It’s that time of year! Temps are getting warmer and you’ve been putting it off long enough. As you start looking at colors on Pinterest and getting ideas of what looks good, the biggest decision that you’ll have to make is who trust with your project. Most estimators are going to have the same venacular. Likely, they will have the same things to say about what they are offering. We are all going to power wash and caulk. Most of us will likely change rotting boards. We should all be using Sherwin Williams Paint, because hands down, it is the best performing paint on the market!
As a homeowner, the easy part should be getting a free estimate from a local company. The devil is in the detail though. Sherwin Williams Paint is not a one size fits all product. Their paint grades range from the low end of builder grade, to the homeowner painting their home for the first time, just three years after their build. Choosing the right paint, combined with a high end caulk for your project, is key in longevity to your out of pocket expenses.
While paint quality is the key ingredient, the secret to any good recipe is the preparation. You’ll want to note the quality and type of repairs listed the quotes you recieve. A repair is not just a repair. When dealing with a local paint contractor, you’ll want someone who is quoting your home using quality non-rot boards that you’ll never have to replace again. A contractor quoting spliced repairs all around your home does not have your homes best interest in mind. Or worse, they tell you that bondo will fix the issue. Unless you want to revisit those repairs in a couple years or take a beating on your homes value at the point of sale, then you’ll want those boards replaced in full length sections from top to bottom, ensuring there are no mitered/spliced in sections, which are most often times quoted by contractors who only want to get in and get out. We take our time explaining these repairs to our clients and are not afraid to offer quality at a fair price to satisfy your peace of mind.
Exterior Painting & Restoration
Exterior Services Offered
-
•POWER-WASH AND CAULK: All exterior paint projects come standard with power washing and cleaning of exterior surfaces for painting. Trim boards will be inspected for split and cracked caulk. All areas identified will be properly scored and cut out. A siliconized based Sherwin-Williams 60 year caulk will be used to re-caulk and seal those exposed areas.
•DOWNSPOUT PREP: As part of our exterior prep, if the downspouts are installed, using a downspout screw, we will remove all downspouts before painting the house. If a screw was not used to secure the downspout to the wall, but rather a rivet. We sill leave the downspouts as they stand. Drilling out the rivet head can cause unnecessary damage to the downspout. This is necessary to paint the fascia and trim board behind those areas for proper protection.
•SAND AND SCRAPE: any areas where there are signs of exposed wood will be scraped and sanded then treated with primer to seal in the raw wood surfaces prior to paint application.
•MOVING AND COVERING: Patio furniture will be moved to an area where it is out of the way of ladders and overspray. Any, and all furniture will be covered with plastic during the duration of the time that we are painting outside. Shingles, vegetation, and HVAC units will also be covered in an appropriate manner to prevent overspray.
•ACCENT HARDWARE: All exterior shutter hardware and garage door brackets previously coated black will be lightly sanded and re-sprayed using a rustoleum paint. If your home has a chimney shroud, that is painted black, we will also include a fresh coat of paint on this area.
•WINDOW/STONE PREP: All windows and glass surfaces will be covered using plastic or liquid masking to protect from overspray. Drop cloths plastic will also be used to protect stone and concrete where necessary.
-
Every paint company claims to do wood repairs on their customers homes. It’s very important to note the quality of the repair. Never assume in this situation. A wood repair, is not just a wood repair. Lots of companies, Bondo over the rot. Some companies address the wood rot by splicing out a small section and replacing it with a new one. This is a very low grade repair. If you ever sell you home, the inspector will pick these types of repairs apart and flag them for replacement before the home is sold. Think about it, if your car gets into an accident on one side of the bumper, would you ask the body shop to only order the placement bumper in half a section? Would you allow this type of repair? Why treat your home any different?
Our wood repairs are what separates our exterior service from our competitors. We choose to take our time and do them the correct way. If it is rotten, we are going to change out the board in a full length section using non rot material. Any flat boards, such as corner, boards, facia boards, and other boards without a profile will be replaced using Hardi Cement Fiber Boards. We understand that “Our Gold Standard,” prices us out of bids from time to time. What we have found though, is that by and large most of our customers appreciate that aspect and don’t mind paying a little extra to have it done right the first time.
-
At Southern Home Finishes, we believe in using quality materials. This is why we offer warranties with all of our projects. We start all of our quotes out using Sherwin-Williams Super Paint. This paint come standard with a one-year warranty protecting you from chipping, peeling or blistering of the paint. We then show an upgrade to the Emerald lineup. We combine that with Latitude on the siding for the best finish in painting. This paint upgrade comes with a five year warranty, protecting you against chipping, blistering or peeling of the paint. If this happens within the warranty period, we will come out and take care of the issue at no cost to you. At the end of every job, a signed certificate outlining the details of the warranty will be given to the homeowner.
-
When prepping a fence or deck for stain, it’s very important to try to remove as much of the loose stain product as possible. We do this a number of ways, but primarily through power washing. Lots of homeowners these days are tearing down their decks and rebuilding. When coating these projects, it’s very important to note that the underside of the deck should not be stained unless it has a covered roof. Semi transparent stains, oil base stains and and new construction projects will require two coats of stain. Primarily because the first coat will suck into the wood at a very high rate for more of a level and consistent finish, a second coat would be required. Our go-to stain we recommend using is the Superdeck semi transparent. For the solid stain, I feel like you can’t go wrong with the Sherwin Williams Superdeck Solid Stain. It has been our go to for years.
