Painting of a Farmhouse

March 26, 2022 at 4:46 pm | Category: Interior Painting, Uncategorized

Ryan Amato Painting recently completed a beautiful farmhouse in Riegelsville, Pa.

An interior painting project that needed the utmost preparation because all surfaces must be clean and free of dust and paint splatter.

Preparation

So Ryan Amato Painting carefully prepared all the walls for the high end paint from Benjamin Moore

They spackled any dings and dents in the walls, carefully and thoroughly inspected the walls for any signs of cracks or failing paint coatings that were evident.

After this they sanded any spackle using fine sandpaper, this is to reduce any dust, because being preventative is easier than cleaning.

All spackle was spot primed using a top quality interior primer so a proper finishes are achieved.

Finish Coats

It is important to sand the walls before and after the first coat says Ryan Amato

Ryan Amato

Because to achieve that ultra smooth finish desired with a high end painting project, proper application is a must.

Inspection

After both coats were applied and allowed to dry the lead painter inspected the walls for any deviations or touch ups needed.

Then the lead painter is to walk with the client to make sure any touch ups needed or concerns are addressed right away.

After this process was completed, a quality assurance form was mutually signed, so both the lead painter and homeowner have approved the work to 100% satisfaction.

Pictures

Here are some amazing pictures from this interior painting project,

Interior painting

Benjamin Moore paints

If you are looking for an experienced Northampton & Lehigh County painter then please call (484) 821-7112 or complete our online request form.

Dealing with a paint shortage

 The Great Paint Shortage of 2021

There is a shortage of both paint and workers and the shortage of quality labor has hit small businesses in particular.

 From a freeze in Texas to a fire in China , add in a pandemic and a labor shortage of plant workers and drivers we are seeing a huge paint shortage which is effecting our painting industry in many ways.

The paint shortage was exacerbated by this year's major winter storm.

Paint supply chain Sherwin-Williams was already suffering as a result of the COVID pandemic. However, the February winter storm that hit Texas added further constraints to the supply chain. "In an already-challenged supply chain due to COVID-19, the February natural disaster in Texas further impacted the complex petrochemical network causing significant disruptions," 

Texas leads the nation in petroleum refining production, which is necessary in manufacturing paint, according to Business Insider. The winter storm reduced the state's capacity to refine petroleum, which created a ripple effect for a reduced ability to manufacture nearly all paints.

With an abundance of work and a shortage of paint, this has lead to increased lead times of projects, having to juggle what products are used on projects and frequently changing the types and brands of paints being used.

"If you asked me what paint we will use on your project today for a job a month from now I would have no idea" says Ryan Amato of Amato Painting in Easton, Pa

 Many people also understand how important painting can be for their peace of mind and for their homes. Join us as we explore what this means for your home-improvements company or business.

Small businesses are feeling the effects of a paint shortage 

and labor shortage .

People are not working, where we would typically have an abundance of summer help , we are just not seeing it and as we talk with contractors across the country they are all in the same boat.

Paint companies are expecting their lead times to increase from six weeks to more than three months. At a time when many custom home builders need paint in five weeks, this means that the small home improvement and construction companies that serve them will be unable to make up the delay in supplies. [Source: The Wall Street Journal Online]

Small businesses will be negatively affected as a result of increased costs and extended delivery delays for products they need for their businesses.

As more small businesses look to services from large painting companies or call in their own contractors to do interior painting, these companies will be forced to change their schedules and prices, pass on the costs to consumers, raise prices for new customers or all three.

Source: The Wall Street Journal Online]

According to Wayne Phillips of the National Small Business Association, "It could lead businesses that specialize in these kinds of products into a death spiral that could quickly remove them from the marketplace.

"We are planning ahead as best as we can, however we would never order materials months ahead for projects, it just isn't financially feasible or smart to have a stockpile of paint, especially with clients whose schedules change or changes in scopes of work" . Ryan Amato

Some of the most commonly used paints are out of stock, many primers are no where to be found.

The paint shortages are being felt keenly because demand for the product is increasing as the weather improves, experts say. It will likely get worse too, because with summer approaching we’re entering into “painting season”. The summer weather is ideal for painting outdoors, and lots of people have projects planned for the warmer months, so demand for paint is expected to increase.

“We likely will need to take further pricing actions if raw material costs remain at these elevated levels,” said Sherwin-Williams CEO John Morikis during a company earnings call in late April.

Our advice is when you find a painting contractor you connect with, don't wait long to contract with them. Sign up, get your project on the "schedule" so they can start planning and allocating materials especially if it is a large project

 

So you call a few companies for painting estimates not knowing what to expect or how much it costs.

After going through the process you never explained what you expect, not knowing each company does their jobs differently with different levels of preparation, different t8 e frames, products etc.

When the jobs starts you are amazed they don’t tape each and every surface for ultra clean lines, or they don’t wash the walls, or clean the outlet covers while they are off, remove light fixtures etc because that’s what you would do.

They don’t use a halogen light to capture every inch of the wall to make it ultra smooth, of course you paid $500 to paint. This room, the painter should be doing the same thing as you right?

As a homeowner you have all the time in the world, no need to make payroll, cover overhead and no need to finish your projects in an efficient and reductive manner while also maintaining a level of quality .
So that bedroom that takes you all weekend$ or a week to paint, takes a pro painter a day to complete.

Of course if you take twice as long to do it you may be able to achieve a better level of quality but consider the amount of time your losing with other things you can be doing.

The amount of time you lose is certainly worth the convenience of using a professional painter , the same as hiring any other trade to complete a project at home, it’s one of convenience, freeing up time and generally getting a better job than you can achieve, but not always.

Remember time costs, trades charge based on time, each hour costs a certain amount , so if you didn’t explain to the painter exactly what your expectations are, and are prepared to pay for them for what that level of quality you want, you should reconsider this or you may have missed expectations which can cause stress, anger and a horrendous experiences or the painter and yourself

Know that someone else may not be able to devote a week or more to one bedroom, most painters
Don't use tape to achieve clean lines, except for certain areas.
Not many people wash the walls, are the walls that dirty?
Spraying is not an option in an occupied home and not always quicker, consider it a tool to get the paint to the surface quicker,it would still need to be rolled.
The amount of covering would make the risk greater than the reward.

What you must consider is the knowledge and experience of the painter your choosing, with that comes years and years of trial and error, using every product imaginable to find the ones that perform the best and hold up over time, yes you may be able to ultimately do it "better" but at what cost?

Choosing the lowest prices painter can be a huge mistake

 Why choosing the lowest priced painter can be a huge mistake

Choosing the lowest prices anything can be a huge mistake, I get it, you want to save money, expenses are tight and many people love the art of the deal.

By saving some money or asking "is this the best you can do?" or "is this your lowest price?" for some is a thrill, but remember the service industry is typically smaller companies, some family owned and some single person companies who, their families depend on a fair wage to survive.

By always hiring the lowest price your risking a few things

• Will they stand behind their work if something goes wrong?
• Will they be in business in a year or so from now?
• How much experience and training do they invest in?
• Are they actually paying taxes and are they insured (and their workers)
• What is their relationship with the manufacturers of the products they use

Will they stand behind the work if something goes wrong?

This is a big one, anyone can buy a few paint brushes and say they have a business but a lot more goes into this than that. The big one is mistakes happen, paint does sometimes peel or chip off among many other things.

Some of these things may be warrantied and some not, will they be able to be found when tings go wrong, if they are continually charging less than they should to sustain a business, there will be nothing left when these things occur, how many companies do you know will come back a year later to fix something? I have been in the painting business a long time and I can tell you not many, they are hard enough to get a hold of when you are paying them, imagine when there is no money in the game for them?

Will they be in business a year from now?

By routinely under charging and under valuing their work, they are leaving no investment or money left to maintain and sustain a business, they are living check to check or cash to cash and there will be nothing available when things go wrong, and things will go wrong from time to time. They are not investing in any training typically or the training of their workers.

Are they paying taxes and are they insured?

This is a huge one, if you have to pay taxes on the earnings you make, why should others not have to? 

Paying taxes helps fund the towns we live in, if someone is so quick to skirt these responsibilities, what happens when your not looking on the work they are doing for you?

Insurance is the big one here, if someone under or uninsured gets hurt working in or around your home what do you think will happen? They will sue you and your insurance company and most likely win, do they have workers? If so they need workers compensation or the same thing will happen, it will just roll downhill back to you and your home. It is super important to know who is in and around your home and are they adequately insured.

What is their relationship with the manufactures of the products they use?

You would be surprised what a great relationship will get you from Benjamin Moore or Sherwin Williams, sometimes paints fail or other issues come up, without having support from the manufacturer to correct these issues, your on your own. Trust me when I tell you the companies that buy more paint get different treatment whether anyone admits it or not. I can call up right now and get things other contractors may not be able to get such as very quick support, products and more.

This also helps with new products, the paint industry is ever changing and you have to be ahead of it to stay current and aware of all the new products and applications

Proper Expectations When Painting The Exterior Of Your Home

 

Its exterior painting season and one of the main things that are important to an ex terior painting job is proper preparation of the surfaces. 

When planning to paint the exterior of your home or business it's very important to check and inspect every surface around the house whether it's siding wood trim aluminum or other materials

Painting on top of damaged wood or metal can significantly lower the long Gemini of the paint job however  Sometimes a budgetary restraints can significantly reduce the preparation of a surface

It's a balance between budget and proper preparation on some projects especially historical homes.

 What is proper preparation of a service proper preparation of a surface for a paint job is clean dull and dry notice I did not say smoothed a surface does not have to be smooth to be properly prepared and paint it especially on older homes were you've have many many layers of painted surface chipped paint paint the has been painted over over the years and multiple layers of other a paints.

When we discuss these types of jobs we like to give clear expectations on what the customer is going to receive what the customer wants and what the customer can pay for again it is a fine balance between budget and a properly painted surface.

When preparing a surface it's very important that the customer clearly explains what they want the surface to look like after the job is done because the number one issue on any paint job is failed and missed expectations.

The few issues we've had on paint jobs have been surfaces where a customer thinks that a home that has been painted countless times over should be completely smooth where in the real world that service needs to be completely stripped and that is a whole different job than a repaint

A properly painted surface for us at a normal job is preservation techniques with preservation techniques we one remove any failed paint that is clearly chipping we want a feather sand that area notice I did not say fill it in or make it smooth we want a prime any bear would typically using an oil based exterior primer and then a top quality exterior paint on top of that 1 coat 2 coats it depends on the job itself.

As long as the customer has clear written expectations that are also put into their contract and proposal and you fully walk them through the job and explain what can and what can't be done 

You should have no issues on your painting project.

Why does a customer feel a surface should be smooth even if it has not been for the last 50 years these are questions that we ask ourselves all the time and I guess that's that's part of the issue now with Google with Yahoo with being able to go on to YouTube and watch other preparations and home shows.

The issues with the shows are their perfect conditions and there are very compressed video where a job may have taken weeks they put it down into less than an hour of show.

Add caption

In the real world these types of preparations time frames and applications are impossible, Although maybe I shouldn't say impossible it is certainly possible with the right budget.

In our area Pennsylvania we're lucky if we get a few days a year with ideal conditions to paint from rain to snow to sleet to to Hi of humidity the dew points never correct we have very limited time to actually paint if you went by the specifications from the manufacturers.

The manufactures are very aware that these conditions can never be met so they do give broad ranges and better explanations on the local level with your sales rep.

Knowing that if you have an area that is currently peeling or failing that it is likely it could peel and fail again what we see are issues with moisture expansion and contraction causing pain failures locally correcting these issues and putting the new coat of paint on May not correct the the moisture or expansion and contraction movement issues.

Doing your best diligence to properly prepare these surfaces goes a long way in making a great paint job.

Exterior Painting Expectations

Exterior Painting Expectations

Deciding to paint the exterior of your home is something most everyone has to do at some point.

Even if you have vinyl or aluminum siding, wood or other there will be a time you need to paint that dull or faded siding.

Expectations are the most important thing you need to express to the estimator who comes out to your home. Not every painting company will prepare and paint your home the same way just as each restaurant you go to doesn't prepare your food the same way.

There is a level of service for every different person and budget. To expect that to be the same from the company top company can be ripe for disappointment.

First things first preparation of the surface

Here is an important area for any paint job, with aluminum siding or vinyl siding there isn't too much for confusion, make sure it is cleaned, any damaged pieces should be replaced by a siding contractor and then properly paint it. 

What about wood 

Here is where differences will come into play.

In our area, we have a mix of new and older homes that have been painted countless times already.

Without contracting with your painter to completely strip your surfaces it will not be completely smooth like new if you have many old layers of peeling paint. We believe this is the number one area of confusion with exterior painting

Preservation

We use the preservation method of preparation of the surface. This would include scraping loose paint, not removing old layers that are sound, caulking gaps and voids where needed and typically overlaying the caulk. Spot priming any bare wood and lightly sanding (feather sanding) the surfaces.

You will still see the old layers of paint however you will have a protected sound surface that will last for years. This is acceptable for 9 out of 10 people but if they are expecting a stripped smooth surface you will be disappointed. The issue is, that type of service is expensive and not many people would want to go that costly route but do want those results. It's comparable to having the budget for a used car but expecting a brand new BMW.

Restoration

Restoration is the total restoring of a surface, we do not offer this service personally. It is costly because it takes a long time, very expensive labor and top of the line materials usually matching historical trim pieces. Not many people would go this route but some do expect it.

Be At the Estimate

It sounds simple but to avoid any missed expectations, be at the estimate and have a real conversation with the estimator. You would not believe how many people call for an estimate and either will not be home or not walk around the home with me. Those jobs have a 50/50 shot of going bad in one way or the other. Be at the estimate and take the time to walk around the home, point out areas that are concerning to you, remember it's your home and you know it's in and outs. An estimator is only there for maybe an hour. The more you can tell us, the better so we can prescribe the correct paint job and meet or exceed your expectations.

If you would like a free no-hassle consultation please call us at 484-821-7112 www.ryanamatopainting.com

Kitchen Cabinet Painting Does Not have To Be Expensive

Kitchen Cabinet Painting 

Kitchen cabinet painting can be rewarding and change the entire look and feel of your kitchen minus the large expense of totally purchasing new cabinets or refacing them.

With a professional painter who has done many sets of cabinets, professional products and the proper preparation of the surfaces you can be assured your project will turn out the way you want and expect.

Painting kitchen cabinets is the hottest thing right now because it can save so much money, good quality kitchen cabinets are not inexpensive, there is no way to match the cost of painting compared to buying a new set unless you purchase very inexpensive cabinets and then you will have issues of them holding up down the road.

Typical costs of painting your kitchen cabinets can range from $1750 all the way up to $5000 and more depending on the number of doors and drawers, unique pieces such as wine racks, glass fronts or other items as well as the number of colors you are requesting.

It all starts with the estimate, when choosing a painting company to do your work you want one who has done a lot of these, this is not the "let's find the cheapest painter" type of estimate. Your cabinets need to be prepared correctly and they are all different, different types of wood, finishes, all requiring a unique process. I have been in the painting stores watching painters ask the person behind the counter how to paint kitchen cabinets, you do not want that in this case.

Many things can happen with a bad job such as peeling (not chipping) hard to wash surfaces and uneven finishes (sheens) 

With chipping we have to have realistic expectations, we are painting your cabinets and although we use very good products no paint can withstand abuse such as wood rubbing on wood, high use areas such as corners being hit, they will knick and chip but the best thing about this whole process is you can touch them up easily. Hopefully, your painter left you to touch up paint, there is no need to pay someone to come out and do this unless you simply do not have enough time. with a small foam brush or roller corners can easily be touched up.

You do not have to be scared of this process, for a few days of minimal disruption you can have an entirely new kitchen for a very affordable price tag.

Get your estimate here 

Some of the top painting questions answered

Some of the top painting questions we receive

We receive questions all the time about the painting projects we do. it seems there is a mystery on some things as contractors sometimes can be very secretive and not disclose everything that may or may not happen.

What we like to do is answer every possible question there may be, we have found it solves many issue s that may happen on job sites, reduce missed expectations and create a great template for a perfect project if there is such a thing.

So if you have any questions we have not addressed here we would LOVE to hear them, please send them over to us and we will add them to our list for our next video.

When your receiving multiple bids and speaking to different painting contractors or any contractors for that matter you will hear all kinds of things, from the way they will do your project, how they run their business to the types of products they will use. This is why it is so hard to compare proposals as we spoke about in this blog 

So sit back and enjoy the video we did, we hope it can help answer some of the painting questions that you may have.

Top ways to get a good painting estimate

The top ways for you to get a good paint estimate

You have decided it's time to paint inside your home, maybe it's a few bedrooms or possibly the trim or maybe your just going to paint your entire interior. 

So now what?

You will find out quickly when you start calling around, many companies will either not call back or it will take a few days if they call back at all. Once your lucky enough to get someone either pick up the phone or call you back now your issue will be them showing up at all. 

One of the comments I receive all the time is "wow you showed up on time just like you said" Sounds crazy right? People are in business but won't call back or show up.

If your lucky enough to have someone show up now the issue is they won't be honest and tell you they are not either interested in your project or capable of doing it, so they will never send a proposal over or price it very high so you never call them.

So this is why it is very important on your end to be prepared when your ready to call a painting company or any trade for that matter. Here are some things you should be prepared with.

1. Know your budget and don't be afraid to share it, when asked. A good company can generally work within any budget but without having an idea of what it may be you may receive prices all over the place. With painting there are varying levels of quality, no two companies will paint a residential project the same. 
2. Know exactly what you want to be done, are all the ceilings being done or can they be left out to help reduce costs? Is the trim being done? Again by not having all these details, your pricing will be all over the place and you may be surprised with the end result
3. What is important to you? Is quality most important or is the cost? You typically will not be able to get a low priced job with top quality work but if you're real about your expectations and budget missed expectations can be avoided
4. Be at the estimate, the person who will interact and "judge" the work should be the person at the estimate. I can't tell you how many times people don't take this seriously and leave a parent or babysitter home to show the work or even the other spouse who when the job starts isn't the person judging the work, another area where you will have missed expectations
5. Be realistic, it will rain, people will call off or be sick, other things will come up. Every company does it's best to make sure everyone works each day all year long but we will all be disappointed with workers who are not responsible, all anyone can do is make it right and move forward. Remember things can always be worse, have patience and understand everyone has a story and things going on in their life.

There are no apples to apples

When you say you want to compare apples to apples what you're really implying is every company does the exact same thing, the same quality, the same training and the only thing separating them is the rice they are about to give you.

Let me let you in on a little secret, you could put 5 painting estimators in a room, using the same paint, same application and you will get 5 different prices, don't assume each company knows what they are doing and certainly you cannot compare this with price alone.

Don't forget about the things not said, communication, the extra value they bring, will they be around if you need something down the road? Or once they are paid are they gone and forgot your name. Trust me I am involved heavily in the painting industry and there are some very questionable workers and companies out there, just as there are some great people and companies out there, but if a bunch of estimators cannot agre on a price what makes you think you're qualified enough to be able to compare them?

Things may still go wrong

Even after all of this, you may have some things go wrong, they may spill paint, or have drips or not prep as you think they should or the color may be wrong. The mark of a good company is just to correct these things if it was their fault. There is no need to yell and scream, no one wants to work for anyone like that, the painters end up trying gto go faster to get out of there, the client is upset and the office is tired of those "phone calls" Remember it's a team effort that includes the painters, the office and the client. Everyone must be on the same page for a successful project

Ryan Amato

www.ryanamatopainting.com

484-821-7112

Why You Should Be Home For Your Estimate

Why be home for your estimate:

When getting a painting estimate or an estimate for work around your home
for that matter it is important to be able to let the estimator know what you
expect when the project is done.

You may say why? Each job no matter who I use should be prepared,
painted and done the same but that is further from the truth then you would know.

There is not a specific standard of work from company to company and
most painting projects have very
different levels of service for the same thing, for instance spackling.

Preparation Of Surfaces

You can spackle a wall with many different levels of quality, from low to high
and somewhere in the middle is typical, but if you think they are doing it to perfection and they
are thinking the opposite,
it doesn’t mean they did a bad job, it was a missed expectation not explained
by the painter or asked for by the homeowner.

The same goes for exterior preparation work such as scraping peeling paint, under
most circumstances work is done by preservation techniques,
meaning loose paint is scrapped,
some caulking may be done,
usually bare wood is pot primed but then it is painted. If you're thinking the surface
will be completely smooth you
will be very upset with the final appearance. It will certainly how old levels of paint,
uneven surfaces and more, without stripping the entire surface you
will not get a level surface
under a normal repaint project.

The Estimate

I cannot tell you how many times I have gone out for an estimate and the person
who ultimately would be critiquing the work was not there,
leaving it to another person to try
to explain what they wanted to be done
or no one at all was home. These projects go bad 9 out of ten times.

Comments like bad quality, not enough prep or scrapping are mentioned when
in reality it was a mixed expectation or an expectation
that could never be met with a normal repaint.

So what to do? It’s simple be home, if you cannot be home at the least have
a conversation with the estimator and create a detailed list,
then its possible this can be matched
up with the estimator's
notes and work order. 

We have actually implemented a policy that we will not go out on an estimate
unless the decision make will be onsite, this may cost us
a few estimates opportunities
but in the long run, it is better
to have less work
than clients who are upset with the quality of the work from missed expectations. 

The number one thing that turns a new project bad is missed expectations,
it always comes down to this, when we look back at a bad
project or one that turned bad.

Painting The Interior Of Your Home

Painting The Interior Of Your Home

Painting The Interior Of Your Home

In painting the interior of our homes, most of us tend to procrastinate a lot, and this has to do with the fact that it gets really stressful when you have to select the ideal colors to make the home look appealing.

Most people tend to complain that choosing just one color gets tricky, and they cannot imagine the stress of picking colors for the entire interior painting.

Others have wondered if the colors they picked will match or where they can start with both the house painting and paint colors.

If you are going through similar stress and procrastination, then this is the place for you.

Steps In Choosing The Right Colors For The Home

It is finally time to get into painting the interior parts of your home, and you are lost as to the colors to select from. Well, some of the steps that can help you out include:

• Take note of the rooms that are visible to each other

Here, you will have to walk all-around your home and take notes of the spaces that you can see from each of the rooms. Also, you can make use of a floor plan or probably a rough sketch to keep track of all this.

Furthermore, the adjoining rooms are included, although, with them, you may likely be able to see much farther like down the hall and even the kitchen.

These notes you are taking will be the ones to form the basis of the entire color plan for your house.

• Select the color for the largest and centrally located room

After taking your notes, the next step is to pick out colors for the largest room in the home that is centrally located. This room is either your living room or the kitchen. These are the best places to begin the interior painting.

If you are stressed with the whole color picking, you can go for a soft and natural color for your main room. This makes selecting the colors to be used for painting easier and you know, you can never go wrong with white color.

• Paint the room you want to have a bold color 

For people who love colors a lot and actually have a particular one in mind when house painting, you can begin from a specific room you have in mind and this can be your bedroom.

Most of us love when our rooms are painted boldly and so, you can select from bold colors, and the next room can be painted with a softer color. However, two rooms next to one another can be painted with bold colors.

• Have a plan when selecting colors for an open space

When your house is visible all at once, you must pick colors that go together. Here, you can make use of either dark shades or tints that are lighter, from the same color. This is sure to work well for houses with open spaces.

To Wrap It Up

While interior painting may not come off as so easy, following these steps will help you see the bigger picture in selecting the right colors. For your halls and even landings, you can go for beige and even white colors but, if you are using soft neutrals or white for your rooms then the halls should be painted with richer colors.

Choosing and matching colors

Choosing and matching colors

Choosing and matching colors can be the best and worst part of your painting project.

Some people love and look forward to choosing new colors for their home while others this process brings great stress and anxiety.

With the investment of getting your home painted and feeling the pressure to get it just right can make for a miserable experience for some, typically for us this can delay some projects, we like to have the colors to our office at least two weeks before the project starts to properly prepare for your job. This certainly doesn’t happen all the time and this process has delayed the start of jobs.

It is a lot better to be prepared for your project then show up the first day not having any paint, having to run to the paint store, the delays could cost you more money in delays.

Choosing colors doesn’t have to be a difficult or frustrating experience at all. In the grand scheme of things it’s only paint, nothing in this world will be perfect although we try like heck to make it as close as possible. For these people that need that perfect color, a color consultant is exactly what will make this process go smoother.

Open floor concepts

With today’s open floor concepts,  can see multiple rooms at on time when your standing in one room, color selections are vital to create a smooth transition into each room.

Benjamin Moore does make this quite easy with there Affinity color chart, it is exactly what I used in my home, any color  in this color fan deck will coordinate with any of the others. However even with this chart , I would of probably chosen other colors after I was complete.

Colors will change from wall to wall, room to room even when using the same can of paint, we have had clients swear up and down we used a different color in the same room and it was the light, depending on the type of lighting you have in the room can dramatically change the outcome and look of your paint colors. We know this is hard to understand but it is in fac the case, we recommend bringing a sample of your colors home and put samples on boards in the room they are going, pleas do not put them on the wall as they can change the app rearrange of the top colors as we try to cover all the samples you did on the wall.

At Ryan Amato Painting we are here to make this a simple process and can help in anyway possible, we highly recommend commend our color consultant for the more choosier of clients, for others you can certainly select your own colors and create an awesome space that match’s your style ,taste and personality.

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.

How to find the best painters

How to find the best painters for your project.

You have a project coming up in your home or business and you have never hired a painting company before and you have no idea what your about to get yourself into.

With every company so busy in the summer and an overfill of work you have a lot of new companies that have sprung up and older companies who are struggling to keep up with their schedule.

When you first start calling around this is the first time you will see who gets back to you in a timely manner, who doesn’t answer you at all and who makes their process an easy one for you.

Next is the estimate, although I would ask on the phone what their time frame is to take on new work.

Will they show up on time or at all for your estimate?  From our experience not many will.

When they are on the estimate at they listening to you or just trying to tell you how great they are and how awesome the paint work will be? You want someone who will listen to all your concerns and expectations not just blab about their great painting work. 

Here is a secret: Most every company will give you the same quality

The quality of the work should be a given and that is not what you should be looking for, you want the un said to be said.

• How long will the work take?
• What paints will be used and why
• Have they done this type of work before?
• What is the warranty  something goes wrong, do they take care of it
• Ask about the painters who will be onsite
• Will theirs be a foreman or supervisor to contact?
• Will someone at the office be available with any questions I may have?

As you can see it is much more than putting paint on a surface and that is typically why you cannot just call up three painters and judge them off of the price , heck you can put three estimators in the same room at the same time and the prices will all be different.

Don’t treat your contractors like a commodity 

Contractors are not a commodity to be bought and tossed out,  most good contractors want to develop a relationship with their clients so when more work comes in there is no question who is doing it. Wouldn’t it be great to just have to call one person, no questions asked and you already know what to expect with pricing and quality?