It's Exterior Painting Season

It is that time of the year again, the flowers are coming up, trees blooming, allergies are back but the best time of the year is exterior painting season is upon us.

There are a few things to deal with this time of the year, weather is the biggest concern as temperatures will greatly fluctuate as well as the humidity and rain. Managing all of these things takes patience and experience on your part and your contractors. 
You will need to understand some days it may be impossible to put a paint coating on due to humidity or rain on the way. Your contractor will (should ) have vast knowledge and experience dealing with these issues and have his or her tricks of the trade ready to go when things arise.

Weather

Weather plays a very important part of every exterior project, we do not want it to rain on the paint coating we are putting on for a few reasons. One we "may" have to do it again, rain can cause marking on an uncured paint coating , that is the moisture being mixed into the coating, not the end of the world just added time and expense.
Number two is we certainly do not want our surfaces taking on even more moisture then it needs to. Moisture is a big cause of paint failures, have your contractor do some moisture testing around your home if you have bare wood or decks your about to paint or stain. However be prepared for the bad news you may not be able to have your project done right now.

The Schedule

It never fails, we all wait until the last minute to plan our projects around the home and then expect contractors are standing by to tackle these and have no other work to do or an unlimited amount of painters to do these projects.

You snooze you lose

You snooze you lose is never more true when you need something done, you haven't planned ahead and all the good contractors are booked solid. Repeat A GOOD CONTRACTOR SHOULD BE BOOKED

I would tread lightly when someone is available right away unless they perhaps had a cancellation or surprise opening, it should not be out the question that a qualified contractor is booked out 4,8,12 weeks or more. It is not worth it to me to get someone to do it now who may not be the most qualified of contractors.

Plan Ahead In The Winter

The winter months are the best times to plan and schedule your exterior work, contractors are usually more than happy to get you competitive pricing and know the schedule a bit better at this time before the chaos of the busy Spring and Summer months hit. It is not uncommon to see specials, discounts and deals at this time.

If you need exterior painting please reach out to us at 484-821-7112 or email bidrequests@ryanamatopaintingllc.com

It may be cold but it's time to think of your exterior painting

It may be cold outside but it's time 

to think about your exterior painting

It may be cold, rainy or snowy outside but we are already in February and it is certainly time to plan your exterior painting.

Most professional painting companies are already scheduling their Spring and Summer work, I know we are and if you wait too long you could end up with a company you didn't intend on using.

On our end, our exterior estimates have never slowed down, we schedule at least one or two every week throughout the winter, it is also the time facility managers are setting their budgets for their Spring and Summer work which means very large jobs can take a chunk of the schedule at any moment.

So we recommend first knowing what you would like to have painted, is it the entire home, the trim only, some doors or a deck? Have that plan ready when we arrive. A customer who knows exactly what they want painted makes it so much easier to establish the correct price.

We like to walk around the home with the customer, carefully listening to their expectations, timeframe and then the discussion about their budget. Having a discussion about the budget at this time, face to face is the best time to review and adjust as needed.

Your going to have to trust the company you choose to do your painting work and discussing your budget is one of those areas you have to be open and honest. A company you can trust will not take advantage of this discussion.

After all of this is out in the open, we can go over the timeframe and schedule. With exterior painting work, you're going to deal with many things, such as weather, unforeseen things like rotted wood and a few other things. 

In the Northeast where we live and work, we deal with humidity, rain, heat, wind, etc. It seems like we experience every type of weather possible. Being experienced enough to know you have to work around this weather, there is rarely a perfect day to paint in our area.

A professional painter knows how to work around this type of issue, some days starting later in the day pr ending earlier in the afternoon to avoid the sun, freezing temperatures or other things. You have to at this point put your trust in the painter you chose to do your project.

A good exterior painting project will deal with delays, unforeseen issues, weather and more and you as the customer may never even know about these things if you have a good painter who has experience dealing with them.

An open dialogue is also very important, communication is the number one area a project may go wrong. Keeping proper expectations and being open to discussing the project each day is important for a successful paint project.

Why paint your kitchen cabinets?

Why paint your kitchen cabinets?

Why is kitchen cabinet painting so hot and in right now? 

The easy answer is it saves so much money vs replacing or refacing and you can get a tremendous transformation of your kitchen in way less time then replacing or refacing your kitchen cabinets.

There is no way to replace your kitchen cabinets with quality ones for the same or even near the same price as painting them.

You can get a great job that will stand up over time by having a professional do them the right way.

This includes preparing them correctly, using the right paints and coatings and simply doing the right thing.

Painters can lie

Unfortunately doing the right thing and the painting industry does not always go hand in hand. It is easy and affordable for someone to go out and but a ladder and a few brushes and say they are in business.

Let's start a business

It is simply not that easy and professional companies know this, that is why it is laughable when customers will try to compare estimates from many different painting companies while some are barely companies. You may be able to get away with this painting a wall but certainly not with kitchen cabinets.

The process is straight forward but it is when something goes wrong that professional painter with all their experience can save the day, they can adjust and be the superhero of your job.

Painting can be easy but it can also be hard and confusing. 

Years of experience is where a true professional painter shines. That does come with a cost, a fair cost. To simply compare estimates based on price does away with all those years of training, working and the experience gained.

So what will you do?

Will you simply take the lowest price and cross your fingers and hope for the best or be assured your project will come out correctly? It's your choice.

How To get The Perfect Painting Estimate

How To Get The Perfect Painting Estimate

When you think about painting your home or business, the first thing you need is a painter to call.

You ask around or you may Google search or look on social media to find the perfect one.

Once you make your call and a few call you back you make an appointment and that's it.

But in reality, this is the start of a little bit of work you should do to be prepared
for your estimate as a client.

Be Prepared

The painter and estimator also have their work cut out for them, you cannot just show up.
You must be prepared and also prepare your client for this estimate.

Sending information out before the estimate prepares the client for the perfect estimate.

By answering questions before arrival,  you avoid any confusion, while showing
you're an expert.

What questions are asked? Answer them in an email, blog or video

As a client, you must know what you want to have done and be able to
either express it on the estimate or have it written down. 

Not expressing your expectations to the estimator is problem number one
that can come back to bite you. 

Whenever we have an issue on a project is typically comes down to
missed expectations that were never expressed to the estimator.

No Two Are Alike

Do not assume each painting company is going to offer the
same level of service or the same quality.

Do not assume you're receiving the top of the line level of work if it
was not discussed or paid for.

Let me say that again, you cannot expect to receive a new BMW when
your paying for a used car with 200,000 miles on it. 

A budget should be discussed, no one wants to talk about money but why?
It's the perfect time to discuss a budget, you can both agree on what will be done
and not done and how much it will cost.

Once you have met, discussed the budget and expectations of the project,
the best time to make a commitment is now.

Do It Now

It makes no sense to not take care of this now, especially if you have
pre-planned and know how much you can afford.
You do not want to be pressured however and this goes back to be comfortable
with your estimator.

Discuss the price openly, it is not a bad thing to discuss pricing at all,
if you can’t discuss pricing with the person you want to hire, maybe it isn't the
right person to hire?

Once your budget is discussed and the price is agreed upon making
sure everything you discussed is written in the proposal.

This is important for us because our painters get a copy of that wording
and this is what they will do on a project, no more or less, again you want this
to be clear now, not when you have painting happening inside your home.

Once everything looks great, sign the proposal and a copy is typically emailed right over
to you,
now you are set to go on to the next step which is scheduling.
We will review that is another video

Be present on your painting estimate

Be present on your painting estimate

Being present is much more than simply being there, you know you can be physically there but miles away in your mind.

When you call any company to come out and give you an estimate all the want is to be able to give you an accurate cost and possibly do the work for you. 

By not taking this seriously you are wasting their time but more importantly what happens if you actually give them the project to do and you never reviewed all the information with them? You're setting the project up for missed expectations and possible failure.

I cannot tell you how many times I go look at a huge painting project and get little to no information from the client. It makes it hard to give an actually detailed estimate, there are always many follow up questions that could have been avoided on-site and the work order the painters follow is one we made up with this little info given.

This can all be avoided

All of this can be avoided simply by putting your phone down and devoting the 15-30 minutes it takes to do YOUR estimate. Speaking about all the details and reviewing the project onsite.

Remember not every company does things the exact same way.

Here is a video I did on this exact topic

Your price is too high to paint my home ?

Your price is too high to paint my home?

We occasionally hear this when we receive feedback from the estimate that we do and we always caution the price comparison. 

Deciding on price alone monetizes your contractor and makes them nothing more than a number to be beaten by ANY other low number that comes in.

Disregarding their experience from past jobs which enables them to make field adjustments on your projects can be a recipe for disaster.

What happens if something goes wrong on a project or your project, yes it's true many people can paint but a craftsman or woman will know what to do when things change, someone just painting will have no idea how to adjust onsite. 

Will they know the roper dew point to paint? Or the recoat times or adhesion issues? Ho about the proper primer that really will work and perform, not just the one the paint store tells you to use. 

It's your risk

It's your choice and your risk when selecting that low price, sure you may luck out and get a nice job, but what happens if something goes wrong and you have a warranty claim? Will they back it?

What about when you have questions and there is no one to answer them for you?

What about when you ay them but there is still work left, will they show up? Or will they be worried about the next job that has more money in it for them?

Not all low prices are bad

It's true not all low prices are bad but how can you tell?

Paying a fair price to a legitimate company helps pay for their expenses and overhead, it allows them to pay a fair hourly wage that supports their families, it keeps money in the community.

Paying that to any low ball painter that comes along is not a great idea, you drive down the prices companies can get and lower the ultimate quality of all jobs in the area.

We know that is hard to think about when selecting a contractor, but it's true

Just ayign cash to someone does nothing for the area, nothing is being paid into taxes that are used locally to support many great things.

Should you want a fair price and need an estimate please contact us here

Sports Themed Epoxy Floors

Themed Sports Epoxy Floors

Epoxy floors are an amazing way to bring your loyalty to your sports team to life and in the first place, you come home to each day, your garage floor.

You have the big screen tv, the hat, the sweatshirt, the matching socks, and boxer shorts but do you have a custom sports epoxy floor?

An epoxy floor can protect your biggest investment, your home and the concrete in the garage is very important. From all the oil and grease that hits it daily to the hot tires and things being dropped on it, we have seen some concrete floors needing complete resurfacing and that is costly. 

Catch it early

We want to catch this early and protect the concrete and there is no better way than with an epoxy coating and by adding a flair such as your favorite team's colors and possibly their logo embedded into the epoxy is something not many other people will have, the ultimate fan space

Here is the process

Once we work with you to select the exact look you want we will make a plan tailored to your floor, no two floors are the same as they all require different preparation and products. Typically the process is as followed.

• Remove the grease and oils from the floor
• Diamond grind the concrete to promote adhesion 
• Apply epoxy with flakes, full or partial 
• Apply clear coat
• Enjoy your floor 

How long will we need to wait to get back on the floor?

This depends on what products were used but typically 72 hours before you can put your vehicles back on the floor however we do also have products with a 24-hour turnover

There is a difference

What we have been seeing is lower pricing coming from other companies that is unbelievable and it certainly is, epoxy is measured in coating thickness and that is where we found they are saving, they are sacrificing the longevity of your floor to get you a lower price that sounds too good to be true, typically we have seen coating half the thickness of what we are using. This makes it hard to compare proposals, always ask how think of a floor you are receiving when it is dry.

How much will a floor like this cost?

The price of epoxy floors can vary greatly and it is mainly because of the prep needed or not needed.

Do you have a current coating on the floor? Even if you think there is nothing on it you could have a sealer on it, pour some water on the floor if it absorbs that is a good sign.

Was it trowled hard which closes the pores of the concrete and means we may need to grind which increases the cost slightly.

What are you using the garage for? Normal everyday use or will you be working on cars, welding or having heavy items on it? This all means we need to switch products.

Typically we have seen ricing in the $4-6 a sq ft area, maybe more but probably not less.

Add a logo? That also increases the cost of buying the vinyl as well as another added clear coat. 

Floors can be easily affordable and consider the money saved by not having to correct concrete issues down the road, also it will be easily washable now.

Call us

Ryan Amato Painting

Easton, Pa 

bidrequests@ryanamatopaintingllc.com

484-821-7112

The Ole Switcheroo

The Ole Switcheroo

When I say please be at your estimate there are many reasons why but expectations of the final product are one of the top reasons for sure.

I know in my house or really in any relationship you have we all have different opinions and things that are important to us and some things that are not important.

So many decisions in your home are done together to make sure both people are happy with the end result and the decision being made, whether that is a new dog, a new car, or new furniture the person or people who will be living with the decisions should be part of that process.

No more important is the decision when you are hiring a service such as a painting contractor

One issue we sometimes see is I have done an estimate let's say for the husband, he walks me through the house and shows me the work being done, the only issue is he could care less on the final appearance and only wants a color change.

He never explained his wife really is the one who this is very important to and will be judging the final work.

Why is this bad?

This can be disastrous to your project because no expectations were ever mentioned so it was estimated for a basic color change, minimal patching and a quick repaint project.

When the project starts the other partner expects the walls to look brand new, ultra-smooth even though they are not currently that way.

And so it begins

This is where it can all go south, you can have an angry spouse who doesn't think the job is the quality they expected although it really is what was explained on the estimate, they weren't there though and trying to explain this is what they asked for is a mute point now because it will only get worse. So you end up spending more time on a project, extra hours spackling and patching or extra coats of paint.

The walkthrough

This is where you can end any of these issues, do a pre-job walkthrough and fully explain to everyone how the project will be done, what to expect and what the final appearance will look like. What you can do and cannot do. Make it a point and requirement everyone is there and why they should be there. If they cannot be at the estimate or the pre-job walkthrough I know it sounds tough but they should not be communicating with you once the job starts.

It takes clear and direct communication to achieve this, if you're afraid to tell them the truth or be direct it can only get worse from here. Yes, you may upset a few people but reflect back on the estimate when they could not be there for the most important part of the job.

The relationship

This can happen in any form, it could be the wife or girlfriend not there or vice versa or on a commercial project they typically have a secretary walk though who has no say in anything once the job starts and along comes someone else who knows nothing about the conversations we had long before the job starts. Address this issue right away or be prepared for a long, tough project

How to properly prepare your concrete for epoxy

Proper preparation of your concrete for an epoxy coating

Properly preparing your concrete floor for epoxy is serious business, without doing this step absolutely perfect you may have coating failures such as peeling, hot tire pickup or a ruined floor.

This step is not one for the average house painter, it takes a lot of training, knowing and using the products on many projects. Sometimes you have to make quick changes on a job site to deal with surface conditions, access or the unexpected. Without having come across these before there isn't much that can help you.

Typically a diamond grinding or acid etching is needed. These are two totally different processes and each has their up and downsides.

Grinding a surface can be dusty even with the best of equipment, leading to dangerous silica thrown into the air as well as much more cleanup.
Acid etching can simply be dangerous from the fumes and the burns that can occur.

the goal of each is the same, rough up the surface for the coating to adhere to it better.

In recent years even special primers may be used in lieu of these two preparatory processes. Special primers for hard to bond surfaces can and have been used successfully, they are not inexpensive but in comparison to the other ways,they are similar in cost.

We have seen too many times homeowners and contractors take the chance by not prepping the surface due to either cost or laziness and it always ends the same, we come in and see sheets of epoxy that can be just pulled off of the floor.

Taking the time to properly prepare your floor will actually cost less in the future because you will be eliminating the repeated prep or removal of the failed coatings because once it starts to fail it needs to be removed before applying another system on it in many cases.

Once you take the time to do this concrete work and prep you can be assured your epoxy has the correct surface to be applied to and will last for years to come.

Epoxy Floor Solutions

From the early stages of the installation process to the long-term maintenance needs, Epoxy floor coating offers a number of benefits and advantages for the Commercial property owner. It’s important to mention that the application process must be completed by a team that has been factory trained and certified by the manufacturer of the product so that the installation process will run smoothly and go off without a hitch. When applied correctly by a seasoned team, the Epoxy floor coating service is fast allowing a company team to get back to business in a timely manner. Even the dirtiest, oldest concrete floors can be transformed quickly into beautiful, sophisticated looking surfaces both durable and easy to clean as they are resistant to germs, bacteria and mold. When applying the coating, a variety of colors can be used to create patterns and a unique high-gloss finish. Contrasting colors can be used as well to create safety zones, forklift traffic zones, even the company logo.

Epoxy floor coating not only provides a hard wearing and long lasting surface, but it is also resistant to just about everything — oil, gasoline, chemicals, scratching and chipping, heat and impact which truly make epoxy coatings the ideal flooring solution for warehouses, industrial plants, health care facilities, food distribution, manufacturing, and many more. In addition to these benefits, epoxy floors are cost effective, environmentally friendly and have the ability to increablob:https://www.blogger.com/13fd44e1-0b5d-422d-aa73-4ed8f501b190se productivity by enhancing visibility, reducing wear and tear on transport vehicles and allowing for timely material movement.

At Amato Painting, LLC., we take great pride in having a crew of highly trained experts who are professional, manage their time effectively, and provide top quality craftsmanship. If Epoxy Flooring sounds like a flooring solution for your company, please do not hesitate to reach out to us for an estimate. (484) 821-7112 or email bidrequests@ryanamatopaintingllc.com