Colour Combinations That Can't Go Wrong

Your home is a reflection of yourself, so you need to make sure that you get your home's decoration to be as close a representation of you as possible. Your home is where you rest and relax with your loved ones. So, obviously, you need to make sure that your home is made as soothing or lively as you need it to be. Each room needs to have its own character, and colours are the way to do it. The right wall colour combinations can bring your home to life. But there are always times when you wonder if the colours you've picked would go well with each other. How do you know that the colours that you've chosen won't create a visual cacophony? Well, you can try some sure shot ways to get the right colours on the walls of your home. These are colour schemes that help you to choose colours that generally suit each other well. You could try monochromatic wall colour combinations, for example.

This scheme requires you to simply use various hues of the same colour on different things. The point here is that you need to make sure that not only the walls, but also your decorations suit the wall colour combinations. Wall hangings, drapes, carpets or flooring's, furniture and so on - these are things that you can choose in the same colour as your wall's colour. Or if you would rather, you could simply put your current belongings to the best use possible and ensure that the colour of your walls suit the furniture and decorations. You can choose this over other wall colour combinations if you want a soothing effect and a sense of continuity. Remember though, that you want to make sure that the hues are apparent enough without being too loud.

You can also choose either complementary or analogous wall colour combinations as well. Complementary wall colour combinations would require you to pick colours that are diametric to each other on the colour wheel. The contrasts can help you to add vibrancy. Analogous colour schemes would require you to pick colours adjacent to each other on the colour wheel. This would mean that colours closer to each other in nature would help you to bring a sense of continuity. Remember though, that any colour that you pick is likely to change its hue depending on the kind of light that it receives. Before you go ahead and pick colours, remember that they affect the perception of size of a room.

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Ways to Prepare for a Painter

When hiring professional painters can save you time and stress when it comes to changing the look in a room. To make their job easier, however, there are few things that a homeowner can do to prepare. Obviously maintaining a home with clean walls and floor will make it easier to apply the paint and move around the house. To prepare for the crew that will come in, you can put down a drop cloth and then scrub the walls with a detergent to remove any dirt. The cleaner the surface, the more perfect the painting will be.

The first steps that a property owner needs to make prior to hiring a company is to decide what rooms they want painted and what colors they want used. The rooms will determine what type of paint the company uses on the walls. There are paints that are easier to wipe off body oils or crayon, while others make cleaning grease off a pain.

Make sure the walls are completely clean and free of defects. If you have areas that have had pictures hung often, you will want to fill the holes. You will also need to check to see if there is anything specific you need to do with carpets and outlets. All items that have sentimental value will need to be put up or moved to a different location. After you have cleaned and vacuumed, you are ready for a drop cloth to be placed for work to begin.

When deciding what colors to go with, you will need to take into account of the lighting in your house. It is best if you take home color cards or swatches to place against the surface. Some home improvement stores offer sample containers for only a few dollars so that you can check it on a small section of the wall. This allows you to compare different looks.

Finally, you need to contact several different companies that do contract work. Make sure you ask for previous clients and references so you can see work that has been done. Get price quotes, taking into account if you will need to move furniture or if that is included in the price. Some companies expect you to provide your own drop clothes and have things taped up, while others prefer to set everything up themselves.

Preparing for remodeling can consume much of your life, especially moving kitchen appliances, covering all dishes, getting furniture out of the way, or prepping any living space. Allowing a contracting company to come in and help out will take much of the strife. You can put the fun back in the change and design elements.

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Why Hire a Home Painter?

A home painter is a professional you can trust to do the job right based on his or her experience. Though you may think this is a do it yourself project, think again. The detail work, equipment and even the paint itself can be much harder for a homeowner to manage financially than just turning to an expert to handle the job. Additionally, not just any person who says they can paint houses is good enough. The wrong person could put you in a situation where you are spending far too much time and money fixing mistakes.

Your Safety

One of the reasons to hire a home painter is for your safety. Hire a licensed, bonded, and insured professional who has the proper equipment to get the job done properly. Safety is a big factor on any property. The ground may be uneven. The height, difficult obstacles in the way and even just the sun can all be factors to limit your ability to be safe. A professional will have no problem with this.

Professional Service You Can Trust

When it comes to finding a professional service, find one that has a solid reputation. When you do, you will get some added benefits from working with these professionals instead of managing it on your own. For example, these professionals have the ability to properly prepare and paint the home so that it looks good and lasts. They are experts that know the type of product right for the home. They also have the ability to help you to get all of the details taken care of too including the overhang, the gutters, and the shutters.

Saving Money

Though it may be tempting to hire the non-professional who says he will paint your home, avoid this. It may seem like these companies are less expensive but the fact is they often cost more. Professionals can purchase paint in bulk at discount prices. They also have all of the equipment necessary on hand, which means you do not have to go out and buy it. Moreover, they may guarantee their service. That means if there is a problem with the finished look, they will work with you to get it fixed. These are all factors that play a role in the cost of hiring painters.

A home painter is an expert and someone you can trust to perform the tasks with skill. Even if you have experience or the other person promises to do a great job, it may be simpler and more cost effective to turn to a professional instead. Locate painters that can show you the work they have done so you can be sure they will do the type of job you can be proud of.

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Flawless Paintwork With The Wagner Paint Crew

The very name of the Wagner Paint Crew suggests the functionality it offers to the active home handyman and even the seasoned professional. This paint sprayer will take the place of a whole crew of skilled painters to give a single worker the chance to quickly paint a good sized structure, while achieving good to excellent quality. The Wagner Power Products 3/8 HP 2,750 PSI Paint Crew Paint Sprayer is a great choice for you if you're planning to repaint your house or another medium to large building. It is also suitable for smaller projects and is very convenient for lofty paint jobs on the second or higher story.

This painter is a piston pump variety that needs no compressor and does not pull in air, either, so is therefore fairly quiet in operation. Paint is put into the hopper and the lid is closed. The hopper weighs 25 pounds when full and is carried easily using a large, ergonomic metal handle.

Though some users occasionally experience problems with needing to keep the hopper topped up, this can be avoided by quickly straining the paint before putting it into the hopper. If the paint has been strained, users confirm, the hopper can be drained to the bottom before refilling is needed. Cleanup can be greatly sped up by using Wagner cleaner agent. This will remove most paint after use and leave only a few traces in the gun, easily brushed out in a few minutes after disassembly. Using nothing but soapy water can result in long, unpleasant one to two hour cleanup times.

The 25' paint hose that extends from the hopper is connected to the business end of the system: a lightweight pistol grip spray gun that is only slightly bulkier than an airbrush. The rust-proof, light, strong aluminum gun is extremely easy to maneuver while painting in any situation, including high above the ground on a second story wall or barn. Both vertical and horizontal painting patterns are possible with the nozzle, which can be adjusted instantly simply by swiveling it.

The Wagner Paint Crew is a bit strong for small projects. Indoors, it will create clouds of overspray, and proper protection - including goggles, respirator, and overalls - is recommended both indoors and out. A covering for the hair is also a good idea. Mostly, though, the cleanup time is the biggest obstacle to using this device for small projects. It gives a superlative, smooth, thorough coat of paint, stain, preservative, or sealant to a picnic table, for example. However, the job will be done in a few seconds, and then a relatively lengthy cleanup is needed.

For big projects, however, this machine's effectiveness is well worth the cleaning at the end. There is ample evidence from users who have employed it for house painting, big fences, boats, decks, outbuildings, and so on that even an average user can achieve professional results in a single morning. The sprayer will lay down a clean, unblemished layer of paint over both smooth and rough surfaces, creating a creamy texture with its very small droplets of paint.

This represents colossal savings over a professional painting team's fees, yet offers a paint job that is nearly as good or equal to their best efforts. As a final feature, the robust construction and powerful half horsepower motor of the Paint Crew allows it to spray practically any material except actually abrasive substances. Thick, buttery paint sprays on just as easily as thinned latex or stain. With its combination of swift, high quality paint work and great versatility make this one of the best heavy duty painters that you can use for your projects today.

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The Dangers of Lead and VOCs in Paint

Painting is a key activity when it comes to renovating and home improvements. In fact it is, more often than not, one of the projects that top the list of to-dos. After all a bright new coat of paint is the easiest, quickest and most satisfying way to make over a room. But not all paint is created equal, and some types of paint can be harmful both to you and to the environment.

If you've ever felt dizzy while painting a room in your home, chances are you were using a paint that contained some type of volatile organic compounds (VOC). Lead paint has been banned for many years, so it's unlikely to have been this additive that affected you.

But right now this isn't the issue. What you need to be aware of is that it isn't only new paint that can be harmful. Surfaces that were painted with lead-based paint many years ago can also make you sick, especially when it chips or flakes off the surface.

Lead-based paint was banned from use in American homes by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in 1978, but according to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), some 38-million homes in the US still contain some lead-based paint surfaces. About two thirds of the houses that were built prior to 1960 contain lead-based paint. That is a shocking statistic.

So if you are about to start remodeling an older home, here's what you need to know about lead paint.

Dust and Debris from Old Lead Paint is a Health Hazard

This is an established fact. It is also the very reason lead as an ingredient in paint was banned in the US, and in most other countries throughout the world. Since then, various standards and regulations have been developed that enable us to:

identify dangerous levels of lead in paint, dust, and in the soil, are able to deal with to deal with any lead content in painted surfaces, dust or in the soil in an approved manner, protect people (especially children under six years of age) from the harmful effects of lead, insist on real estate disclosure so that when we buy our homes we know whether or not we are (or are likely to be) taking on a lead paint hazard.

According to the EPA, health problems caused by exposure to lead are horrendous, and can lead to "profound developmental and neurological impairment in children". The agency warns that lead poisoning is linked to juvenile delinquency and violent behavior, learning disabilities and inadequate academic performance, as well as mental retardation, and even hearing loss.

The CPSC concurs with the EPA, stating that, "Lead poisoning in children is associated with behavioral problems, learning disabilities, and growth retardation."

EPA statistics published in their Lead Fact Sheet reveal that close to a million children in the USA today have "dangerously elevated levels of lead in their blood".

Regulations and Standards Regarding Contractors Working with Anything that Contains Lead

In April 2010, the EPA introduced new regulations that made it illegal for uncertified people in the USA to remove or disturb lead-based painted surfaces larger that 6 square feet indoors and 20 square feet in the yards and gardens of houses and child-occupied facilities that had been built prior to 1978 when lead-based paint was originally banned.

Professional renovators, painters, HVAC repairmen, plumbers and electricians are all expected to be tested, and contracting businesses must apply for official EPA certification. For safety reasons, only their trained and tested personnel are allowed to do the relevant work.

While the primary purpose of the regulations is to protect children from lead poisoning, trained contractors are, according to a flyer that is circulated by the Environmental Information Association (EIA), obliged to "follow specific work practices, such as containment, dust minimization and cleanup". For example, they are not permitted to use power tools or an open-flame method when it comes to removing old lead-based paint, unless there is approved exhaust control. When it comes to clean-up, they have to follow a "cleaning verification procedure" or have the area tested using dust wipes after the work has been completed.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has developed even more stringent standards for workers. Aimed mainly at those working in industry, it specifies, amongst other things, the equipment and safety clothing that should be used when working with anything that contains lead. Paint is, of course, just one product that contained this harmfully toxic ingredient.

Removing Old Lead Paint

It is absolutely essential to take adquate precautions when removing old paint.

First and foremost you need to establish whether the old paint is lead-based. If you don't know, and can't find out, and the house was built prior to the banning of lead-based paint, then you should take these precautions as a matter of course.

When you work, follow these three simple EPA rules:

Contain the work area. Minimize dust to the best of your ability. Clean up thoroughly when you have finished working (even if the job is not complete).

When you scrape the old paint off, wear a mask and gloves so that you don't inhale any potentially toxic dust or come into contact with it and risk it being absorbed through your skin.

And always remember that, as the EPA warns: "Renovation activities that disturb lead-based paint can create health hazards."

Rather be safe than sorry, and learn how to do things the correct way before you start.

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4 Factors To Look Out For When Hiring A Painting Company

There will come a time when you find yourself wanting a new paint job for your home. It might be that you have grown tired with the colors of your walls and you want new colors to be applied. If that is the case, it is very recommendable to get help from a painting company. Even if you think that you could do the paintjob yourself, hiring professionals is still recommendable. This is to ensure that the outcome of the paintjob will definitely be outstanding and remarkable.

But since there are numerous painting companies out there, you might have a hard time looking for a good one. Here are the top four factors that you might want to look for in a painting company:

• Experience - Always look for a well-established painting company that has been around for some time. Only those who provide excellent service are the ones who really last. It is definitely a guarantee that you will get excellent service from those who have been offering paintjobs for years. While there are good companies that offer great services even if they are still knew, the risk that you take with them is still high. You do not want to risk the beauty of your interior with those who do not have experience. A company that has been offering paint services for fifteen to twenty years is very recommendable.

• Reputation - Look for a painting company that has a good reputation. That is why you might want to ask friends and family for recommendations. They might suggest particular companies that offered great services to them in the past. Once you have the name of their suggested companies, look the names up in the Internet. Determine how reputable those companies are. A painting company that has a lot of positive reviews is the company that you should consider. Painting companies will not really get famous if they provide low quality services.

• Free estimates - A painting company that provides free services are confident about the work that they do. You will definitely benefit from free estimates because you will know how much you will spend once the job is done. There are some companies out there who do not even know how much their clients might end up spending. They just do their job and surprise their clients with ridiculously expensive rates. Avoid those companies. Go with the ones that know what services have to be provided and how much these services will cost you.

• Painting advice - Only a few painting companies out there offer painting advice. Most of them would simply ask what color you want for the rooms in your home and they will follow your command even if you have made a bad choice. Look for a company that will offer great suggestions for your home. There are painting companies out there that can provide you assistance regarding color options. Consultants will be provided so that you will know which colors will be more suitable for the rooms in your home.

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