10 things to consider before repainting the interior of a house in Kirkland

Every neighborhood has its own challenges when it comes to painting, and every home - indeed, every room - can be unique. But there are definitely some important dos and don'ts you can consider, especially in the Kirkland area (or Pacific Northwest in general), where moisture is always a consideration.

1. Walls, ceilings and trim should be dry!

It might appear obvious, but you would be surprised how often people are tempted to just start painting a wall, not considering the need that it should be bone dry before the work begins. How do you make sure it's dry? Well, first of all, there's a good season and a not so good season to paint an interior wall. This past winter was one of the wettest on record for Puget Sound, and with that came higher than usual internal moisture levels. It takes time for the interior of a house to dry out. The best practice is to keep the windows open and internal doors open for a long period of time, making sure everything in the home has had more than enough time to dry out. Bathrooms, in particular, are prone to dampness, so airing everything out completely will help there too.

2. Washing the walls may be required

Black mold, candle residue, cigarette residue and plain old dirt can be easily washed from the walls in preparation for painting. I have used the product Mr. Clean to wash the black mold from one room in my home. I then let it dry out completely before I started painting.

3. Choose the right season

In Kirkland and surrounding areas, there are definitely wet times of the year and dry times of the year. If, for example, it's the middle of August and it hasn't rained for weeks, and the grass is all baked dry, it might be a great time to take out the paintbrushes. If, on the other hand, it's the middle of winter, and there's condensation on the windows, it might be a good time to wait.

4. Choose the right paint, both for safety and for room type

Have you ever noticed, for example, in the kitchen area of your rented accomodation, the paint is different to the living area? Kitchens will require a more water-resistant paint than what is required in a living room. You will need it to be washable, and it must be able to be washed many times every year. When you're selecting the paint for your kitchen, be sure to mention to the sales assistant what you intend to use it for. Often, the same color is used in an eating area right beside a kitchen, so you made need two paint types, but of the same color. Bathroom wall paint will need to be waterproof, and best if you can choose a paint that is mold resistent. It also must be washable. Pay a little now by choosing a strong bathroom paint, and it will serve you well for years.

5. Invest in the right type of paintbrushes and/or roller equipment

There are different paintbrushes for oil-based paint than for water-based paints. And there are certainly many different levels of quality available on the market. Some painters prefer to go for the cheaper variety, with a view to using them only once. I prefer to invest a good set of brushes and keep them very well maintained.

6. Keep your painting equipment in good shape

If you plan on painting many times into the future, getting a good set of brushes now, and maintaining them can pay off in the long term. But the key is, to really clean them thoroughly after every day's work. We've all seen those abandoned paintbrushes, where the painter forgot or neglected to finish the day's work with a through cleanup. I suppose, if you paid a few dollars for the cheapest brushes in your local home services store, you might be happy to throw them away and buy a new set, but high quality brushes also help to do a high quality job, and it may show in your work.

7. Seal off or completely cover what you don't want to paint!

We are all eager to get a project started, but taking steps to protect your furniture, windows, carpets and even people is always a good idea. Despite your best efforts, specks and splashes of paint find their way everwhere during an internal painting project. Cover it unless you want paint on it.

8. Invest in the correct floor cover and general cover material

Newspapers or such will likely let you down. If you have carpet you want to protect, you will likely need more than just old newspapers to stop the paint from getting through. If you have a paint spillage, or even a few drops, it can easily seep through paper and soak into your carpet. Paint supply stores can fix you up with what you need. I've also seen used painters rugs in thrift stores, so keep your eyes open for that if you're on a budget.

9. Ventilate your room before, during and after the entire paint job

If only for health and comfort reasons, you need to keep dry air circulating through the room you are painting. What I have used in the past is one of those square fans that fit perfectly into a window pane, or can be made to fit. Use it to push the air out of the room as you paint. Air will then be naturally 'sucked' from the rest of the house as you work, making sure no fumes or paint smells waft through your home as you work. Leave the fan running if possible, long after the painting is finished.

10. Be ready for cleanup

If you are using oil-based (or any non-water based) paints, you will need to do the cleanup immediately after you stop for the day. Oil or latex-based paints need to be cleaned completely form your brush and equipment set right after you finish. So have all of that in place, and a place to do the cleanup, all ready to go when you need it. Painting can be real work, and tiring too. It's easy to skimp on the cleanup after you've exhausted yourself after a long day at work, so having the right cleaning materials/equipment before your start will make the job easier and more enjoyable.

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12 tips for painting your home in Bellevue

Bellevue, Washington has exploded in terms of population over the past few decades. What's more, the rate of investment in single family dwellings has skyrocketed over the same period of time. People are finding the property they bought a few decades ago might today be worth four times what they paid for it originally. So, it makes sense you would want to protect that growing investment by taking care of it physically. Nothing - with the possible exception of a new roof - can protect a house more than the right external paint job. And interior, too, to a degree, although interior paint does not usually take the weathering external paint does. So let's talk about getting a paint project done to reflect the real value of your house!

1. The right paint for the right wall

This is mostly about sunlight and shade, and the direction a particular exterior wall faces. If a wall of your house is north-facing, and is heavily shaded, it's more likely to be impacted by mold and other effects of dampness. For that, you need to consider a paint that resists mold. What's more, such dark and damp walls tend to become damaged by that mold and damp more easily. Sunlight, as they say, is a wonderful disinfectant, and can 'bake' mold and other types of fungus long before it gets a chance to take hold. But that only works when the sun does, in fact, have a chance to shine on a wall. Talk to your paint supplier - or house painting company - about your experiences with mold in the past.

2. Is a particular wall baked by sunlight?

Mold and damp have one effect on a wall, while sunlight can impact it in a different way. Luckily there are paints that fare well when under the harmful effects of UV light, heat and dryness. Exterior wall paint can reach high temperatures during days of the summer months, only to be much cooler during the nights between those hot days. That heating-cooling-heating effect can certainly damage the average paint, so you need to choose one that is flexible and is engineered to take those temperatures and moisture conditions into consideration.

3. Chose a paint that matches the wall material type

Stucco, for example, tends to 'soak' up paint, and can be strengthened by using a type of paint that has some elasticity to it. Some paints now (including those they use on automobiles) are more like plastic than paint. They can offer strength to stucco while at the same time remain flexible enough to expand and contract when under pressure. There are countless types of siding available - far too many to mention all of them here - but when choosing the paint to use, consider what material you are painting on. If you have a sample piece, take it with you to the paint store, or if you are getting a bid on a painting job for your house, make sure your painting company takes the siding material into consideration.

4. Choose a color that matches the rest of the house, surroundings, and sunlight level

It's easy to fall in love with a particular color in a catalog, but one square inch of colored paper can be quite deceiving. One of my neighbors, years ago, chose a light blue color straight from a catalog. When it was done, the house looked terrible. He suffered (well, we all suffered) with the color for about three years before he finally repainted it. Better to take the time on the right color from day one, and not take the risk of choosing the wrong color. Paint a less exposed section of the wall - perhaps under your deck - to try out the paint and how it looks.

5. Painting the outside of your house is best done in the summer

Most house painting companies will not paint the exterior of a house in the Pacific Northwest if the temperature comes anywhere near freezing. Neither will they do it if there is even the slightest chance of rain. Rain and low temperatures risk damaging the project. Inside your house, it's obviously a different story. Even if it's raining outside, you can paint the inside, then keep all the windows open while it dries out.

Check into a hotel or be on vacation while your house is being painted

Another great reason to paint your house in the summer time is, you can take your family away while the job is being done. You don't have to worry about getting in the way, or your kids inhaling paint fumes, safe and all as they have become.

Plan ahead. Painting companies like to book well in advance

A good house painting company will have plenty of clients, and their summer roster may fill up quickly, so get your house painting project into their calendar long before the painting season begins. You might even save money while the painting company is still hungry to fill their summer roster early.

Cover or otherwise protect everything you do not want to get paint on

Many painting companies will do a complete protection job on all of your furniture, windows and so on, but it's good to make sure you and your painting service provider agree on what's covered and what it not, both literally and figuratively.

Move as much as possible out of the way before the painting job begins.

The easier it is for painters to do the painting, the better job they will do. Make it easy for them by getting stuff out of the way. For exterior painting projects, consider hiring a landscaper to really cut those shrubs way back, especially if they are actually touching walls. Inside the house, it might be enough to move everything to the center of the room, but better if you can clear out the room entirely. Ceiling painting can be done over a kitchen table, of course, but it's better to have the kitchen mostly empty, so the painters can operate freely.

Choose food, and living-safe paints. Don't assume it will happen

Long gone are the days of lead in paint, but still, there are better paints out there. If it is possible, for example, an infant might be in a position to gnaw down on the painted surface, ask your painting service provider about 'food safe' paint types.

Give the paint job plenty of time to dry out

It might appear to be completely dry, but paint can take more time to dry than you might guess. Even with today's much safer paints, fresh, clean air is always better than air with any kind of particles in it. If you can, leave all the windows open for as long as you can, and don't re-hang pictures for a while. Let the paint bake dry first.

Ask your painting service provider plenty of questions and check references

You'd think painting a house would be straightforward, but attention to detail while doing it can make a huge difference in the long term. You want to get many years out of the painting project you're paying for, so do your homework early. Ask for references from previous clients and call them. It's not a totally fool-proof guarantee, but if they cannot provide any, that might be a red flag. Check their website, too, for images of past projects. Research now, relax later!

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11 wise steps when getting your Issaquah home ready for interior painting

1. Always make sure all surfaces are completely dry before and during the entire project

Most paints need a dry surface. Some water-based paints might be OK, but you have to ask yourself, why is the wall and/or ceiling wet or damp in the first place. In every case, all surfaces to be painted should be bone dry before beginning.

In the dry season - which is approximately April to September in the Pacific Northwest - it's usually a question of simply leaving doors and windows all open for a few days before the project begins. If you're lucky with a few rainless days of low humidity, so much the better. Check the weather forecast for the next week for your area. The drier the better!

For bathrooms in particular, it's advisable to give the walls a greater opportunity to get and stay dry well before the new painting project begins.

2. All walls, ceilings and other to-be-painted surfaces must be clean

Kitchens are notorious for collecting food stains on the walls, and even ceilings. When my kids were infants, they could get food stains on the ceiling. I never knew for sure how it happened - possibly with a leveraged spoon or fork - but it happened. Before we painted the ceiling year later, I had to scrape some food particles from the ceiling and clean it thoroughly before painting began.

If you are hiring a painting company to do the work, you'll want to present a home that 100% ready for the painting to begin.

Bathrooms can be prone to black mold. You'll need time for the bathroom to completely dry out after the black mold is completely removed.

3. Selecting the right paint now can make a huge difference in the long run

You might want the same color for the walls of all rooms in your house, but certain rooms do require a different type of paint, even if the color is the same throughout the house. Bathrooms and kitchens, for example, will need paint that provides splash and damp resistance. Around the food preparation area in the kitchen, for example, where the wall may have to be washed regularly, you will need paint that can take regular washings, and which needs to be 100% waterproof.

Bathroom walls and ceilings need a paint that might have to be mold resistant, as well as washable on occasion. Be sure to ask your paint supplier or painting contractor about how each paint variety will resist black mold, in particular. In the winter of 2015/2016, where there was record levels of rainfall, black mold struck many a bathroom and living space where people did not adequately air the place out regularly.

4. Cover all your belongings that you don't want to get paint on

Painting contractor companies will always have material to cover what's valuable, but there are some things in your house that really cannot be repaired or replaced, or even insured to an adequate degree. Best if you can pack away those things that mean a lot to you, so no one has to say sorry later. Take plenty of time ahead of the project to get the house ready. Don't leave things until the last minute, and you won't be sorry.

5. Choose a time, if possible, when your family, kids, and pets can be away from the house

It's usually a bit more expensive to paint a house in peak season (the middle of the summer) but you should be OK if you book ahead. Don't wait until July to book an August house-painting. You'll get a much better deal if you book your painting job months in advance. You'll also get the best weather, and you can take advantage of the dry summer months too!

6. Do all repair work ahead of time

Homes, like anything made by humans, deteriorate with time. It might have been more than a decade since you painted your home last time, so it's likely there are some minor damages to walls and trim that need to be taken care of before the painting project begins. Every painting contractor will appreciate it, and you won't be surprised with any "hey, we'll have to fix this before we paint this wall here" type of thing. That way, there will be no unpleasant surprises in the project price, either.

If you've raised kids in the time since the last time you painted your house, now might be the perfect time to take care of those repair jobs. From personal experience, I know just how much of a strain my kids had on the house. Infants gouge walls with forks, and teenagers slam doors. It's all part of raising kids, of course, but trim can often become misaligned after a few door-slammings, so go over everything long before the painters arrive. Even if you're doing the paint job yourself, you'll find the process less onerous if you're not distracted by having to stop and fix something half way through the painting project.

7. Before you open a can of paint, have all your tools ready and your workspace prepared

In the eagerness to get started, people often open the cans of paint before they are fully ready to start painting. Remember, the clock on the project starts the moment the first can of paint is opened. Once that can is open, evaporation begins, and you need to be in a good position to start painting and continue from that moment.

8. Make sure you are dressed for success. Paint gets everywhere

If you don't want paint in your hair, you need to cover your hair. Even an old baseball cap is better than nothing, but a shower cap you can throw away after the project is excellent. Some hotels have such disposable shower caps. I don't know if anyone ever uses them, but if you're planning a hotel visit soon, you might grab one or two if you can. Also, use an old pair of sneakers or something. Shoes and paint don't mix, and they will destroy your favorite pair of shoes if you forget this.

9. Have enough paint to finish the job, without having to revisit the store

When you ask the folks at the paint supply store how much paint you need, they will ask you about how much surface area you wish to cover, and they will also need to know what type of surface you plan to paint. Stucco, for example, can soak up paint, while other types of siding may need less paint. There are also indoor paints and outdoor paints. Visit your paint store with the facts so you can choose the optimal amount of paint for the job you are doing.

10. Label and store leftovers for use years from now

If there is paint left over - there always is - write on each can what it walls/rooms/ceilings it was used for, so that you can do patch-up work later as needed.

11. Clean up completely after each day

We've all done it one in our lifetime. We've forgotten to clean all the brushes and equipment after the first exhausting day of painting, only to be left with destroyed equipment the next morning. Water-based paints can usually be thoroughly washed out with warm water. Other paints may require a solvent of one type or another. When you are purchasing the paint and equipment, be sure to include all necessary solvents and cleaning equipment. Of course, if you use a painting contractor, you won't have to worry about any of that.

Good luck, and check back next week for more tips!
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Should I buy the paint for my home interior repainting project in Bellevue?

The short answer is, probably not.

There are so many considerations to be taken into account when painting the interior of a home, you stand a good chance of choosing a less-than-optimal paint for your home if you go it alone. And if there is mixing involved - that is, if you bought and paid for an unusual color - there's no going back. Once it's mixed, it can't be unmixed.

So, what are the considerations in choosing one paint over another? Well, there is of course brand. I won't promote one brand here over another, but suffice it to say, you probably know a few of them already. Ideally, especially if you are getting a contracting company paint your home, you shold talk at length about the choice of paint before any paint is purchased.

Sometimes, it doesn't matter so much

When my kids were young, they wanted to paint the walls of their rooms their own, crazy color. My daughter went through a 'pink' phase, so her room was, for a while, pink. A decade later, we repainted it back to a more conservative, easier on the eye off-white, but when we had originally gone looking for pink, my daughter set her heart on a particular shade, so that, as they say, was that. In that case, it didn't matter so much, as long as the paint was safe for indoor use, and was - to be the best of all we could know - safe enough for a child's bedroom. So we didn't pay too much attention to color at the time. My daughter got the color she wanted, even though, for me, it was a bit of an eyesore.

Even within a single room, walls can need different types of paint

You've probably heard of the term accent painting. It's when one wall or part of the room is give a different color to the rest of the walls in the room, in an artistic effort to make the room look great. It can be very nice, for sure, but it takes quite the expert eye to get the colors right with accent painting.

And it's not just colors. Sometimes, a room will need a different type of paint on its walls. In an apartment I lived in once, where all the walls were painted a neutral, off-white, the back walls of the kitchenette, as well as the walls of the bathroom, were painted with a more glossy type of paint. It made complete sense, of course, because those particular walls needed more protection against moisture - and food - that did the walls in the rest of the apartment.

Not all paint can go on all walls, so be sure to talk to your painting contractor or professional about where the paint is going.

What was on the wall before you started the project?

If you're going from, for example a dark burgundy to a much brighter off-white, you'll need a paint that has a high opaque quality to it. I remember years ago choosing the wrong paint to do a job just like that, and I ended up laying down no fewer that three coats of paint. Even after that, there was always a vague hint of burgundy trying to make itself seen, and I was never fully satisfied with the job. After three full coats of unthinned paint, though, I had had enough of the project.

When talking to your painting contractor, make sure he or she knows what color and shade you are expecting to cover. You can always go back for more

If you are doing the painting work yourself, and not hiring a painting company to do it for you, my recommendation is to always err on the light side. By that I mean, don't buy too much paint. You can always drive back for that one last can of paint on the last day if you need to. Take a note, too, how much paint you are using by the time you are half way through the project. Extrapolate from there how much you will need and be ready with enough paint, then, on the last stages of the project. Paint settles, so it should be purchased close to the time it will be used

Have you ever seen one of those paint-mixing machines in operation? It shakes the daylights out of the paint choice mix, to an extent that would take a very long time to copy by you with a simple piece of wood. It's because to get two colors truly mixed evenly, the mixing has to be done extremely well. That is, of course, when you are mixing two colors to produce a third. Aside from the question of mixing colors, paint settles when it's left sitting around. With today's sophisticated paints on the market, it can be less of an issue, but there is always some settling. If it's not mixed properly again before the project begins, the effect can be undesirable. As you work through the project, you may see a change in the appearance of the paint, as the 'lighter' end of the can contrasts with the 'heavier' paint from the other end of the can. Mixing is important, so use the paint soon after you buy it, and get them to shake / mix it well for you before you leave the store.

If for some reason your project gets delayed, bring the paint back to the store (before the project restart) and ask them to mix it again for you. If that's where you bought the paint, they should be happy to do that for you.

The time of year might also influence which paint you choose. During the winter, it will likely take longer to dry that it might take during warmer, summer months. If it's a bedroom, for example, you'll need to know not just how long it takes the paint to become dry to the touch, but how long it takes for all vapors to have completely left the paint. No one should be sleeping in a room where paint is not yet dry, no matter what the law stipulates about paint products.

Take to your paint supplier or your painting contractor about drying time. That's how long you need to stay out of the room.

Another question that comes up a lot is, do you plan to sell your house soon? If you do, you'll probably want to choose 'safer' colors. Any real estate agent worth their salt will be able to help you with this. Safer colors will reduce the chance of any given potential house buyer being turned off by a particular color you might have chosen. The darker, the riskier

It's not always the case, but darker colors are tougher to 'get right'. I've been in a home where the owner painted the walls of one room black. Yes, black. It looked terrible, to my eye at least. In rare cases, black can work - perhaps in a wine cellar or some such place (but don't take my mentioning it as any kind of advice) - It's easier to darken things up with a darker coat of paint, but it's harder, for some reason, to paint out dark colors if you do in fact choose badly.

There are many more factors to consider when buying paint, and I'll go into everything in detail over the coming weeks and months, but I can say this: ask the experts. A painting company that's been around for years is going to have a wealth of knowledge about choice of paints, and they usually do it for free. In fact, if you are using a painting contractor, look for one that expresses an eagerness to help you during the color and general paint selection stage. That'll get you started right, and you'll be less likely to paint yourself into a corner. No pun intended.