green and coffee brown for the kitchen.
The Key To A Great Paint Job!
Filed under: Exterior Painting, Interior Painting, Painting Tips, Uncategorized
Many assume they know what the key to a great looking and long lasting paint job is:
- Top of the line paint.
- Doing it according to the salespersons instructions.
- What ever a method a freind or family member has always used.
- Some tip from a T.V. show
- Taking your time.
- Hiring a pro.
Some of these will make a difference, but they are like a symphony orchestra. Each individual instrument sounding alright by it self, but not being able to harmonize together without proper preparation.
Proper prep can easily take as much or more time than the actual painting itself. Without it, problems can stink up your work like a tuna sandwich left in the sun on a hot day. So, unless you hire a trusted pro, follow some of these procedures.
- Clean, clean , clean! Make sure the surfaces you are coating are free of dust, smoke, grease, hairspray (bathroom wall next to mirror) and food or paint might not stick as intended.
- Patch nail holes or any holes in the wall . C’mon, don’t try to fill them with paint! It probably won’t work then you have to go back, fill the hole and paint again. Use a decent spackle and sand it level and smooth. Be prepared to apply several coats on larger repairs.
- Sand. Yes, sanding or abrading the surface will give the paint some “tooth” to stick to. Have yet to read a can of paint that did not recommend sanding a glossy surface before painting. If your can does not have application instructions on it, I’d think about another brand.
- Clean, Clean, Clean! Yes do it again!
- Caulk cracks and joints. Do this after you clean because caulk does not like to stick to a dirty surface. (just like paint) If you have bare wood or drywall in must be primed first so the caulk will stick to that also. You may even save a few dollars by keeping drafts from entering through the cracks.
- READ the can or go to the manufactures website. The paint manufactures want you to have success with their products. Most have sections for home owners on the website. When you find the product you are using, look for a link to TDS (technical data sheets).
The tips above pretty much apply to interior painting or exterior painting. If you live in the Annapolis, AnneArundle, Queen Annes or Talbot county areas, we’d like to be able to serve you.
These are just some of the things you need to consider for preparing your project. If in doubt, call your local pro.
Why Paint Your House – Here Are Some Good Reasons
If you need any excuse to paint your Annapolis house, don’t ask to yourself a reason why. The most important argument on why paint your house in that the colors influence people and have the power to provoke feelings in them in a secretly way. To choose the color of a room you need to take into consideration its size and what activity is going to be performed in it.
If it is for a child you may need a vibrant color or for resting you might consider a softer color to induce peace and calm.
Always keep in mind that…
The general, darker colors make rooms smaller and lighter give the feeling of spaciousness.
If the house is cold or not very sunny it may be better so use warm colors, because they increase the effect of sunlight and will give more of a sense of warmth.
The properties of color applied into walls can be extended to fabrics or furniture.
You can use color combination. Try using in the background a neutral color or white, the same range used for relief and calm.
The color is just the reflection of light on a given area. Keep in mind the lighting, to get a good look and feel.
1. Tan colors
They radiate a feeling relaxed and smooth. There is nothing aggressive, making them perfect for bedrooms, living rooms and halls.
To accentuate the effect of warmth they can be combined with upholstery and drapes in complimentary earth tones. If this is a bedroom, this tone is perfect for upholstered headboard of the bed. The furniture most suitable for this color are all varieties of honey-colored pine. Besides the brown helps eliminate fatigue and mental depression.
2. Red colors
Indicate distress. Transmit force and aggression. Very convenient for transit areas, spacious kitchens and even bathrooms.
The color red is a great personality, very intense. Incites aggression, and should therefore reduce their strength with timber doors and windows in white. For furniture, the wood combines perfectly: light, medium and dark. If you opt for the latter, the room should have plenty of natural light, getting a friendly place, but light.
3. Deep blue color
They can transmit calmness, serenity and calm. Are well suited to paint the walls of the bedrooms and studies, and invite to rest.
It is the coolest color and in its lightness makes lighter shades. In general, lowering the metabolic activity and get that relaxation becomes deeper. The rustic wooden furniture (pine, walnut, cherry, oak) are perfect. With white furniture gives a romantic atmosphere, very suitable for children’s rooms.
As you can see, you can paint your Kentucky house according to the mood you want to create in it.