Professional Painting Vancouver,BC: Quick Colour Tips when deciding to Paint Your House Exterior

always use a colour change that compliments the “given” colours on the house such as brick, roof or stone

paint window sashes a light colour. Light windows are sunny and convivial, whereas dark windows look smaller and tend to close up the house.

use light colours for overhead surfaces like soffits and porch ceilings. They lift the spirit of the house. Dark colours appear to loom overhead

warm colours make a house feel “homier” and provide a cozy appeal

use off-whites that are softer than pure white and shadow nicely, showing off curves and details. Whites that are stark and very white can appear harsh and glaring, giving the house a harder, less friendly look

use lighter colours to make a small house seem larger and darker colours to make an expansive house or one in tight quarters seem more compact

make sure the house’s colours make it look like it belongs in the neighborhood

tie in colours from landscaping, such as flowers, into the colour scheme. The trees, flowers, or shrubs may provide you with inspiration for your punch colour

Professional Painting in Vancouver, BCt: Colour Is Relatiive

Colour is perhaps the most relative thing on earth. It will change in relationship to the light in which it is seen. It will also change in comparison with the colours that surround it and the colours being reflected onto it. Colour will change with scale-the amount you see affects how it will appear. It will change depending on the texture of the surface to which it is applied. The smoother the texture,the lighter it will appear; the rougher the texture, the darker it will appear. Colour will change depending on the sheen- flat colours seem to appear lighter, whereas high gloss colours tend to appear darker. To avoid the unexpected test your colour choices first. More to follow…

Professional Painting in Vancouver : Your Front Door

The Front door is the entry point of the house, and thus the eye should be directed to it immediately. The door should be quite apparent to a visitor, who should not have to guess which is the main entrance and which is the secondary entrance. Because doorways are where you welcome the world to your home, the front door should set the tone for what to expect when someone enters. Ideally it should be both eye-catching and welcoming

Doors come in numerous types and sizes. They can be solid, paneled or windowed, and stained or painted. A high-gloss paint finish looks rich and dramatic on a front door. Natural stained wood doors are warm, friendly and welcoming

Professional Painting in Vancouver: French, Patio & Back Doors

French and patio doors basically function like windows and are most visually successful when painted the same colour as the windows of the house. As always, there are exceptions to every rule, and here is an area where you can introduce colour if you do not have any other elements that are more interesting. French doors can be treated as a window or as a door. If you choose to treat them as windows, then paint them the same as the other windows on the house. French doors look good accented when they are part of a larger architectural pattern (like an archade) or are a major statement

Professional Painting in Vancouver : Garage Doors

A garage door most often comes in one of three common types: panel, flush, ribbed. All too often in new, late-twentieth-century homes, the garage door makes the biggest statement of the entire house, since it usually faces the street and is double the size of the front door area if not triple or even larger. When selecting colours, play down the garage door by painting it the body colour or just a shade lighter or darker. Help to nullify its impact by painting the whole door one colour. Avoid accenting panel details or ridges, because this will attract more attention to the garage door. The challenge is to keep the front door of the house from being overwhelmed by the garage door. If the front and garage doors are not visible at the same time, this is less of an issue and special details can then be incorporated.

Thinking about finishing your new Vancouver deck before summer?

It is important that your new deck be dry before finishing. New wood fresh from the lumber yard has , most often, set out in the winter rain and will take time to dry. Treated wood needs time to sit before being stained and opinions differ on how long you should wait. If you are doing the finishing yourself perhaps a contractor friend has a moisture meter and you can take a reading and rule out any doubts about whether the wood is dry or holding moisture.

Clean and prep the wood even if it is new since new wood has a mill glaze. Prepping the wood properly will ensure maximum stain performance.I recommend using a biodegradable deck wash to remove mold and mildew from composite decking and the mill glaze from unstained pressure-treated wood. You can use a pump-sprayer to spray the cleaner or a hose-connect cleaner can be attached to a garden hose without the need of a sprayer.

If using a pressure washer also use a cleaner since the cleaners do 90% of the work. Before washing wet the deck and surrounding vegetation, rinse the deck area and vegetation with clean water after washing. Wait a few days until the deck re-dries before staining.

Do your staining on a cooler day and preferably not in the heat of mid summer.

Don't sand your new deck , sanding your new wood will hinder absorbtion/penetration of the stain into the wood

The type of stain you choose depends on the appearance and durability you want to achieve. Choose a penetrating non-film forming stain. The pigment will enhance the color and prolong the graying. It does not matter though if it is water based or oil a long as it penetrates properly. Oil based stains will penetrate better and will have less chance of peeling. However, they can be more prone to mildew then water base stains.

The better the stain penetrates the better it will perform from wear and tear. More is not better. New wood is not very absorbent and too much stain will just dry on top of the wood instead of penetrating into the wood. In most cases you will only need one coat on new wood. Use a stain that is tinted. The tint is vital in absorbing the UV rays. This keeps the wood looking natural, prolonging the graying .

While offering the least UV protection, clear stains provide an optimum view of natural wood grain.

Choose a high quality product, avoid Behr or low quality D.I.Y . products with forever guarentees. Almost all finishes have a life of about 2 years or so on a horizontal surface.

When using more than 1 gallon or pail, it is best to mix (box) them all together first to ensure even color.

Remenber to use plastic or poly as covering for plants, concrete and pavement because stain easily soaks through canvas type coverings, Stains on these substrates are tough if not impossible to remove.

Do verticals (railings, fencing, trellis, etc.) first and do the horizontals last. Use cardboard at the base of the posts and dropcloths or carboard under the rails to catch any excess. Go back and look/wipe drips from the bottom edges of vertical boards

Use the tool that matches your experience and will guarantee a professional job. A roller and brush system can cover a major area and wll be the ideal combination to control the quality of the job. If brushing do single boards from end to end to avoid lap marks or if using a roller do two boards and then back brush the length of the area just completed. Back brushing is not a second coat but you back brush to even out the stain you just applied.

If you spray take precautions to not only wear a respirator but seal/tape/plastic/ cover the areas of your house ( windows, plants and even neighbour's vechiles) that you want to remain stain-free. A sprayer in the wrong hands is a terrible thing.

Follow manufacturerers recommendations and allow the stain to dry before you or your pets walk over the freshly stained deck.

Lift your barbecue or deck furniture back onto you newly finished deck. Avoid wheel maks/grooves through your new finish.

Your pets can get ill if their foot-pads come in contact with stains. Not only are their pads absorbent but your animal self-cleans using its tongue and will ingest the stain.

Painting Vancouver: A good colour scheme can…

A good colour scheme can make a home look larger or smaller, sturdy or flimsy, high quality or budget driven. A grand house should make a grand statement; a small house should make a small statement. Meeting a house for the first time should be like meeting a person for the first time; you want to leave with a good impression. You don’t want to know the person’s whole life story” you don’t want to see all the baby pictures.You want to be able to get to know them over time. If your house is too loud or busy, it puts people off rather than enticing them yo spend more time appreciating it. The rule to follow is: be outstanding without standing out.