Colorful Insights

Why Caulking Is Important

Caulking provides two beneficial purposes.  The first is to cosmetically enhance the appearance of a project by closing gaps and creating a smoother transition;  The second (and most important) is to provide a seal between two areas or surfaces to keep water from getting into the building or house.

Painters generally use caulking for aesthetic reasons. Uncaulked gaps between: exterior surfaces, between two surfaces, along the top of baseboards, in wood trim, along cabinets and counter-tops - will look unsightly and unprofessional. Caulking eliminates the gaps.

Water intrusion into a home or building can have devastating effects on the property. The water can rot wood, freeze inside masonry and cause defects or potentially create mildew. Caulking is just one basic step to help keep these and other problems from happening.

Like any skill, proper caulking requires practice.  Here are some helpful hints to help with your next caulking project…

-          Read the labels and buy the correct caulking for the job. When using caulking on the exterior of your home, be sure not to apply it in extreme temperatures or direct sunlight.

-          Buy a good caulking gun that comes with a built-in cutting tool and wire attachment for piercing the tube's inner seal.

-          Cut the tip at an angle and at the smallest opening you think you will need. Be sure to apply enough caulking to cover the entire gap properly so that the edges of the caulking can adhere to the surface and the caulk is thick enough to fill the gap. Most errors installing caulking are due to not installing a large enough bead in the gap. However, too much is not good either. It does take practice.

-          Use a damp rag, usually followed by a wipe with your finger, to smooth out the bead of caulking. Do this right away, or it will start to skin over quickly and will get lumpy and hard to work with.

How much time does it take to paint something?  Anything?  Walls, trim, ceilings, furniture, etc….  Time is probably the single most important thing to figure out when thinking of repainting something in your home.  Clients we do estimates for are often shocked at how much time it takes to properly paint something.  They think we should just slap up some paint on the walls and move on.  What we actually do and what people “think” we do are two ENTIRELY different things.  If you have ever done a little painting you know how rewarding it can be.  You also know how frustrating it can be when it does not turn out just how you envisioned.  I know that prior to working for a commercial coatings company I had NO idea how involved such a simple task could be.  I also never knew how to make a wall look good or how to make trim pop!  Painting is truly an art and the absolute biggest hurdle in getting it right is time.  If you follow a few simple rules then you too can achieve the quality results you are looking for!  You can have that “wow” factor!  Take a look at the first article in a two part series on interior painting and go paint something!  OR give Custom Coatings a call and allow us to help you out!

 http://bloggingpainters.com/2011/10/27/homeowner-tips/

Patrick Stilwell

Business Development Manager 

A house is typically the largest investment a family will ever make. So it makes since that you would want to keep your largest investment in tip top condition. One simple, but extremely important part of home maintenance is exterior painting. You can make an important statement about yourself with the design and color of your home. Most people are only concerned with how their home looks, but often don’t think about the quality of the paint they are applying. People seldom realize the importance paint plays in protecting your home against Mother Nature’s elements. Paint is your first line defense against: sun, rain, cold, heat, wind, ice, etc… Paint protects wood from rotting and windows from deteriorating. Part of a good paint job is caulking gaps and transitions that allow moisture and wind to get into your home. A good painting company can explain how important proper maintenance is to the exterior of your home. A great painting company can break down exactly what they are going to do and what they are going to apply to protect your single most important investment.

The link below is to an article on exterior painting advice. It explains steps that should be part of the painting process and the value of using quality coating material. Custom Coatings Inc is a premium painting company and we always include these steps and more in our work. Something we are extremely proud of is our quality, and with 85% of our business coming from repeat customers and referrals – we must be doing something right!    

http://bloggingpainters.com/2011/10/04/exterior-house-painting-advice/

Patrick Stilwell

It should be common sense that contractors doing any type of work at your home should always clean up on a daily basis, and at the completion of a project. At Custom Coatings, we take pride in the fact that our experts in the field are very mindful of the homeowner’s convenience and safety at all times during and after the completion of a project.

Look for a contractor who places an emphasis on customer service. Your contractor should be friendly and professional. Check his references and ask if there were any problems in getting the contractor back to fix any problems you might have had or taking care of any warranty work.

The contractor should try and honor any special request you might have while working on your house. If you need him to clean up the site because you are having company over for the holidays, he should be glad to accommodate you. The little things make for great customer service.

Custom Coatings is an industry leader with more than two decades of experience in commercial, industrial, and residential painting and coatings projects. Our business is built on expert knowledge, outstanding customer service and the highest quality work for each client we serve. We rely on a knowledgeable team, excellent supply chain partners and continually educate our employees on the latest methods and equipment to maximize efficiency, durability and energy savings. We are fully licensed and insured and lead the industry in safety.

Located in Hickory, NC, you can rest assured that with Custom Coatings, you have chosen a company that has earned the trust of top commercial, industrial and property management firms throughout the Southeast. We have hundreds of very satisfied residential clients. That's why 85 percent of our business is repeat business. Trust us to make you our next satisfied client!

Just call us at 828-482-0168 and let us help you choose the right type of paint for your job.

Our answer to that question is “absolutely!”  This issue is what separates the real companies from the “fly by night” outfits that many people are scared of.

The fact is, many companies either do not carry insurance, or they don’t carry the right amount of coverage limits. 

You don’t want to be liable for any injuries or damages to any property that happens during your project. That is why working with a fully insured contractor is so important. It protects both you and the contractor to ensure that if something does go wrong, you are both covered.

There are varying levels of coverage, but two of the important types of insurance that your contractor should have are Comprehensive Liability and Worker’s Compensation. If your contractor is properly insured it let you know that they are legitimate and are invested in getting the job done correctly and safely.

Comprehensive Liability Insurance

Comprehensive Liability insurance protects you and your contractor against claims of bodily injury, physical injury, or damage to the property. You don’t want to be held responsible for paying all the damages that can occur in an accident, no matters whose fault it is.

Worker’s Compensation Insurance

Worker’s Compensation insurance gives medical care for employees who are injured in the course of employment, in exchange for relinquishing the right to sue his or her employer for negligence. This offers not only another layer of protection for you to avoid legislation, but also makes sure there is money available for any medical or rehabilitative services needed for anyone injured on your project. Again, though no one thinks these accidents will happen, it is best to be prepared when working in the construction field.

Completed Operations Insurance

If you’ve decided that an indoor or outdoor paint job is at the top of your project list, there’s something we believe you must know before you get started. 

A paint job is only as good as the steps you took to prepare for it.  Thorough and proper paint preparation is the key to a professional-looking paint job that will last. 

What we’re saying is that before you do anything else, you need to make sure you're intended surfaces are prepared correctly to ensure a beautiful, long-lasting finish. We’ve seen many attempts at painting that were performed with very little or no paint preparation at all and the results were disappointing at best.
We’ve heard it said that once you apply a coat of paint onto a surface, it's like a magnifying glass was put over it. That statement is very accurate.  The smallest imperfections and mistakes, dirt, grime, whatever, come shining out at you like a spotlight! Careless paint preparation can result in poor paint performance, costly repaints due to shorter life cycles of the paint, and peeling or bubbling paint.

Things you should do in order to ensure to prep an Interior paint job…

• Clear intended work space of furniture, and other stuff.
• Remove all wall (receptacle) and switch plates, and any hardware
• Scrape/Sand peeling paint and dirt spots on surfaces
• Fill and caulk all holes and small cracks
• Thoroughly clean the surfaces of dust (basic paint preparation!)
• Protect surfaces and areas you don't want paint on.
• Prime any newly repaired surface (especially new drywall or bare wood)

On Exterior painting you should…

• Thoroughly clean all surfaces with low pressure and a mixture of bleach and mild detergent to kill mildew and remove dirt.
• Scrape and sand to smooth failing paint areas and create a tight edge.
• Prime bare areas and scraped areas.
• Caulk as needed.
• Protect anything that does not paint.

Obviously there may be many other types of prep that may need to be completed depending on the project at hand. This is a general overview of some of the main steps that are typically completed on a quality paint job.

Without preparation like pressure cleaning, scraping, sanding to a tightly adherent feathered edge, etc…. no matter how expensive the paint is, it is not going to last!

We know proper paint preparation is not fun.  It’s dirty, and it is time consuming.  Let us do it for you! 

Caulking provides two beneficial purposes.  The first is to cosmetically enhance the appearance of a project by closing gaps and creating a smoother transition and the second and most important is to provide a seal between two areas or surfaces to keep water from getting into the building or house.

Painters generally use caulking for aesthetic reasons. Uncaulked gaps between exterior surfaces or between two surfaces, along the top of baseboards, in wood trim or along cabinets and countertops look unsightly and unprofessional. Caulking eliminates the gaps.

Water intrusion into a home or building can have devastating effects on the property. The water can rot wood, freeze inside masonry and cause defects or potentially create mildew. Caulking is just one basic step to help keep these and other problems from happening.

Like any skill, proper caulking requires practice.  Here are some helpful hints to help with your next caulking project…

Read the labels and buy the correct caulking for the job. When using caulking on the exterior of your home, be sure not to apply it in extreme temperatures or direct sunlight.

Buy a good caulking gun that comes with a built-in cutting tool and wire attachment for piercing the tube's inner seal.

Cut the tip at an angle and at the smallest opening you think you will need. Be sure to apply enough caulking to cover the entire gap properly so that the edges of the caulking can adhere to the surface and the caulk is thick enough to fill the gap. Most errors installing caulking are due to not installing a large enough bead in the gap. However, too much is not good either. It does take practice.

Use a damp rag, usually followed by a wipe with your finger, to smooth out the bead of caulking. Do this right away, or it will start to skin over quickly and gets lumpy and hard to work with.