Who left the Window Open?

I have been to 4 homes in the last 2 weeks to look at jobs.
Guess what? Every single home had a window left open. When I asked the owners if they realized it, they said no.

Here's why it is important to check them. On every occasion, the owners did not recall when they opened the window and said it could have been open for 2 or 3 years since they last had the house painted.
One person said, "we've owned the house for 5 years and neither of us have checked to make sure the windows work correctly..."..... guess who gets the first call when there are window issues?

Check your windows now before pollen makes its way in.... or bats, squirrels, you name it!

On one occasion about 4 years ago in July, I went to a home where the client needed the living room ceiling repainted. That was it. It was a tray ceiling with 4 can lights. They had a small amount of mold. So I educated them on  air sealing the can lights to keep attic air from being sucked into the living room from the HVAC system. They didn't want that upgrade. So I did my work and 2 weeks later they were back in town and now the ceiling looked like it was raining with moisture on it like your bathroom walls look when you forget to turn on the shower. This happened because I used a primer sealer intentionally to seal that drywall.  They had an HVAC contractor there to "replace the old duct work because that was causing the moisture problem in the living room."
These poor people were scammed.

I asked the owner to walk around the outside of the house with me... They said the master suite seemed to be uncomfortable and the new duct work would help. I explained it was a good investment but not the solution to their problem. We looked at the windows to the master bedroom.... 2 were open at the top about 1 inch. I told the owner-- that is causing the moisture and comfort issue. We walked around more and found 2 more windows open in the guest bedroom. The back patio door was not weather tight. Next day I came back with a smoke pencil. He said the duct work made a difference because there was no moisture on the ceiling. I said- no- yesterday we closed the windows, THAT is the difference and his wife thought I was insulting them because they had spent $4800 to replace duct work.... I explained not at all.... then I showed them what happens when you turn on the HVAC system with a window open, using the smoke pencil...
Go to 2:30 to see how a smoke pencil works.

Smoke Pencil in use at 2:30

We opened a window, turned on the HVAC system. The Tray ceiling was the highest ceiling in the house and it was 5 feet  from the patio door that was not weather tight. Guess where the smoke went? Into the tray ceiling.  The tray ceiling was between the patio doors and the return air grill..... After that, I was asked to check and air seal all the doors and windows, receptacles, and any other areas in the home that may leak unconditioned air into the home.  Apparently their power bill dropped down to half of what it was in June and July....After that, I was asked to renovate their guest bathroom and do more work.
Very Nice couple.

So- check your windows! Your house will thank you!
You're Welcome......

How To Get the Most for your Painting Dollar....

As we start the New Year, many of us set goals for our families and homes.
One of your goals this year might be to repaint some or all of your home. What you really want to make sure is that when you're getting estimates to paint your home that everyone's going to give you a price for the same exact work. This will allow you to compare apples to apples. Each contractor that gives you an estimate should follow all of the same steps when giving you an estimate to complete the job. You can be flexible as far as the product manufacturer they use, because most paint contractors have a preferred brand. I prefer to use PPG and Glidden becausevthe supplier I buy from is locally owned. In 20+ years as a contractor i have never felt compelled to change from this supplier. They give back to our community in unprecedented ways compared to all other paint suppliers.  I buy from Hilton Head Glidden. 
Every paint manufacturer makes the same 6000 colors. Some of which claim to be proprietary colors and they are by name. However science dictates that there are only 6,000 colors and any paint manufacturer can make any other manufacturers color to an exact match.
Step 1 choosing a color. Rarely do I consult on colors as an applicator because the homeowner would come back to me if they don't like a color and tell me that it's my fault for picking it or recommending it. So I recommend that if homeowners are able to select their own colors, they contacted an interior designer to do a color match or develop a color palette for them. Typically something like this can be done for about $125 and maybe well worth it if you have a big home to paint. More importantly I think it's worth it because you have a professional that works with colors and textures everyday.
Step 2
Scope of work:
The scope of work for your paint job should be the same for every person providing a price.
1 protect all surfaces and furniture
2 Use a 500watt LED work lamp in work areas. Clean all walls trim and doors .
3 fill holes, repair drywall, remove loose caulk as needed, and sand and prep all walls, trim and doors, clean dust from all surfaces, using a vacuum, damp sponge,  or tack cloth.
4 caulk and fill cracks as needed
5 apply paint to ceilings 1st, trim and doors 2nd, walls 3rd, using spray, brush , and/or roller with 3/8" to 1/2" nap.  Clean loose fuzz from roller prior to rolling walls.
6. Remove masking materials and surface protection and vacuum or mop once as needed for flooring.
7 Label all paint for location and date and place in stirage at owners home.

These are pretty easy steps to follow for every paint contractor to make the job very simple . Keep in mind that sometimes the scope of work will change when we find an area where a wall has some type of water damage and paint starts to peel. But this is your basic scope of work that you could use with any contractor. Good luck and look forward to hearing your questions!