Category Archives for "Painter"

How Often Should You Paint Your Home’s Exterior?

By Mack.Painters | Painter

If you’re like most homeowners, you’re wondering how often you should paint the outside of your house. While it’s common sense to repaint it when it starts to look shoddy, should you repaint before then?

Here’s what you need to know.

How Often Should You Paint Your Home’s Exterior?

Fresh paint can transform the look of your home, so it could be exactly what you need to do if you’re selling your house – but you can do it before then, too. Generally speaking, you should:

• Re-stain wood siding about every 4 years
• Repaint aluminum siding about every 5 years
• Repaint cement fiberboard siding about every 10 years
• Repaint brick about every 15 years

Some paint doesn’t stick around as well as other types do, and several factors can affect that. Sometimes it has to do with the previous paint job, the climate and how well you’ve maintained the outside of your house.

When Previous Paint Jobs Go Bad

The quality (and even the color) of the paint the last owners – or you – used last time the house was repainted has a major impact on how long your exterior paint job will last. The number of coats your painters used and whether they painted on a cloudy day has an effect, too.

Climate and Weather

Strong sun can cause paint to bubble and fade, and the effects are more prevalent with dark colors. Harsh winters, frequent storms and rain, and even extreme humidity can cause your paint to age more quickly – and so can ocean breezes.

How Well You Maintain Your Home’s Exterior

The better you care for your home’s exterior, the more likely your paint is to stay in good condition. If you treat issues (like dampness, chalkiness or pest infestation) quickly, you can extend your paint’s lifespan.

Do You Need to Talk to an Exterior Paint Expert in Myrtle Beach?

We can help keep the outside of your home looking its best, from Myrtle Beach to Pinehurst – call us at 910-725-3227 to find out how. We’ll be happy to give you a free painting estimate for any of our services, too, so call today!

 

5 Great Ways to Use Ultra Violet – Pantone’s 2018 Color of the Year – in Your Home

By Mack.Painters | Colors , Painter , Painting

Pantone’s 2018 color of the year is Ultra Violet, which paint authority says is “a dramatically provocative and thoughtful purple shade” that “communicates originality, ingenuity, and visionary thinking that points us toward the future.”

While purple is definitely a great color to use in a meditation room or bedroom, can you use it in the rest of your home and pull it off?

5 Great Ways to Use Ultra Violet – Pantone’s 2018 Color of the Year – in Your Home

Here are five great ways to let purple reign in some areas of your house.

#1: Use purple as an accent wall.

Purple generally makes rooms look bigger because it has cool tones, so it makes a wonderful color for an accent wall. It’s known for promoting relaxation and having a calming effect, so purple might be the right choice for your bedroom, dining room or reading nook.

#2: Paint the inside of your cabinets.

You can create a great – and very unique – look by painting the inside of your cabinets like this. It’s not overwhelming or over-done, which means it’s a fantastic way to add a little panache to the kitchen pantry or dining room cupboards.

#3: Add pizzazz to your kitchen island.

By painting only the walls of your kitchen island purple, like this, you can add a splash of color in a white or neutral kitchen. Try plenty of samples, though, to make sure it’s the right one for an accent in the kitchen – it can be tricky to get purple right in this type of space.

#4: Paint your whole bedroom purple.

Lavender generally looks great in bedrooms (and again, it makes them look bigger). You can go for a variety of shades with your door or keep it all pretty close for a monochromatic look, but it’s best to break things up so it doesn’t become overwhelming.

#5: Use small decorative accents in purple.

Small decorative accents can make a big impact, like this. Lamps and lighting, throw pillows or even a chair in your favorite shade of purple can serve as a focal point in a room and add a pop of color where you really need it.

Want to Talk to a Painting Expert About Adding Color to Your Home?

Whether you’re repainting your home because it’s time for a change or you’re ready to put it on the market and sell it, Mack Painters can help. Call us at 910-725-3227 or get in touch with us online. We’ll be happy to answer your questions and give you a free painting estimate for any of our services.

How to Remove Wallpaper Without Damaging Walls

By Mack.Painters | Painter , Painting

If you’re like many people who buy a home, you have more than a few ideas on what to do with the paint colors inside – and the smart choice is usually to work with a professional painter in Pinehurst who can tackle the job for you.

But if the house has wallpaper and you’re doing a DIY job, where do you start?

(Find out how to choose the right color for an accent wall here.)

How to Remove Wallpaper Without Damaging Walls

The method you choose to take down wallpaper will depend on the type of product. You can strip some wallpapers dry, but for others, you’ll have to use a special solution. You can use a steamer, but it takes a long time; it’s also fairly dangerous, so it’s best to leave to the professionals if that’s the route you want to take.

To figure out whether you need a solution or you can strip it dry, test a small area of the wall (3 feet by 3 feet should suffice). If the wallpaper comes off easily without causing damage to the wall, you’re good to go – just be careful as you move forward. If not, you’ll have to spray a removal solution on the area and let it soak in. You might have to apply it several times before it begins to work, and if it’s not soaking through the wallpaper, use a scoring tool to punch small holes in it that let the solution get through to the backing.

Pro tip: Only use a scoring tool as a last resort, otherwise you run the risk of gouging the drywall beneath.

When the solution soaks through the wallpaper, you can peel it away. If you find another layer of wallpaper beneath it, ignore it for now – you should only take off one layer at a time. As you peel away the wallpaper, some of the sticky backing will stay behind. Scrape it off with a broad knife, but be careful that the edge of the knife doesn’t puncture the drywall.

Once you’ve removed all the wallpaper, spray the wall again with the removal solution. Wipe it clean and scrape off any remaining backing, then let the wall dry for a few days before you do anything else to it.

Your best bet? Saving this job for the pros. When you work with a professional painting company, you get guaranteed work – and you don’t have to spend your time and energy peeling away old, outdated wallpaper. Besides, the pros you hire can come right back when the walls are dry to freshen things up with a new coat of paint.

Do You Need to Talk to a Painting Pro in Pinehurst or Aberdeen?

We can help you create the perfect space by removing old wallpaper and putting up a fresh coat of paint – just call us at 910-725-3227 or get in touch with us online. We’ll be happy to answer your questions and give you a free painting estimate for any of our services.

 

How to Find the Right Color for Your Accent Wall (and How to Choose the Right Wall)

By Mack.Painters | Colors , Painter , Painting

 

You don’t have to invest in several expensive paintings, lots of costly sculptures and other big-ticket decorative items to pull off a perfectly polished look in your home – an accent wall just might do the trick.

But how do you find just the right color and figure out which wall to use?

How to Find the Right Color for Your Accent Wall

Your accent wall will work in tandem with the rest of your décor to create a finished look. Based on your theme and your existing décor, you’ll be able to choose the perfect shades… as long as you have a good grip on the ways colors impact the overall “feel” of a room.

Remember:

• Warm colors can make a space appear smaller than it is. Oranges, yellows and reds will create the illusion that the wall is closer.
• Cool colors, such as green, blue and purple, pull the wall away from the eye. That makes a room look larger than it is.

It’s also important to know which direction your room faces. If it’s facing north or east, it will tend to feel cooler and get less natural light; that means a warm-colored accent wall may be a dramatic improvement. If the room faces west or south, it’s likely to feel warmer and typically receives more natural light, so a cool-colored accent wall might be the perfect touch to balance things out.

Here are a few ideas:

• Blue is a “productive” color, so it works well in an office
• Green is synonymous with tranquility and health, so it goes nicely in a bedroom
• Pink is calming and warm, so it’s good for bedrooms
• Yellow brightens a room and brings on energy, so the kitchen might be its best space
• Lavender is calming and allows relaxation, so it’s good for living rooms, dining rooms and bedrooms
• Red is the color of passion and excitement, so it’s good in kitchens and dining rooms (some people even say it encourages appetite)

Which Wall Should You Turn Into an Accent Wall?

The first wall you see in a room isn’t necessarily the one you want to turn into an accent wall, but it can be. Typically, the best choice is a wall without an architectural feature (like a window, fireplace or door). However, if you have a window framing a gorgeous view or a door that would look great surrounded by a splash of color, there’s nothing wrong with choosing that wall.

For an even fresher twist, think about using your ceiling as an accent wall. It counts!

The rule of thumb is 60-30-10. That means 60 percent of the room should be in your dominant color (that includes the walls and your décor). Then, 30 percent can be in a secondary color that’s in the same color family as your dominant color. Finally, 10 percent of the room is for the accent color.

Do You Need to Talk to an Expert About Adding Accent Walls in Your Home?

When you need to talk about professional painting services in any room (or all of them), we’re here to help. Call us at 910-725-3227 or get in touch with us online. We’ll be happy to answer your questions and give you a free painting estimate for any of our services.

 

 

3 Reasons You Need a Professional Painter in Southern Pines

By Mack.Painters | Painter , Painting , Southern Pines

Sometimes a little bit of paint can change a home’s entire appearance – and that’s true whether you’re adding an accent wall or you’re touching things up because you’re moving out.

But should you tackle painting your house yourself, or leave it to the professionals?

Should You Paint Your House Yourself, or Hire Professionals?

For most people, the time and preparation involved in painting a house – inside or outside – is a little too much. Those people hire professional painters so they don’t have to worry about a thing.

3 Reasons to Hire a Professional Painter

If you know that you don’t have the time, skill or patience to paint your own house, skip these three reasons to hire a professional painter and call us at 910-725-3227. We’ll set up your appointment right away. If you’re not sure, keep reading!

Reason #1 to Hire a Professional Painter: Prep Takes a Long Time

A little less than half of the time it takes to paint a house goes into prep work. Pros clean the walls from top to bottom (and ceilings, too, if those are on the schedule for a new paint job), move furnishings so they don’t get paint on them, set up dropcloths to protect flooring and other items that can’t move, and ensure the perfect color match.

All this takes quite a bit of time. It’s worth it, though, because everything’s just the right color and your furniture (and floors) are paint-free.

Reason #2 to Hire a Professional Painter: Pros Catch Every Detail

When you paint your house yourself – especially if it’s something you don’t do every day – you’re bound to miss a few things. While you can always go back and fix them later, it’s best to get everything the first time (and a pro painter will be knowledgeable and experienced enough to catch everything).

Reason #3 to Hire a Professional Painter: Efficiency and Cost-Effectiveness

Pro painters make a living painting homes, which means they’ve got it down to a science. They’ll be able to paint your house efficiently, as quickly as is possible, and as cost-effectively as possible. Think about it this way: If you paint your house and screw something up big-time, you’ll end up paying to repair the damage, and it’ll take a lot longer than it would have if you’d hired a professional in the first place.

If You Do Decide to Paint Your Own House…

If you choose to paint your own house, interior or exterior, use these tips to help you do it properly:

• Roll the roller across the full height of the all and keep a wet edge of paint so you can avoid lap marks (those unsightly stripes that show up when you roll over paint that’s partly dry)
• Reload your roller before it becomes nearly dry
• Mix all your cans of paint for each room in a large bucket to ensure a perfectly consistent color
• Don’t just pull painter’s tape off the trim; cut it away after the paint has dried for at least 24 hours
• Prime and texture the walls before you paint to avoid a blotchy, ugly appearance
• Make sure your walls and ceiling are spotlessly cleaned before you start painting
• Use a roller on edges and in corners so you don’t get mixed textures

Do You Need to Talk to a Professional Painter?

If you’re thinking about painting your home and would like an estimate from the Southern Pines painting experts, call us right away at 910-725-3227. We’ll evaluate your needs and give you a free painting estimate so you can make the best possible decision for your home.

 

Finding the Best Deal

By Mack.Painters.NC | Aberdeen , Mack Painters , Painter , Painting , Pinehurst , Southern Pines

There are many ways you find a painter in your area but the cheapest isn’t going to guarantee that you are getting the best deal just like the most expensive will assure you will get the highest quality work.

Safety First

By Mack.Painters.NC | Aberdeen , Mack Painters , Painter , Painting , Pinehurst , Southern Pines

Ok so that sounds like the beginning of the 1950’s “Duck and Cover” video but when you are painting there things that would surprise you about painting your home. First do you know the types of paint and could they have elements you are allergic to? Some people have allergies to certain types of paints and finishes so if you are doing this project yourself be sure to talk to someone that knows about paint not someone just covering for the paint department that day.

Next is making sure you have proper ventilation and air filtration. People have been known to get sick and pass out due to fumes.

Painting Tips

By Mack.Painters.NC | Aberdeen , Mack Painters , Painter , Painting , Pinehurst , Southern Pines

Painting can really make a difference in how your home will feel if done right. However if you rush into it you may not be happy with the results. There is dry color and wet color, what type of paint to use,

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By Mack.Painters.NC | Aberdeen , Mack Painters , Painter , Painting , Pinehurst , Southern Pines

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By Mack.Painters.NC | Aberdeen , Mack Painters , Painter , Painting , Pinehurst , Southern Pines

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