Tag Archives: home painting San Ramon
Ways to Save on Painting Your Interior When House Painting in San Ramon
Interior house painting in San Ramon can be done economically, especially when you decide to tackle it the DIY way and you have a limited budget.
That’s exactly the reason for DIY house painting — it has to do with costs and expenses. While you want a smooth and almost-professional finish, you also want to cut costs and save money. At first, you may think that achieving both of these things is impossible, but they can be done if you follow the following steps:
- Use fewer colors. It will save you money, time, and effort in making clean lines as well as washing the brushes and rollers. It will also prevent excess unused paint.
- Try refreshing the existing paint, rather than entirely changing the colors. Instead of applying several coats of paint, you only have to apply one coat.
- Do the prepping and cleaning on your own if you plan to hire a painting contractor. The contractor will only have to do the painting part by the time he comes to your property. This will save you money from paying him more.
- Use latex paints, especially if the surface is new and has not been yet painted, or if the existing paint on the surface is latex. It is easier to apply, and dries faster, allowing you to do a much easier clean-up.
- Paint only accents or decorative touches instead of painting the whole room. Paint only the door and window frames, trim and baseboards, railings, and banisters. Or paint only one wall with a different color. It doesn’t use much paint, but still, can completely transform the look of your space.
Paints and Tools
While we understand that you’re looking to save money, remember that when it comes to paints and materials, cutting corners is a no-no. It’s always best to purchase the best quality paints and tools that you can afford.
- It is always wise to buy good quality paints. Sure, you’ll spend less on cheaper paints, but less cost generally means sacrificing quality. Cheaper paints, in the long run, will never last as long as the good quality paints. They may fade, crack or peel easily, and this will lead you to apply a new paint, which means an added dent to your pocket.Good quality paints may cost you a lot more. But since they are more durable and provide better coverage, they will save you time, money, and effort from re-applying them.
- Buy good quality painting tools. These will bring you quality results on your painting job. Cheaper painting tools won’t perform the same and they are highly likely to be unstable (parts might break or fall off while in use). It is absolutely better to buy high-quality painting materials and tools since they are likely meant to be used more than once.
- Never forget to do prep work. No amount of good paint and primer will be able to cover a dirty or flawed surface. Proper preparation on the surface is always the key to a successful painting job. Ready your surface by cleaning, repairing flaws, and priming so that it will be able to receive the topcoat better.
- Always prioritize safety. Don’t risk your own safety or the safety of your family by using improper or incorrect tools, not following safety precautions, or attempting procedures that can attract disaster. Among these include:
- Not wearing the proper gear while prepping, painting, or cleaning up.
- Using plastic instead of canvas drop cloths. Plastic can cause tripping.
- Climbing on an unstable or poor-quality step ladder.
- Stacking stools or chairs on top of each other instead of using a step ladder.
- Not keeping paints, primers, or thinners away from flammable sources (smoke, fireplace, etc.).
If you decide not to go the DIY way and instead choose to hire a contractor, don’t settle for ones who are unlicensed or uninsured — it’s highly likely that their safety record is poor or questionable.
Cost-cutting to a reasonable degree is good, but doing it way too much may sacrifice the quality of your painting job. Buy the best quality paints and materials that you can afford.
There are many ways to save money on your interior house painting in San Ramon. But as long as you purchase high-grade paints and materials, follow safety procedures, and apply these clever tricks to your house painting in San Ramon, you will end up satisfied with the results.
House Painting in San Ramon: Can Paint Alter a Room’s Size?
Sure, the four walls of a room are just standing there and cannot be moved. House painting in San Ramon may not make your walls move, but it can otherwise create a visual illusion that makes your room look larger or smaller, depending upon the paint treatment.
The eye has the tendency to view darker or warmer colors as closer and lighter or cooler colors as more distant. So using paints can actually trick the eye into seeing a remarkable change in the size, shape or form of a space. This method can be used to make the room more attractive, and allow highlighting the room’s more appealing features and as well as conceal the less agreeable parts.
Interior painting in San Ramon is mostly used to “alter” the size or shape of a room. If you paint a smaller room with a lighter color, it will make the space seem bigger. Conversely, if you paint a spacious room with darker colors, it will give the illusion of a receding space. When the room is painted with one color (monochrome), it gives an illusion of a seamless space so nothing will draw attention to the eye. It means that you have to keep the trim in the same color so that nothing will attract the eye’s attention. Using colors like blue and green will also boost the illusory distance of the walls. You may also want to shun things like borders, patterns or textures, anything that will be a stopping place for the eyes.
For a bigger space, using darker or warmer colors will make them appear smaller and snugger. You can also use borders, patterns, and textures, as well as painting different colors to the trim and baseboards to draw attention to the eyes. If you prefer, add a chair rail or a wainscoting. Paint the top half of the room with a different color, and then the lower half with another color.
Aside from making the room appear larger or smaller, painting can also make the shape of the room seem different. For instance, you can paint a low-ceiling room with vertical lines on the wall so that it will appear taller. Choosing to paint it with a darker color will also make it appear closer. If the room is long, you can paint it with horizontal stripes to help make it look wider. Using one color on a shorter room can also bring a focal point and will help “change” the form of a space.
It’s certain that you won’t be able to literally make the walls move, but you can trick the eye into seeing a room that it is bigger or smaller. House painting in San Ramon can help you in achieving the desired look of your space.
Tips to Paint Stucco When House Painting in San Ramon
House painting in San Ramon has its own share of formidable challenges — and one of them is painting stucco. Stucco is an excellent and cost-effective way to build a stylish house, it also keeps the space well-insulated. Compared to other surfaces, stucco needs only a bit of maintenance, which is another great thing about it. That’s why a lot of Californians love stucco for their homes. If you want to update the look of your stucco, then paint may be the answer.
Like other painting projects, properly cleaning and prepping the surface is still important for a successful paint finish. Having the right prep work done will always help ensure you are quite satisfied with the finished job. Of course, you will also want the paint and the stucco beneath it to become a low-maintenance surface, so it requires a proper planning as well.
The stucco should be first cleaned, then repaired (if it needs to be). If you see any surface flaws such as old peeling paint, then it must be fixed before repainting the surface. For more stubborn dirt, loose paint, grime as well as peeling paint, pressure washing can also be used. However, use it with caution; a pressure setting with a range between 1200 and 1500 pounds per square inch (PSI) is ideal. Extremely high pressure from the washer can damage stucco, as it is rather a soft kind of masonry.
Generally, water is all you need to clean stucco. However, if the stucco has more stubborn dirt such as rust or efflorescence, you should use water plus a detergent which is specifically formulated for masonry cleaning. You may also need to use a wire brush and a putty knife to gently clean and remove peeling paint off the stucco. While a pressure washer will remove most loose paint, it may not get rid of the all old paint.
Don’t overlook the spots where you see old paint, efflorescence or rust while you’re cleaning stucco, as these may mean moisture problems that may need major repairs rather than paint only. Especially efflorescence — it might indicate water has passed through the stucco and is causing the alkaline salts to appear on the surface.
After cleaning the surface, leave it to dry completely. Once dried (or cured in case of new stucco), check if there are any flaws that must be repaired. In case there are large flaws such as cracks or gaps, fill them with patching compound or a brush-grade elastomeric sealant. For smaller cracks, caulk will do. After applying the sealant or the caulk on the surface, leave it to dry completely. Sand off any excess dried sealant or caulk. Then use primer to prepare the surface — a primer will help the topcoat to adhere to the surface properly. An acrylic primer is highly recommended for best results.
Then finally, there’s the painting part! You shouldn’t use any paint for stucco. A high-quality, exterior masonry paint is recommended, with elastomeric paint being the best option. While elastomeric paint might be more when compared to regular paints, they are well worth the price. With elastomeric paints, you don’t need to prime the surface, or will only need minimum priming because elastomeric paints have a superior formulation that isn’t found in common paints. The coatings of the elastomeric paints adhere excellently to the stucco surface and have an excellent coverage that will even help conceal smaller surface flaws. The elastomeric paint’s flexibility will also help prevent the paint from the usual problems such as chipping, chalking or peeling. Unlike regular paints that tend to trap moisture, therefore allowing mold and mildew to breed on the surface, elastomeric paints do not.
There are some differences between applying paint on a smooth exterior surface and applying paint on stucco, however. While spraying may be the most common method of applying paint to most exteriors, this technique is not ideal for stucco. This is because spraying alone cannot cover the entire surface as it tends to miss the tiny cracks, pores, and texture “shadows.” If you do spray paint on the surface, then the next step should be back-rolling. This method uses a paint roller and is done after spraying paint to make sure all these tiny holes, are also filled with paint. When back-rolling, it’s ideal to use a fluffy, lamb’s wool roller cover. Use a roller with a 1 or 1-1/4 inch nap for smoother stuccos, and 1-1/2 inch nap for rougher stucco. Even if the first coat looks good, a second coat is still recommended. Stucco, in particular, needs the paint to have a nice film thickness to cover the tiny holes and pores.
Having excellent paints and materials to go along with proper cleaning, preparation and applying the paint on stucco will give you excellent and long-lasting results. This will surely make your house painting in San Ramon a positive and fulfilling experience.