“With the struggling real estate market, it’s important for homeowners to know that most homebuyers make their decision – subconsciously or consciously – within seconds of viewing a home’s exterior,” Chris Ring said, Vice President of Operations and Training for ProTect Painters. “Homeowners who aren’t selling also benefit greatly from a strategic, eye catching exterior paint job as it increases the home’s value and can even help increase the value of the neighboring homes.”

Potential sellers should also focus on the home’s exterior simply because of the ROI. Seven of the top 10 home improvement projects for 2012 are exterior projects garnering anywhere from 69% to 78% return on investment — the highest of any other projects this year.

We, along our preferred home painting partners Behr, Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams, three of the nationwide leading paint companies, share tips on color selection and the architectural elements to focus on:

• Energize the Exterior: Bright, bold exterior colors are popular this year particularly shades of tangerine, yellow or deep purple. Behr suggests their color popping yellow shade Desert Glow while Benjamin Moore offers its deep purple hue Vintage Wine. Sherwin Williams recommends their vibrant tangerine orange shade called Daredevil to give a home a cheery look heading into spring.
• Front Door: A new coat of paint on your front door creates a visually pleasing focal point. It plants the seed of first impression that sets the tone for the rest of the house.
• Shutters: Whether blending to the body color or serving as a cosmetic accent to the overall color scheme of the house, freshly-painted shutters serve as instant exterior updates.
• Trim: New trim paint beautifies the façade, highlights the design of your house, and gives special emphasis to its attractive architectural features.
• Garage Doors: Another way to enhance curb appeal is to paint your garage doors to coordinate with the house body color—or make it standout by using a complementary hue.
• Fences: The right fence color can underscore the architecture of your home and add character to your yard. Fences provide a color frame for your property and give the house a distinct personality.

What do you think of our color and painting tips? Leave us your thoughts in the comments section below.

Power Washing
Power washing the exterior of your home with an environmentally safe detergent should be included in the painting estimate, as should hand washing of any areas a power washer could damage. Proper cleaning methods remove dirt, chalk and chemicals from the surface of your home, all of which can prevent fresh paint from adhering to the exterior of your home. These cleaning methods also remove mildew spores that destroy even the freshest of paint jobs. If your home’s exterior was recently power washed, this step might prove unnecessary; discuss the issue with your painting contractor as part of the estimate process.

Prep
Do not simply accept “Prep” as a line item in the painting estimate. Have your contractor detail in writing the prep work to be done. For example wood requires that loose or peeling paint be thoroughly removed and any bare wood primed before the finish coat is applied. Gaps should be filled with caulk before a penetrating primer gets applied. And before any of the prep work begins, the landscape must be protected. All of these steps should be included in the estimate, as should the product name of the primer to be used.

Painting
The painting estimate also should stipulate that all non-painted areas be covered and that cleanup be complete after the work is done. Request that your painting contractor also detail how the paint will be applied and in how many coats. Ask how the contractor handles weather conditions such as rain. The best painters suspend work when a 50 percent or more chance of rain exists. Request that the brand of paint be noted in the estimate and ask your contractor for recommendations on which paint will work best on your home.

Final Inspection
If your painting contractor ranks as one of the best in the area, he will include a final inspection in the estimate without you having to ask. It will include a complete and thorough walk-around during which areas requiring touchup will be determined and additional cleanup tasks will be noted. When you select ProTect Painters, you also will receive a final walk-around at the completion of the job.

If the estimate you receive includes all of the above, you can expect a high-quality, long-lasting paint job. If sticker shock sets in upon seeing the final cost, keep the following in mind: An exterior paint job should not be viewed as one-time cost but instead as an annual investment. A high-quality paint job can last more than 10 years, while a low-quality one could require redoing in as little as three. By no means should you consider tackling this work yourself, unless you work as a professional painter and can carve time out of your busy schedule to paint your own home’s exterior.

One final estimate issue to keep in mind: Discuss the payment schedule up front and put it in writing.  It’s common for professional painters to receive a deposit when the contract is signed and progress payments during the job.

When you’re ready to paint your home—interior painting and/or exterior painting—be sure to contact your local ProTect Painters and click here for a free estimate.

ProTect Painters opens a franchise serving the local area

On March 29, the Kent Reporter interviewed Chuck Reger, the new owner of ProTect Painters of Covington, WA. The article announced the presence of Reger’s new business, and the benefits of hiring ProTect Painters for residential or commercial, and interior or exterior painting needs.
“People throughout Covington, Auburn and surrounding communities are always searching for new, affordable ways to freshen up their property,” Reger said. “ProTect Painters has a trusted reputation across the country of providing home and business owners with exceptional value and the highest level of customer service. We look forward to bringing this to the greater Auburn, Covington market.”
With the housing market and general economic climate continuing to encourage people to keep versus sell their existing property, professional painting contractors, like ProTect Painters of Covington, are in high demand. Reger is providing residents of Covington, and surrounding areas, the opportunity to affordably maintain the appearance of their homes and businesses.

Service Franchise comes to DFW

The Star-Local News, out of McKinney, TX recently featured new ProTect Painters of McKinney owners Eric and Cheree Smith, in an article announcing their first day of business in the Dallas-Forth Worth area.
Eric and Cheree, who recently ended their previous respective careers in information technology and medical assistance, saw an opening in their area for a business like ProTect Painters. “One of the things that seemed to kind of be lacking in the corporate world is the relationships that you can build with the people in the community,” Eric said. “We really wanted to get involved a little bit more and feel like we’re accomplishing something.”
The Smith’s were also looking for career moves that would allow them to spend more time with their children, and as interactive members of the community. “It’s improving the community, offering different services, (and) making the area a little bit nicer to live in,” Cheree said. “McKinney has got such a wonderful, very interesting flair to it with the historic district, but also with all the new people who are moving here. We’re providing services for those people.”
ProTect Painters stands by hiring professional painting crews from the area, providing jobs for local painters. “We can draw from a large base of individuals that we have to try to select the right crew,” Eric said. “By us being able to have various crews…we’re able to select the right crew for the right person and the right job.”

Related Posts:
ProTect Painters In the News – January and February 2012
Put Leftover Paint to Good Use – ProTect Painters In the News, January 2012
Preparing your Home for Winter with Quality Painting Service: ProTect Painters In the News November 2011

When you’re ready to paint your home—interior painting and/or exterior painting—be sure to contact your local ProTect Painters and click here for a free estimate.

Homeowners often ask, “Can I paint over my existing stain?” or “Can I apply stain over my existing paint?” The answer to both is yes, but each requires extensive prep of your home’s exterior or you will end up with a big mess.

Paint vs. Stain
One benefit of the staining process involves its ability to penetrate, providing protection while enhancing the natural beauty of surfaces with complementary stain colors. Paint, on the other hand, coats surfaces to provide protection; the beauty comes from the paint colors, which cover the surfaces.

Painting Over Stain
Most woods stains call for a protective finish as part of the process, such as varnish, enamel or lacquer. To properly paint over stain, you must remove the stain’s glossy finish so that the paint has a surface to which it can adhere.

For best results, hire a professional painter who will sand down the entire area to be painted and clean up the resulting dust and debris; left-behind dust and debris diminishes the paint’s ability to adhere and also results in an unsightly mess in the coats. Your painter will next apply a primer to prevent the color of the stain from seeping through and to help the paint adhere; darker stain colors require primer tinted in the same shade to properly cover up their appearance. Your painter also may sand the primer coat and clean the surface again before applying the paint, which will be oil-based for best results over a stain. He will finish the job with a second coat.

Staining Over Paint
If you do decide to switch from paint to stain, you also will have extensive prep work to do, or have done by a professional painter as recommended. The only difference in prep involves primer; stain typically does not require it.

Choosing Between Paint and Stain
Sticking with one or the other product offers the best results and the lowest maintenance. When deciding between the two, consider the following:

A professional painter can walk you through additional pros and cons of each product and help you decide which will work best for your home. For example, if you have textured siding and shingles, he likely will suggest a stain to allow the natural color and surface to serve as an architectural element of your home’s exterior. If you want to hide flaws in your home’s exterior surface, your painter likely will recommend paint to create that uniform look and feel. Where you live also can factor into your decision regarding the best coating for your home’s exterior, as weather will affect how long a particular product will last and how well it will fare in your area’s climate.

Once you decide on a product, your painter also can help you choose paint or stain colors if necessary, including applying samples to your home so you can see exactly how it will look at different times of the day. The expertise and skill of a professional painter proves invaluable for such an important job as the appearance of your home’s exterior.

Related Posts:

2012 Exterior Paint Colors

Stain Colors for 2012

Specializing in exterior and interior painting, on residential and commercial projects, ProTect Painters provides local businesses and homeowners across the country with highly-skilled, trustworthy, and fully insured and licensed painting professionals who provide superior craftsmanship. Utilizing a myriad of paint options and finishes, combined with flawless customer service, ProTect Painters guarantees a stress-free home improvement experience for its customers.

When you’re ready to paint your home—interior painting and/or exterior painting—be sure to contact your local ProTect Painters  and click here for a free estimate.

When the exterior of your home needs a new coat, odds are you automatically think of paint. Did you know that a stain might be a better fit? Exterior stain highlights the beauty of wood better than paint, and its flatter finish complements the rough surface. While stain can require more frequent application, when your home does need a new coat, the process of staining proves to be much easier than that of painting. If your home would benefit from a stain, check out these standout stain colors for 2012 from Sherwin-Williams and Benjamin Moore.

Sherwin-Williams Color Stains
Ficus — This mossy green stain from the company’s WoodScapes Exterior Polyurethane Semi-Transparent House Stain line proves perfect for homes tucked into the forests of the Northwest.

Cider Mill — This rich but light brown has hints of red running throughout, making it complementary for country homes across the country.

Blue Shadow — If you are lucky enough to own a shoreside home along the East Coast, the slate blue of this stain would fit in nicely.

Redwood — The mahogany tones of this stain don’t overpower a wood grain. Instead, they allow the grain to add depth to the overall look of the exterior.

All of these color stains come from Sherwin-Williams’ Woodscapes line, a rick, thick formula that penetrates wood surfaces to provide protection from the elements. It comes in 24 shades total and also can be tinted to create custom colors.

Benjamin Moore Color Stains
Silver Gray — From the company’s Alkyd Transparent Stain line, this color actually changes as it ages and weathers. It starts out more white than gray, changing silvery over time. This stain also would work well on coastal homes. This line also provides protection from sun, abrasion and mildew.

Cedar — This color in the Exterior Finish Deck & Siding Translucent Alkyd line enhances the beauty of mahogany, teak and ipe, while helping to protect wood from aging and mildew.

Behr Color Stains
Behr also makes stains that allow the beauty of wood to shine through and provide protection against the elements. The Behr Solid Color House & Fence Wood Stain line features 82 custom colors based on its exterior paint colors.

Getting Started
Once you choose a stain for the exterior of your home, consult a professional painting company. Professional painters will perform all of the necessary prep to your home’s exterior, ensuring immaculate and long-lasting results.

If you simply cannot make up your mind regarding a color, bring a professional painter into the process earlier. He can look at the colors on your shortlist and apply multiple samples to the exterior of your home. That way, you can see exactly how each stain will look on your wood throughout the day as the light changes. A professional painter also can suggestions options you might not have considered, as he has knowledge of new stain colors on the market and can quickly select ones that will work with the color, grain and texture of your home’s wood.

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2012 Exterior Paint Colors

Exterior Paint Color Schemes | Create Fantastic Exterior Color Combinations

This post is a part of our 2012 Paint Colors and Trends Series.

Specializing in exterior and interior painting, on residential and commercial projects, ProTect Painters provides local businesses and homeowners across the country with highly-skilled, trustworthy, and fully insured and licensed painting professionals who provide superior craftsmanship. Utilizing a myriad of paint options and finishes, combined with flawless customer service, ProTect Painters guarantees a stress-free home improvement experience for its customers.

When you’re ready to paint your home—interior painting and/or exterior painting—be sure to contact your local ProTect Painters  and click here for a free estimate.

Choosing exterior paint colors proves overwhelming for most homeowners. After all, it’s a major decision not easily undone. Follow this simple seven-step process and you’ll be on your way to major curb appeal:

1. Download or launch one of the many color viewers available online.

These software programs allow you to upload a photo of your home so you can see how paint combinations look on it. Benjamin Moore, Sherwin-Williams and Behr each offer a color viewer for free.

2. Take a digital photo of the front of your home.

Shoot straight on for best results. Upload the photo into the color viewer according to the program directions.

3. Identify the three main areas of your home.

For most homes, this will be the body (shingles, clapboard siding, stucco base), trim (fascia, window and door casings) and any accent pieces (window sashes, doors, shutters).

4. Keeping in mind the architectural style of your home, use the program to choose a body color that blends with the color of your roof, trim color that complements the body and an accent color that complements the trim.

For example, if you live in the southwestern part of the country in a Spanish Mission-style home in stucco, look for warm earth tones that will complement the design of the home and its surroundings. The Benjamin Moore Southwestern Style palette uses creamy Peau de Soie on the body, with Warm Brownie on the trim, and Covington Blue on the front door and other accents areas. The colors highlight architectural elements while fitting nicely into a southwestern landscape.

If you have a Mid-Century Modern home anywhere in the country, consider bright, clear colors for its simple lines. Sherwin-Williams shows Birdseye Maple on the body, Cocoon on the trim and Olde World Gold as an accent color in its Suburban Modern palette.

If you live in a contemporary home in the northwestern part of the country, look for muted colors that will blend into the surroundings. In its Soothing Calm palette, Behr uses Chocolate Sprinkle on the body of a home with clean lines and large windows that let in deeply wooded surroundings. Chocolate Coco covers the trim, and the lighter Mountain Elk makes the accents stand out.

If you own a Colonial in the Northeast, update the classic style with more contemporary colors, such as the Colonial Chameleon palette from Benjamin-Moore. It shows Stonington Gray on the body, Mascarpone on the trim and Kendall Charcoal on the shutters. The red of Dinner Party allows for a pop of color on the home, without sacrificing the elegance of the architectural style.

5. Save and print out five favorite color schemes to take to the paint store.

It’s important to see the color schemes in person, as they might look a bit different than what your monitor displays. Stick to no more than five, so you don’t become overwhelmed by options again.

6. Buy quart samples of two color schemes and apply to your home.

This way, you can see what the colors look like on your home and in the different lights of the day. If at all possible, apply to the back of your home to keep your upcoming repainting a surprise for neighbors and friends.

7. Decide on a color scheme and hire professional painters.

While you may have painted an inside room or two before, tackling a home’s exterior proves a much bigger challenge. Not only must the home be prepped properly to ensure a quality result and years of enjoyment, you likely don’t have the skills or time necessary for such a big job.

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2012 Exterior Paint Colors

2012 Interior Paint Colors and Trends

This post is a part of our 2012 Paint Colors and Trends Series.

Specializing in exterior and interior painting, on residential and commercial projects, ProTect Painters provides local businesses and homeowners across the country with highly-skilled, trustworthy, and fully insured and licensed painting professionals who provide superior craftsmanship. Utilizing a myriad of paint options and finishes, combined with flawless customer service, ProTect Painters guarantees a stress-free home improvement experience for its customers.

When you’re ready to paint your home—interior painting and/or exterior painting—be sure to contact your local ProTect Painters  and click here for a free estimate.

The key to any project involving your deck is the prep process. With BEHR Premium No. 63 ALL-IN-ONE Wood Cleaner, you can clean your uncoated deck and revitalize the wood to its original, beautiful color. This will brighten the wood and make it look like new, as well as prepare the wood for optimal acceptance of a stain or finish.

If you really want to elevate the look of your deck, you should apply one of BEHR’s long-lasting wood coatings. Recently re-formulated for maximum durability with an Advanced 100% Acrylic formula, BEHR’s Premium Line of wood stains and finishes deliver the ultimate in quality and performance.

If you are looking to show off the natural beauty of your deck, BEHR’s line of Transparent Finishes are perfect for the job. If you are looking to highlight the grain of your wood while looking for some additional color options, you can pick from an array of 60 custom colors offered in our line of Semi-Transparent Wood Stains. If you are looking for maximum durability as well as computer color matching, then our Solid Color Wood Stains are the perfect choice.

If you have peeling stains or finishes on your deck, don’t forget to use No. 64 Premium Stain & Finish Wood Stripper prior to applying a top coat. After stripping the old coating, use No. 63 Premium ALL-IN-ONE Wood Prep to brighten the wood for the best visual appeal, and to promote optimum adhesion and performance.

For most homeowners, picking paint for inside the home takes time. Not nearly as much time, though, as choosing colors for the exterior. After all, repainting over a bad color choice in a bedroom doesn’t take long, but doing so for an entire exterior proves costly in terms of both time and money. To help homeowners decide which colors will work best on the outside, paint manufacturers make suggestions for different types of architecture. The following color palettes are proving popular in 2012 for their respective styles of homes:

American Colonial
In its new Classic Red Door palette for the American Colonial style of architecture, Behr recommends Silver Sky as a base exterior, with dark Deep Space for shutters and Awning Red for the front door. The pop of color on such a classic palette makes for a striking exterior and serious curb appeal. Benjamin Moore’s Classic Colonial palette does the same with its red Dinner Party on the front door. Weimeraner serves as the exterior base, with Wenge on the shutters and Mascarpone on the trim. Owners of Colonial-style homes give these color schemes high praise during the paint-shopping process.

American Craftsman
Both Benjamin Moore and Sherwin-Williams created 2012 palettes for the American Craftsman bungalow. The Natural Style palette by Benjamin Moore opts for a down-to-earth pairing of Clarksville Gray on the base and Stampede on the upper base, complemented by Black on shutters and Paper Mache for trim. Sherwin-Williams also keeps things muted with its color scheme for a Craftsman-style home. Downing Slate serves as the base, with Downing Straw on the porch and trim. Rookwood Antique Gold and Rookwood Medium Brown provide optional accents for homeowners gravitating toward this popular palette.

American Southwest
For Spanish-style architecture with a vacation-home feel, Behr create the Warm Weather Getaway palette. It uses Old Rose as the base, with Espresso Coffee on the door and Ultra Pure White on the trim. Benjamin Moore offers two takes for Mission-style architecture with its Desert Hues palettes. In the bolder look, the muted and earthy tones of Salmon Stream and White Oak as the base and trim mimic the Southwest terrain, while Colonial Blue serves as a surprise on the door and other accent areas. The more subtle version of this palette uses creamy Peau de Soie as the base, with Warm Brownie on the trim and Covington Blue playing the same roles as its blue counterpart in the bolder version. Homeowners in the Southwest appreciate and approve these popular color schemes.

When it comes time to repaint a home’s exterior, homeowners should enlist the help of professional painters early in the process. The professionals at ProTect Painters not only prep your exterior and apply the paint, they also will help finalize choices. They know best what works well for a particular style of house, and they also can provide feedback regarding regional color palette trends. This helps keep a home in line with others in the area, so that if the homeowner ever wishes to sell, a wrong color choice won’t dilute the home’s value.

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ProTect Painters Partners with Leading Paint Companies

2012 Interior Paint Colors and Trends

This post is a part of our 2012 Paint Colors and Trends Series.

Specializing in exterior and interior painting, on residential and commercial projects, ProTect Painters provides local businesses and homeowners across the country with highly-skilled, trustworthy, and fully insured and licensed painting professionals who provide superior craftsmanship. Utilizing a myriad of paint options and finishes, combined with flawless customer service, ProTect Painters guarantees a stress-free home improvement experience for its customers.

When you’re ready to paint your home—interior painting and/or exterior painting—be sure to contact your local ProTect Painters  and click here for a free estimate.

ProTect Painters, a national franchise specializing in exterior and interior residential and commercial painting projects, has vetted the best paint companies in the industry. For years, ProTect Painters has chosen Behr, Glidden, Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams as preferred vendors. In return, these companies have chosen to back ProTect Painters because they trust ProTect Painters’ use of their products. As a show of that support, they sponsored the recent annual ProTect Painters national convention held January 17-20 in Orlando.

“Benjamin Moore was delighted to meet the Protect Painters franchise owners.  It was nice to see a group like Protect Painters working together to grow not only each individual’s business but each others.  We look forward to helping when and where we can, moving forward,” said Dean Pectal, Senior Manager of Residential Contractor Business at Benjamin Moore Paints.

Specializing in residential and commercial painting projects, ProTect Painters provides local homeowners and businesses across the country with highly-skilled, trustworthy, and fully insured and licensed painting professionals who provide superior craftsmanship. Utilizing a myriad of paint options and finishes, combined with flawless customer service, ProTect Painters guarantees a stress-free home improvement experience for its customers.

About ProTect Painters
ProTect Painters is a professional painting contractor franchise specializing primarily in exterior, residential painting projects. The brand’s strong foundation is built on franchisee training and support created by founder Wayne Scherger, who started the company in 1994. In 2009, ProTect Painters was acquired by Service Brands International to join its forces with Molly Maid, Mr. Handyman, and 1-800-DryClean brands. Under the SBI umbrella, ProTect Painters is expected to grow to 200 units during the next five years. For more information about ProTect Painters services, please visit www.protectpainters.com. For more information about the ProTect Painters franchise opportunity, please visit www.protectpaintersfranchise.com.