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House Painting San Ramon – Reasons to Not Settle for Non-Insured Painters
Whenever you do house painting in San Ramon, or another Bay Area city, it’s important to choose licensed painting contractors to paint your home or business. You will receive many benefits from hiring a licensed painter over a non-licensed one. This is because a licensed painter affords you, as the property owner, protection that you won’t have if you hire a painter with little or no legitimate license. Below are several reasons why it’s important not to settle for non-insured painters.
Protection against property damage
When you hire a licensed and insured painter to do house painting in San Ramon, their insurance provides your property protection against possible damage. For instance, if a painter accidentally damages the house while he’s painting it, his company’s insurance will cover the cost of repairing the damages. It would be a great inconvenience if the homeowner had to shoulder the expenses for the damages incurred by someone who was hired to make the home beautiful. Hiring an unlicensed and uninsured painter may be cheaper, but in the long run a poor quality job will result in your having to spend more to correct these errors. It is best to choose a professional painting company that is insured and licensed, even if the upfront costs are more expensive. You could consider paying a licensed and insured painter paying for security and peace of mind.
Protection against injuries
When painting a home, injuries may happen, especially on larger homes where it becomes necessary to use ladders and other tools. Many homeowners have home insurance. However, making a claim can increase premiums and if a person is seriously injured, he or she may not be covered for medical care. This is a perfect reason why it is important to hire a licensed painter who’s also insured when choosing someone to paint your home.
Professionalism
When hiring a painting contractor who is licensed and insured, it means you’re hiring a professional company. A company with professionalism takes pride in its business that’s why it makes every effort to obtain all the necessary licenses and insurance. Licensed and insured painting contractors are also legally able to paint your home, where a non-insured or non-licensed painter is not.
When hiring a painter for your home or office, choose professional painting contractors that are licensed and insured. Benefits you receive include security for you and your property as well as peace of mind. Painting contractors that are licensed and insured also tend to be much more professional, which is attractive for potential clients who are want to have house painting in San Ramon done.
House Painting San Ramon – Knowing Which Interior Paint Colors to Use
When you begin house painting in San Ramon, deciding on which paint you’re going to use is not just based on a hunch. It’s not just about putting on a fresh coat of paint. A little bit of research as well as studying your room and planning wouldn’t hurt as these steps will ensure you of a more beautiful looking interior.
First, you may want to study the size of your room. If your room has a small space, apply paint of a lighter color such as white, beige, or various shades of yellow. This will give an illusion of size and height. Otherwise, if you feel that your room is too spacious, apply more subdued paint colors such as darker shades of blue and green. These colors will make your spacious room appear more snug and comfortable. You may also consider the other elements of your room such as molding, trim, banisters, and frames. If you want to make them stand out apply more vibrant colors or just blend with in with the wall paint, it’s your preference.
The function of the room is also an important deciding factor on buying paint colors for house painting in San Ramon. If you had to paint a bedroom, choose relaxing colors such as shades of blue, green and purple. For the kitchen, the usual paint colors applied are shades of red and yellow, as well as white, and even green.
Prepping your surface is important because a clean surface will help the paint to adhere better. After you’ve cleaned and primed your surface, it’s time to choose for a color palette. Remember that you’re the homeowner, so you should have a say on which color combinations are applied to your interior walls.
Paints have several kinds of finish, so you may want to take into consideration the function of your room before choosing a certain type of paint. Paint finishes may be flat, eggshell, satin, semi-gloss or glossy. Paints with a flat (or matte) finish are excellent for ceilings and walls in almost every room, but they’re susceptible to stains and marks. However, flat paints are excellent in covering surface flaws. They are mostly used in bedrooms and living rooms.
Semi-gloss or glossy paints have a higher degree of sheen. Surfaces coated with such paint finishes are easy to clean as they’re resistant to scratches, marks and stains. However, they’re not good at covering surface flaws. Examples of rooms that should be painted with semi-gloss or glossy paints are the kitchen and the bathroom.
Do you want water or oil-based paints? Both of them have its own advantages and disadvantages (see the related article about the pros and cons of latex and oil-based paints). However, people usually choose water-based (or latex) paints as they tend to dry more quickly, are more flexible and less odorous than oil-based paints.
If you want to start a house painting project, you may want to do it yourself. Or better yet, hire a professional, licensed and insured house painting contractor such as Custom Painting Inc. You will see high-quality painting results when house painting in San Ramon.
Do Painting Contractors Recommend Oil-Based or Latex When House Painting in San Ramon?
When people start a project doing house painting in San Ramon, they may want to know which type of paint is right for their home’s exterior. Should you choose latex (water-based) or oil-based (alkyd) paint? Homeowners, especially those who haven’t had the experience or painting their own house, may not be able to tell the difference. Professional painters will be able to help you decide.
The first step is to know which the previous layer of paint was before you begin painting with new paint. There is an easy way to find out for those who don’t know about the type of paint that was previously used on your exterior. Simply take a rag, moisten it with denatured alcohol, and rub the paint. If it gets clean, it is oil based. If it softens, it is latex.
Despite the name, latex paint actually contains no latex or rubber at all. Rather, latex paints are made of either acrylic or urethane. Latex paint is the more popular choice among many people, because they appreciate the many advantages. Latex paint is known for its flexibility, meaning that it moves with the natural expansion and contraction of the walls; it less likely to crack. Latex paint is also breathable, meaning an air can get through it. One famous advantage of latex paint is that it dries quickly. Since latex’s base is water, it needs no chemicals in cleaning it up; plain water and soap will do.
Alkyd, or oil-based, paints also have advantages. Although it dries slower compared to latex paint, it otherwise provides a smoother finish once it is completely dried. And when it’s dry, it will become resistant to scratches, fingerprints, scuffs and stains because of its smooth finish. An oil-based paint is definitely more durable and weather resistant. You won’t need the weather to be dry to cover your home’s surface using an oil-based paint, because it can be applied in moist weather or at temperatures below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. An oil-based paint has the ability to penetrate chalky surfaces, unlike latex. Oil-based paints can also be painted on metal, as the paint will protect it. However, it dries really slowly; it can take 12 to 24 hours or more before the paint is considered completely dried. An oil paint is not flexible nor breathable, as it doesn’t have to ability to contract and expand. Over time, any surface that has been coated with an oil-based paint will eventually show dullness, chalkiness and cracks. Cleaning a surface with an oil-based paint is difficult, because it requires chemicals to break it up.
Paint will adhere best if you prepare the surface by scraping off the peeling paint, and sanding the surface. If the previous paint being applied was latex, apply a new latex paint. It’s not recommended to use oil over a surface previously applied with latex paint. If you find the previous later of paint was oil-based, you can either use oil or latex for the new paint. Priming is not necessary, but it is strongly recommended, to help the paint adhere better to the surface.
If the last coat of paint was applied a long time ago, check if the paint was lead-based. You can have it tested by a professional to see if the paint contains lead. If it’s indeed confirmed that the paint has lead, you will want to use protective measures to keep the lead from affecting your family. To find out more about lead in old paint, call the National Lead Information Hotline at 1-800-424-LEAD or visit epa.gov/lead for the EPA’s recommendations.
When doing house painting for your home’s exterior, painters should first determine what paint has been previously used. This will let them know what the right kind of new paint for your home’s exterior when house painting in San Ramon.