The Homeowner's Guide to Painting, Coating & Exteriors

OAKLAND — When planning for a house painting project, a crucial concern to keep in mind is lead safety. Any house built prior to 1978 has the potential to contain lead-based paint; even if more recent layers of paint don’t contain lead, the lower layers likely do. So, when painting any pre-1978 home, it’s best to assume lead is present and take proper precautions. While this entails a bit of extra work, it’s worthwhile to keep yourself and your family safe from lead exposure. Follow these lead-safe painting guidelines: Employ wet-sanding techniques. Use a mister to wet painted areas prior to sanding or scraping. Whereas dry sanding allows particles to enter the atmosphere, Read more

WALNUT CREEK — Interior painting is a common DIY project, but if you aren’t careful, you can end up making some major mistakes. Here are a couple of common ones to avoid: Painting over an oil base with latex One common DIY painting mistake is applying latex paint over an oil-based surface without proper preparation. While most of today’s house paints are water-based, many homes have oil-based paint on the walls, and as everyone knows, oil and water don’t mix. The new coat of water-based paint may look good at first, but soon after drying, it’ll start peeling off in sheets. To avoid this, you’ll need to sand down the existing paint surface and prime it before painting. Read more

SANTA ROSA — Dry rot isn’t something most homeowners think about, but by the time you notice it in your home, you’ll wish you had. Dry rot damage can be extremely detrimental to a home’s structure and the removal and subsequent repairs can be very costly, which is why dry rot prevention is one of the most important things you can do to protect your home. First and second causes The main instigator of any dry rot infestation is latent moisture, but there are numerous secondary causes that contribute to its development. One the most common is poor construction. When building a new home, some inexperienced contractors neglect to adequately prime and seal the edges of the siding panels. Read more

MOUNTAIN VIEW — Prior to winter, it’s a good idea to prepare your home exterior for the windy, rainy weather. You can do this by inspecting your home exterior for any moisture-vulnerable areas and sealing them with an appropriate product. These include any areas of exposed wood (which should be sealed with primer) and any gaps or holes (which should be filled with caulking or patched with an appropriate exterior sealant). By keeping water from permeating your home’s wood, this annual step can go a long way toward prolonging the life of your house paint. Read more

SAN JOSE — When it comes to choosing interior paint, most homeowners tend to focus on wall and accent colors, but it’s also important to consider trim color. Although trim is generally white, choosing the right hue of white is no simple matter. From cooler whites to warmer whites to off-whites and everything in between, there are countless variations of white paint to choose from. Additionally, when choosing white trim, you need to account for all the existing whites in your home, like white doors, windows, ceilings, cabinets and appliances. Furthermore, white paint can take on warm or cool tones depending on the subtle hues that are mixed in, so it’s important to look at your trim in the context of your wall and accent colors. Read more