Choosing a professional to paint your kitchen cabinets

Why choose a professional to paint your kitchen cabinets?

Sure you may be able to paint your kitchen cabinets but I assume you don't have a $5000 sprayer we use to paint them? Or a few of them. Painting kitchen cabinets is about the proper surface preparation, choosing the correct materials throughout the entire process and knowing what to do when small issues arise or how to change products for different types of cabinets.

A professional cabinet painting company has done hundreds of cabinets and has seen issues and know how to avoid them and correct them if they pop up. They have the proper professional equipment to accomplish the finish we consider top of the line.

We are always testing new products, new primer, and finishes, new equipment to be able to offer the best finish in the area. Without keeping ahead of the industry and paints and coatings changing so frequently a paint company could be using outdated applications or worse yet products that are old and have been improved.

Trained Staff

We have written procedures so we can assure each set of cabinets is done in the same way so there are no surprises. Our painters and applicators take great pride in what they do, I have been told many times by them how they will be doing projects to make them the best looking cabinets in the Lehigh Valley. No corners would ever be cut with these guys and the results show in the before and after pictures and tons of happy clients.

If you have thought about painting your kitchen cabinets we can take all your worries out of this process, from the initial site visit to the day we arrive, you will be taking care of and your cabinets will be in the great and capable hands of our trained staff.

What could go wrong?

We have seen and gone back to jobs that other contractors were hired, not using the proper primer, not cleaning the cabinets, overspray all over the ceiling runs and drips in the finish are just some of the things we have seen. Once a job is ruined, it is very costly to come back and correct them. Sometimes as much or more than the original project.

Use a professional decorator to choose your colors

We all know choosing the colors for your painting project can be very stressful, frustrating and a scary ordeal especially if you’re dealing with an open space. Yes, you can try to use the paint store but guess what, typically that person is not trained or experienced enough to know all the in’s and out’s of color. They can sell you paint and maybe be able to pick a few colors for you.

We want only the best for our clients and trust me you don’t want myself or the painters choosing your colors, so we partnered with Jamie from FD design co who is a professional interior decorator and can assist in the color selection.

She also offers additional paid services such as home staging, commercial and residential interior design,e-                                                           design and more.

Interior decorating and color consults

Interior decorating is a true skill and to know what colors, sheens and more can be used or not used takes great skill, a fine eye for detail and to see things before they will be done. If you need a painting contractor who can help you every step of the way please give us a call at 484-821-7112 or schedule online here

You want the exterior home painted now what?

You want the exterior of your home painted so now what?

Click here for a free consultation

Painting the exterior of your home can be a tough decision as let's face it you have no idea what this may cost.

It may be hundreds, thousands or more and that wonder sometimes can be stressful.

When you decide you need this done it may be for a few different reasons.

• Protection of wood from rot or further rot
• Protection from the suns uv rays which fade surfaces
• Your selling your home and you want to increase the value
• Purely cosmetic and you want to have the best looking home on the block
• The city or township demanded it (codes)

So you can see there are many different reasons or wants to have this done and each has its own set of needs and priorities. If your needing to do it or codes you want it done as fast as possible and usually at a more affordable price as it was unexpected. So maybe you don't put multiple coats on or the prep is not the same as some of the other reason. 

With so many different reasons to have something painted, beautification, safety, and protection there is always a way to tailor your budget to match the job and budget. This is one reason it is so hard to have multiple painting companies come out when you're looking at the price only. They will all estimate it a different way, there are no apples to apples and if you believe you can look at three professional estimates the same when the painting companies can't figure out how to even bid it the same you may have a rough project or just add even more confusion onto an already difficult decision.

You should first know exactly what you would like to have done, what do you expect on that old peeling wood trim and how your expectations will directly affect the cost up or down. A good estimator should be listening to you and not talking the whole time. Their estimate should be tailored to your project, not the companies work tailored to your home.

You want to choose a company that will take the stress away from you, review the process and materials and has a direct written plan on how they will tackle it and then a driven agenda to deliver the result you both agreed upon.

Issues will arise when there is a disconnect between homeowner and estimator and then the transfer from estimator to the painters. Everyone needs to be aware of and agree on the plan before work is to begin. Nothing is worse than a project starting and then the phone ringing as the homeowner is confused or didn't express their full expectations to the estimator and believe me it happens.

"Nothing is worse than a project starting and then the phone ringing as the homeowner is confused or didn't express their full expectations"

How can this be resolved? Review the proposal against the work order. It is important a company walks through before the project is to begin as well as the homeowner signing off on these processes. A lot can be avoided if only there is good communication between the lead painter and homeowner who is in charge. That is another key point, one person should be the direct person to communicate with the painter and one for the homeowner. With too many people involved it can open up confusion and mistakes.

So how much will that exterior paint job really cost? In our next blog, we will give some pricing example of homes we have done. Remember they are examples and each home should be priced on its own but it will be a great sample of what to expect.

Cost or Price?

Cost or Price?

What is your decision going to be based on the cost of the project or the price? You may say what's the difference but there sure is one and it will cost you in the end.

What if I said that lower price that looks all shiny and bright could cost you double the more expensive project by the time the years play out?

Imagine this, you're getting a price on the exterior of your home and you do the get three estimates thing and all your bids come back and you have a price of $10,000, $15,000 and $20,000

Naturally, you look at that high one and think wow, they are overcharging me and you decide to take that low price, they said they are using the same materials and everything is "apples to apples".

So your project cost you $10,000 to start but guess what they didn't prime that bare wood correctly and it peeled off after the year warranty they gave you. (If they even stand behind their warranty)

So you had to hire another company to come out and touch up a few things and that took two days and cost you $1250.00 so now your project cost you 11,250.00

A year later you learn they used a cheaper exterior paint and your paint is fading and chalking so now you must get it power washed and one side that hits the sun repainted. Cost $3750. Your project now cost you $15,000.

A few months later the caulk they used is failing badly, you call the manufacturer but it wasn't applied correctly so there is no warranty and you need to pay someone else to come out again and redo the work. Cost 1 day $600 Now you're at 15,600

Now the big one, you learn on the high areas they only applied one coat of paint and never primed the bare wood and you have rot underneath the gutters. 

Now you must bring in a carpenter, possibly a gutter person and have all of this replaced and painted. Your cost of this work had now crept over that initial bid you thought was overcharging you. It turns out the cost of the project was correct and they had included all of the top of the line products and the prep that was really needed.

So the moral of the story is to not just throw away that initial price, it's cost may be the lowest one after all

Realistic Expectations On Home Shows

Home Shows

I love home shows but they have made some jobs hard

We all love to watch the home shows and the miraculous makeovers that they show and done in no time at all but what they fail to show is all the work going on in the background, the actual time it takes and any of the mistakes that happened along the way.

Remember these are television shows meant to entertain, in the real world on a job site or a residence sometimes mistakes happen, work is disrupted or delayed, it rains or things just do not go as planned. I wish each job could go just like a television show but it just won't happen.

On a normal job, there is pre-planning after the estimate, time spent picking up materials and paint, delivering all of this to the site, walkthroughs, preparation of the surfaces and multiple coats applied.

Hopefully, if it is an exterior paint job it doesn't rain, get too cold, or the humidity isn't too high. After all of that, there are still chances something may not go as planned. 

If life was like a television show we would all drive expensive cars and live in mansions but in the real world, we work for everything we get.

So the reason this has made some jobs tough is it has given some clients the unreachable expectations they see on these shows, from the timeframes of work being done to the perfection they perceive to see on them. Nothing is as great as it seems up close and neither would any of these shows.

Enjoy the process of your project and have realistic expectations, get to know who is working on your project, say hello and get to meet some great people.

The HGTV customer

The HGTV customer

How tv has made estimates and work difficult.

Everyone seems to watch all the how to and fix it shows flip this flip that.  They portray these easy and quick rehabs and renovations that make it seem like it can be done in a day with no disruption to your home.

What they fail to show is the difficulties throughout the projects, the mistakes, the long days.

What these idealistic shows have done is make a real renovation or repainting project difficult by giving homeowners a false sense of knowledge on their end and expectations that can not possibly be met with a normal budget.

We go through this all the time on estimates, with the homeowner that wants consultation work for free on the 15 different ideas they have from trim to specialty finishes they would never be able to afford under normal circumstances to how long a project will take or how it should be done.

Here is a video I just produced this weekend that can explain this a bit more.

When you realize these are ideal situations, produced and overly managed under budgets that the normal person cannot afford you will understand it is a show, yes some great ideas but I watch shows about $150,000 cars too, it doesn't mean I am going out to buy one.

When you need a real, truthful consultation give me a call I Would be glad to come out and take a look.

www.ryanamatopainting .com

Your ready to paint your home now what?

You're ready to paint your home and now what?

Tips and pointers on how to get a great paint job and what to expect

You're sitting around your home and realize you haven't painted in ten years or you have a party or family gathering coming up soon and want to impress your friends so you decide it is time to paint but you have no time to do it yourself and it's so much easier hiring someone else to do it but you have never hired anyone before.

To some, this can be a scary proposition and once you start calling around it may get even more confusing sifting through the maze of qualified contractors. 

Here are some pointers.

• If you call someone and they do not get back to you in a timely manner pass on them if they are not responsive now what's to think that will change when the job starts or if something needs to be fixed?
• Look at their pictures and past work,  there should be similar projects they have done and most will have references. You should check references as everyone can have a fancy website filled with great pictures but are they real?
• Take the time to meet them in person and ask who will be doing the work, one trick of contractors is to sub contract your work to a totally different company and one who is much cheaper in price and may not be insured or have workman's compensation
• Ask what the process may be once you accept the project and when the project may be scheduled
• Will they help with color selections

Ok so you have called a few painters and most likely you called five maybe three called back and two will show up for the actual estimate, I had this same problem while looking for other contractors for my own home and on almost each estimate I go on they tell me of the other contractors who never call back or show up.

When the estimate day is here, make sure to be clear on what you want to be done and how you expect it to look when complete, this is the time to let out all those expectations to avoid issues once the project starts.

We will typically give a price on the spot or sometimes email the proposal, it is a great idea once you receive it to review it with the estimator to make sure it has everything you want in it or to make adjustments at this time.

Remember your not looking for the lowest price as the only option, you want to pick a known commodity and one that can deliver your expectations within your budget, that most likely is not the lowest and sometimes may not be the highest price either, I always choose the contractors I am comfortable with when meeting them, there is a reason the successful contractors are busy and in business, they can deliver the jobs as requested and if something should happen they take care of it right away, that lowest price may not be around in a few months to honor that warranty.

Price too high?

"Your price is too high?"

We do a ton of estimates each week, myself I probably do 6-8 onsite estimates and another 15 in the office from blueprints and one thing we hear often when we call to follow up is your price is too high.

We have qualified these estimates, sent literature explaining we may not be the lowest and still it comes as a surprise we may be higher than others. Could it be prices are high? Possibly but I will bet you the other companies are too low. I am referring solely to residential painting here as commercial is about the fastest systematic way to paint meaning generally the lowest price wins.

So out of three estimates you go with the lowest one, in the end, that low price could very well turn out to be the highest, a deal most of the time is not a deal, they can be deceptive, you may get cheaper materials, low-quality paint, uninsured painters who have no workers compensation which could be devastating should someone get hurt.

We chose not to play the price game and be in the race to the bottom and sell our value we can offer.

How many companies do you call and someone answers the phone calls you back or if you get that far shows up? We know exactly how each job will turn out because we have done them over and over with the same trained staff from the person who answers your call, to our follow ups and communication and that is before the job itself starts.

If you can't get someone to call you back what do you think will happen when the job starts and if something bad happens on the site such as spilled paint, damage or an injury where do you think that company will be? The answer is they will disappear and most likely without insurance your job will not be done and it will cost you more than hiring that higher price. Everyone makes mistakes and has an accident here and there, it will happen and when it does you want the accountable company working for you not the lowballer

At this point I shouldn't be suprised when I hear this but it does , when I shop for a dervice I look for the best service first, nto that price doesn;t matter but I will certainly pay more for great service and that is hard to find

Number one reason for a paint job you don't like

Expectations are the number one issue a job can go wrong.
If the painting estimator, foreman and painter do not know your expectations for the project rest assured you're gambling with your satisfaction of your home or business.

If the painter is doing the job his or her way but you have a completely different idea in your head it is ripe for disaster
This is one reason we will not do estimates without meeting the decision maker and interviewing them about their project, what they expect and want so they are 100% satisfied at completion.

The number one missed expectation is general patching. What gets patched on a job before painting, how smooth will the walls be? This is all up for debate.
Check out this video I made regarding general patching of your painting project, it can help save some bad feeling sand money.

How We Hire Painters

How we hire painters is a bit different than probably
 most other companies in the fact we hire on character and not experience.

I would rather hire a great person and train them than hire someone of bad character who brings baggage in with them at the same time. This only will drag down the other workers and create a culture no one would ant to be in and one that cannot thrive.

Some of my best hires have been interviews that are rally quick chats to see if they look me in the eye when speaking, come early and are dressed properly for an interview.

We look for people who can uphold our mission statement and continue the quality work we strive for each day while working within a team and having goals of their own, not just using the job as a way to earn money or th painters that hop from one company to the next.

We have gone through many of these types and feel this year we have the best team we have ever put together, all striving to do what is right for the company and for the customer while maintaining a positive outlook each day.