Kassel Painting

Don’t Let Residential Painters Rip You Off!

peterbyrne — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 21:26:12 +0000

Have you ever been ripped off by a residential painter? Or have you heard your neighbors rant about the difficulties of getting a reliable house painter? Seems that there are many stories about residential painters who took the job but didn’t deliver the goods.

Clearly, it’s easy to get ripped off by residential painters, especially if you don’t have prior experience in hiring one. So how do you make sure that you’re not getting ripped off?

Here’s a Guide on How to Find the Right Painting Contractor

1. Do your homework – having someone professionally paint your house is no easy task. Don’t just hire someone you find from a poster on a telephone pole. Contact several painters in your area and have them bid on your painting project. Make sure to explain the scope of the project and ask them to provide And in a detailed bid. Getting quotes from several residential painters will not only provide you with different options, it also gives you a chance to compare costs and the services that come with them. Be sure to check their references.

2. Be specific about what you want -

In my experience, quotes provided by residential painters vary a great deal. It’s not enough to ask how much it would cost to paint a room or a whole house, because their quotes will vary depending on the materials they plan to use and how they plan to do the job. To avoid any confusion, be very specific in outlining how you want things done. Here’s a list of information to provide when asking for a quote:

Size of the area to be painted.
Type of paint to be used. I suggest requesting high quality paint that will last. The painting contractor should be able to answer your questions and know what paint to recommend.
Preparation work – a good residential painter will remove wiring or other attachments on the wall to ensure that the entire visible surface is painted. Of course, they should also reinstall these after the job is done!
Details on prep work, such scraping, priming and sanding.
Estimated time to complete the job.

3. Never hire someone who asks for the whole price up front. Many reputable contractors will probably ask for a deposit but not the whole price up front before they start painting. A reasonable deposit would be 50% in advance, with the balance upon completion of the work. Well established and reliable residential painters have enough funds to operate their business without asking for the whole price ahead of time.

4. Ask for a warranty - to avoid getting ripped off by low quality paint jobs, make sure to hire a residential painter that provides a warranty for their services.. Their warranty should cover repair or replacement for any problems that may occur after the project is completed

We hope that this is helpful. If you have any suggestions yourself, please leave us a comment.

“PETER BYRNE is the owner and hands-on manager of Kassel Painting Limited. In the last two decades he has run over 1500 painting projects totalling $5.5M. There is little that can go right (or wrong) on a job-site he has not seen, solved, and lived to talk about.”

Creative Commons Attribution: Permission is granted to repost this article in its entirety with credit to Kassel Painting and a clickable link back to this page.

Picking Paint Trim and Wall Colour

peterbyrne — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:05:34 +0000

Do you make it match? Or compare and contrast? When it comes to picking a wall and trim colour combo, the choice is yours. Here are a few pointers to help you get started on your best ever interior design.

Trim sets the tone for the room and can make a wall look larger or smaller.
It’s a good idea to keep all the trim in one room the same color.
Glossier paint for trim works best, since it usually gets the most wear and tear and is easy to clean.

Interior Design and the Modern Look

For a modern look, paint trim the same colour as the wall. The finish might change from flat on the walls to semi-gloss for trim, but keeping colours the same makes for a calmer, less chopped-up look and can pull a room together.

With no big colour differences to distract, other features stand out more—like that dramatic new sofa fabric or the perfect cabinet you finally found in your local specialty shop.

Tradition in Interior Design

Zorba the Greek was right! For a more traditional look, paint trim a different colour than the walls. Bright white gives a fresh look, while using a darker tone of the wall color lends a classic feel. Which leads us to…

The White Stuff in Your Interior Design

Darling picture will be pickedWhite trim with darker walls brightens a room and really sets off the room’s feature colour.
If you have light walls, light trim makes them look crisp and clean.

Getting the white right is as simple as picking your favourite combination. Just remember that warm whites go nicely with warm dark or warm neutrals, and cooler whites pair well with hues such as green, grey or blue.
White comes in lots of variations—eggshell isn’t ivory or pearl. Have some fun with champagne, linen or vanilla!

You can’t go wrong with white in coming up with your winning interior design: classic white trim never goes out of style.

Caring About Colour

Dark window and door frames draw attention from walls. If colour’s your passion, try a trim that contrasts with but is equal in intensity to the walls.
When walls are light, you can highlight windows, doors, and other features with a darker tone. Dark trim around a window surrounds the outdoors much like a mat in a frame, and really sets off the view.

To find good contrasts, look at colours opposite each other on the colour wheel.
These colours are complementary and together have a more energetic feel—but can be tricky to use in large doses.
Colours next to each other will always play nice together because they come from the same hues. Combinations like this are found in nature and are pleasing to the eye.

Interior Design—It’s Your Call!

When choosing trim and paint colour combinations that work well, you really get to make an impression with your individual interior design and show off your personality.
Best rule of thumb:
If you like it, go with it, and watch the magic happen!

“PETER BYRNE is the owner and hands-on manager of Kassel Painting Limited. In the last two decades he has run over 1500 painting projects totalling $5.5M. There is little that can go right (or wrong) on a job-site he has not seen, solved, and lived to talk about.”

Creative Commons Attribution: Permission is granted to repost this article in its entirety with credit to Kassel Painting and a clickable link back to this page.

Drywall Repair Included in Expert Painting

wren — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:06:26 +0000

Every now and then you see those awful cracks and bubbles appearing in your drywall. Sometimes they are nail-pops; where the nails that are in the 2 x 4’s start to come out. You know that if you hammer them back in, there will be a huge hole in the wall and many cracks.

Cracks in Drywall and the Painting Process

Cracks often appear simply because the house is “settling” or the building shifts a little and it puts stresses here and there. If a part of the drywall was not finished correctly when it was first done, there will be flaws that arise. Occasionally the wall pulls slightly down and away from the ceiling and there is a new crack to contend with. There are a myriad of ways to create a crack in your wall.

Drywall Damage from Water

Leaving a window open a lot during rain can eventually cause considerable damage to the drywall. The operative word here being “dry”. Drywall products don’t like to get wet and when they do, they react unkindly to your decorating scheme.

Before and After Pictures of Painter Drywall Repair

Here is a before and after photo of some drywall repair.

You can see that this is right under a window where moisture had gotten in and damaged the wall. The repair was accomplished with drywall filler and primer. Once dry, the filler is hard and durable and ready for paint. This is a much more economical fix than having a drywall firm come in and rip out the old drywall for a small area such as this.

Note that if there were structural problems, a more extensive repair would be needed. But this was simply the basement window left open too many times in the rain and the damage was of a mainly cosmetic nature.

This is from a note that our painter Sabi received from the homeowner “I appreciate so much all the extras you do for me. The relief and happiness as to how nice my home is looking, is really beyond words. I thank you from my heart” : ) Audrey

Drywall Repairs and Your Painting Estimate

Repairing your walls is normally included in the cost of a painting estimate. Although, it’s always best to check this information with your painter before agreeing to the cost of the job. You want to be certain that all cracks, chips, bubbles and holes are part of the estimate and will be repaired to look like new again. You do not want the painter to come back afterwards and say that they need more money because the repairs were more extensive than the estimate included. After all, these cracks, etc. are very obvious, and should be easily seen by an expert painter.

It’s such a pleasure to see beautiful new looking walls after an expert paint job.

“PETER BYRNE is the owner and hands-on manager of Kassel Painting Limited. In the last two decades he has run over 1500 painting projects totalling $5.5M. There is little that can go right (or wrong) on a job-site he has not seen, solved, and lived to talk about.”

Creative Commons Attribution: Permission is granted to repost this article in its entirety with credit to Kassel Painting and a clickable link back to this page.

Creative Commons Attribution: Permission is granted to repost this article in its entirety with credit to Kassel Painting and a clickable link back to this page.

KASSEL PAINTING SPONSORS “SHELL BUSEY’S HOUSESMART” RADIO SHOW

peterbyrne — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 22:37:01 +0000

SHELL BUSEY’S HOUSESMART RADIO SHOW

Starting October 30th KASSEL PAINTING LTD is proud to sponsor the new Shell Busey’s HouseSmart radio show on AM 650 C-ISL radio.

The new show airs Mondays 6 – 7pm and is Canada’s very first weekday drive-time home improvement show!

Shell will be live on air, in his words; “answering all your questions on making home improvement projects ‘just that easy’.” With his many years in the building supply trade, home improvements and problem-solving for all areas of construction, Shell’s advice is truly valued and proven reliable by his thousands of followers.

The new program is a great way for you to make the most of the long drive home. In addition to advice on painting topics, Shell will address all sorts of issues you need to know to maintain your house in top condition.

KASSEL PAINTING LTD and Shell Busey have been partnered since we provided painting services for the 2000 PNE Prize Home. We were approached by Shell Busey, who was impressed by the quality of our work. When he asked us, “would we be interested in joining a new referral program?” we said “of course!”

The referral program took off becoming well-known as the Shell Busey HouseSmart Referral Network.

What a perfect match for all!

Kassel Painting has done work for Shell personally and for members of the Busey family. In addition we have helped hundreds of Shell’s listeners and fans. KASSEL PAINTING LTD is now one of the oldest and most trusted members of the HouseSmart Network.

The Shell Busey’s HouseSmart radio program will give lots of do-it-yourself advice. Even if you don’t want to do the work yourself, knowing the proper way to do home improvements will make you a smarter consumer.

And don’t worry. We’ll always be there for you if you do ‘paint yourself into a corner.’

My home looks beautiful and the process was easy

wren — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 19:22:03 +0000

“The service I received was professional and thoughtful from the initial consult to the last stroke of paint. My home looks beautiful and the process was easy.”

Goldean Lowe

Economical Home Makeover

admin — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 08:18:00 +0000

A paint job is the most economical home makeover!

Are your walls and trim scuffed, nicked, faded or outdated? Do the MOST economical makeover – paint.

You’ve seen it in magazines in the before and after pictures.

An ordinary room suddenly looks extraordinary with only the use of paint! Changing to the most up to date colors; making a feature wall; using stronger colors than ‘contractor beige’ all make for the least expensive change that you can make to upgrade your home or office.

And use our design service if you need help to choose the most up-to-date color schemes. It’s surprising how much value a good Designer can bring to change the look AND ‘up the value’ of a living or working space.

The Four Seasons Of Painting

admin — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 10:22:43 +0000

People ask me; “when is the best time to paint?”

From a consumer standpoint you might say ‘summer’. The weather is great, the cotton is high and the living is easy. If you are painting indoors you can have all the windows open and so on.

The problem is that summer’s the only time for outside painting. Realize outside painting is vital to protect the building from weather. It is not simply a colour choice. You need to do it every 6 to 8 years. And it’s not just one or more rooms. It’s the whole house. It’s protection of your investment.

From this you can understand how outside work is more than 50% of a contractors business. Yet we only have maybe 4 months of actual dry/temperate weather to do the work. So the math of supply and demand shows that if more than 1/2 the work has to be done in 1/3 of the time then we aren’t all that available to paint your bedroom in July. It’s the economics of time.

One of the Four Seasons Of Painting

Winter:

This is absolutely the best time for you, the consumer, to buy inside painting. Especially from January to March. It’s the slow season. You will get the most competitive price and you will get the best painter. Additionally we’re not in such a hurry so we’ve time to relax while completing your project.

Opening the window in winter? Not such a big deal. You open it a crack, turn on the kitchen and bath exhaust fans and it’s fine. You must also realize that modern paint dries fast and has low odour. It’s not like the old days. Everything is water-based and clean. Because of the above, WINTER, for the smart consumer, is the best time to book inside work.

Note: To get on our line-up for Vancouver’s short summer, people often begin booking their outside painting work as early as February too.

Mixed Bag of the Four Seasons Of Painting

Spring:

This is a mixed bag of weather. If it is good we sometimes start outside painting as early as March, but that’s unusual. Normally it starts in May. So April & May are also a good time for indoor painting. But by this time of year things are picking up so it is not quite as slow and relaxed as the first three months were. This is a great time to get the quote to book your exterior job.

The Busiest of the Four Seasons Of Painting

Summer:

Of course we do get interior jobs in summer. We try to accommodate them. But it’s not really what we are looking for. Remember we have someplace else we’re supposed to be and that is outside, rapidly finishing our exterior jobs!

Booking your job in summer means the painters are already really busy and you may have to wait one, two or even three months for one of the top companies to start. If you call in July and the crew says they can start the next day? Beware! Why aren’t they busy?

The Last Chance of the Four Seasons Of Painting

Fall:

This is ‘go-crazy season’. Sometimes it rains in summer. (Okay it always rains in summer.) That pushes back the “best laid plans of mice and painters”. Towards the end of summer people also panic, realizing they forgot to book outside painting before the monsoons. More work which we hate to turn away. We are usually going seven days a week by September.

We can work outside usually until Hallowe’en or even later, but it is getting dicey to find the moderate, dry weather we need for the paint to dry. As well the inside painting orders for before the holidays are now starting to pour in.

What to Consider During Four Seasons Of Painting

So really there are a few key scheduling points:

Summer is really for outside work.
Jan – March is best for your interior work.
April-May are okay too for inside painting.
Early fall is very busy.
November-December is a busy season but we can do a lot of pre-Christmas ‘make-overs’. (Usually the common areas such as living and dining rooms etc.)
If you are flexible on scheduling tell your estimator. He will appreciate this and try to discount your job somewhat based on that fact.

Also keep in mind that if your project involves other trades or renovations, then painting will be last. Since no renovation goes without a hitch, allow extra time for getting in the painters. If the carpenters are coming in January you might book February for the painters but in reality with delays it can be April. Be prepared.

BUT NO MATTER WHAT A WELL-PLANNED JOB WITH LOTS OF LEAD TIME ALWAYS GOES EASIER THAN A RUSH JOB. THE MORE FLEXIBLE YOU ARE SCHEDULE-WISE THE SMOOTHER IT WILL TURN OUT.

And you can always call to find out availability and may be lucky and surprised to find a last-minute cancellation has opened a gap for your job.

Are you looking for a painter here are somethings to consider PICKING A PAINTER

For more info contact us at questions? We’ll be pleased to hear from you on anything.

“PETER BYRNE is the owner and hands-on manager of Kassel Painting Limited. In the last two decades he has run over 1500 painting projects totalling $5.5M. There is little that can go right (or wrong) on a job-site he has not seen, solved, and lived to talk about.”

Creative Commons Attribution: Permission is granted to repost this article in its entirety with credit to Kassel Painting and a clickable link back to this page.

Front Door Colours

admin — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 10:04:05 +0000

Most modern homes are built and sold with a drab looking stamped-metal front door unit. Usually it is the factory finish white and if it has glass panels these often have a plastic frame, which later discolours to yellow in the sun. They can look pretty unattractive. The factory finish is very durable but in the end boring.

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Now if you go to Europe, places where houses are built out of stone or brick they go in for distinctive, brightly painted front door colours because the rest of the house is brick, just like every house in the neighbourhood and a street of brick alone is certainly boring. That front door is your mark of distinction. And since YOU are not boring (right?) you can spice up the entrance to your house and say, “Here it is! This is my house! Over here!” Simply by jazzing up your door’s colour.

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The way to pick a new and interesting front door colour is to consider the rest of your home. You want colours that coordinate and you can read my article on the Science of Colour to figure it out. But traditionally deep rich colours work well. Gloss Black, Deep Chocolate Brown, Burgundy Red are very popular. You can even get into rich Yellows, Greens and Blues. Certainly this is not a place for pastels but glossy deep rich vivid colours are the way to go.

The chocolate brown front door colour above works very well with the dominant colour in the surrounding tan bricks. It is a conservative look but also a rich appearance. A white door would look washed out.

See how nice the bright red door looks against all the fresh white paint? This is a beautiful contrast even with the dusty blue siding in the right foreground.

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This bright green would never work for a main colour on a house but is particularly effective with the pale surrounding colours and the palms which create a tropical feel.

Really there is no shortage of colour combinations which work. Because front doors represent a small area of the whole house the rules don’t have to apply. Pick whatever seems to stand out from the ordinary. Create the mood you want. Dignified or cheeky, welcoming or artistic, it really doesn’t matter. If it says “This is my house” then you’ve found your front door colour.

See my article on the science of colour to learn about complementary colours.

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Paint Colours for Kitchen

admin — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 09:52:16 +0000

Kitchens present a unique situation in regards to colour. First of all, before you worry about paint colours for kitchen we should concern ourselves with what kind of paint for the kitchen.

How many people who have grown up using – oil based enamel will tell you this is a must for the kitchen. Back in the day this was probably true but today oil-based paints have been outlawed due to environmental concerns. In their place are the new generation of ‘water based oil paints’. It sounds like an oxymoron but it is true. How this is done and the chemistry behind it is a little complicated, but what it means is brushes and rollers used for these new paints can be cleaned up with soap and water just like latex paint. (You have to clean up while the paint is still wet.)

This eliminates the need for clean up with turpentine (mineral spirits), which gets washed down the drain, is highly toxic to fish and highly toxic to the people who eat those fish.

So this leads us right back into the kitchen where the fish are cooked. The message is simple: Don’t use oil paint anymore! Plenty of good paints exist and the main thing is if you have surfaces that might get splashed by cooking oil or food then SHINY paint is preferable to MATT paint. Shiny wipes off but matt absorbs.

Now we can talk paint colours for kitchens in Vancouver. As with any room you have start with evaluating the design elements. Cabinets, floor tiles, countertops are all items that will narrow the range of what paint colours for kitchen look good. You can refer to my article on The Science of Colour to understand the relationships. One thing to keep in mind is that warmer, friendlier paint colours for kitchen work well and make the room cheery and the food more appetizing looking. If you have a flat ceiling (no texture) consider using the same paint colours for kitchen ceiling as well as walls. Often the wall area in a kitchen is very broken up by all the cabinets and appliances. There may be hardly any wall space at all. In this case consider using bold, bright, stronger paint colours for kitchen. It makes a nice contrast to liven things up!

“PETER BYRNE is the owner and hands-on manager of Kassel Painting Limited. In the last two decades he has run over 1500 painting projects totalling $5.5M. There is little that can go right (or wrong) on a job-site he has not seen, solved, and lived to talk about.”

Creative Commons Attribution: Permission is granted to repost this article in its entirety with credit to Kassel Painting and a clickable link back to this page.

Paint Colours For Bedrooms

admin — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 09:26:37 +0000

Bedrooms, for many people are not just a place to sleep, but a sanctuary away from the noise and chaos of our modern life in this electronic age. We can relax and read a book, take a nap, or do some of our best thinking just staring at that ceiling. Romance has even been known to bloom in that diverse space!

The bedroom doubles as a dressing room. Most people keep their clothes and personal effects there. For ladies it is often their make-up counter as well as shoe store and jewellery safe. It is a wonder there is any ‘room’ for a ‘bed’ in bedrooms at all.

Paint Colours for bedrooms are therefore highly personal. This is a room where pastel shades may be best used as they are soothing and calming. This is one of the few rooms I find the colour blue really works well. If it coordinates with the rest.

Important: When picking the paint colours for your bedroom look first at the items which are definitely remaining as part of the décor. For instance if you have a favourite piece of art that contains a lot of purples and golds you would want to pick colours that complement those colours of this focal point. See my article on the science of colour to learn about complementary colours.

So start by establishing the mood you want. Deep reds will conjure romance. Pale greens and blues will give an airy feel to the room. Think of the mood you want with your new or existing furniture. Work from a plan not randomly. The paint colour for your bedroom must include all these factors.

Also do you have much natural light or is it quite dark? You may want to consider lighter colours to keep it from being too dark.

So we have some key rules about paint colours for bedrooms:

Light colours for rooms that lack light.
Light pastels create an airy, restful feel.
Darker colours can be used to create a more vivid mood.
Coordinate around those furnishing that are set parts of the design; art or bedspreads, to get your focal point of paint colours for bedroms.
Coordinate around these.
Finally, this is your most personal space. So if you want to break all the rules above go ahead! That might be your personal statement: This is the room of he/she who breaks all the rules and loves it!

Whatever you do don’t just sit there with boring beige walls. Pump up the colour!