Stirling Painting

Stirling Painting 2010 Exterior Season Part 1

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010 | Uncategorized | No Comments

The exterior season is in full swing.  Below is a nice overview of some of the projects we have completed, are completing, and are going to complete this year.

COMPLETED PROJECTS:

Allentown Historic Project

The 6th St. Project in Historic Allentown:

We started off with a bang.  What a neat building.  This project was a full exterior repaint with lots of wood prep.  It was a multiple color paint scheme that really popped out from the brick facade.

The colors selected were a more “grey” version of the previous colors.  And  don’t think grey is a bad thing.  It took the brightness out of the colors and  made them a bit more earthy, which worked well with the facade and slate roofing.

We lucked out with the weather on this one.  The early Spring months are usually unkind but we had some beautiful consecutive days that allowed the project to go smoothly.

The Church St. Maintenance Project:

Maintenance Project in Historic Bethlehem

When looking over this beautiful home during the estimate it was quite apparent to us that much of it was just fine.  The paint was holding up well and the colors hadn’t faded much.

However, it needed a good washing and some of the areas more susceptible to the weather needed some attention (window sills and trim, front door, some failures on high soffit areas, etc.).

So we proposed a maintenance project where only the crucial areas were worked on were able to match the colors up with color scanning.

The Victoria Square Aluminum Project:

Aluminum Siding Project

This is the quintessential aluminum siding project.  A great home in a great development needed a fresh look.  Working with the home owner we changed the look by lightening the eves, freshening up the siding and adding a new accent color.

Some people don’t know that aluminum can be painted.  But we have always had great success with these projects and they are much, much more economical then siding replacement.  The newest latex products bond incredibly well to these surfaces.

PROJECT BEING COMPLETED:

The Union Blvd. Historic Project:

Historic project on Union Blvd

They do not make them like this one anymore.   We were thrilled to get the chance to give this house a new appearance.  The previous trim color was a yellow and the shutters were a light blue.  They were nice but had a pastel undertone which didn’t do anything for the facade.  The new white color frames out the beautiful stone and the black shutters add to the classical feel.

This is a full wood trim repaint project.  I’ll send pictures of this when it is completed.

PROJECT TO BE COMPLETED SOON:

The Central Moravian Church Project:

To say we are excited about this one would be an understatement.  We will certainly keep you posted on this one (or you can drive by and honk… but not if we are on really high ladders).

Central Moravian Church in Bethlehem

Thanks for learning about some of the exterior work we have going on this first half of the exterior painting season.  Let me know if you have any questions.

- Andy

Tags: exterior painting, stirling painting, woodwork

Home Show Raffle Winner

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010 | Uncategorized | No Comments

Congratulations to our first annual 2010 Spring Homeshow Raffle winner:

Barbara Z. of Bethlehem

We will be sending an official winner notification letter in the mail (in case you forgot to check for the winner on this blog).

Thank you to everyone who entered and we hope you visit out booth next year and enter again.

Early Birds & Rotting Trim

Friday, February 26th, 2010 | Uncategorized | No Comments

Now, we know having the entire exterior of your home painted may not be in the budget this year.  But that doesn’t mean you should just ignore the problems (and by problems I mean the rotting door trim or window sills or porch rails or decks).  Problems that are ignored lead to bigger problems and bigger problems are more expensive to fix. 

 Here are some of the non-budget busting services we can offer you to go along with our exterior painting work. 

 - Rotting wood repair

The cement board on this beautiful house had a problem.  It was falling off.  But we had a solution.  Mainly, we replaced (a lot) of it and painted it.  However, most repairs aren’t nearly as expensive. 

 - Rotting TrimRepair

Rotting window sills or door trim pieces shouldn’t be ignored.  They can easily be replaced and painted.

 - Shutters

Painting shutters or going with a new color gives your house a fresh look (front doors too!).  Wooden shutters that are starting to go should be prepped and painted before they are past the point of no return.  Plastic shutters that have faded can be brought back to life.

 - Pressure washing

A clean house is a happy house… or at least isn’t a dirty house (I don’t think a pic is needed here… you get the point)

 - Aluminum siding repaint (its not as expensive as you think)

A house with aluminum siding and metal or plastic shutters can be given a completely new look for less money then you might think.  Its also just a percentage of what it would cost to replace the siding.  And your color choices are endless.

 - Maintenance work

Let us scope out your exterior and set up a plan to get the worst of the worst done and put off the rest for next year.  The picture here is a good example.  It’s an absolutely beautiful  historic house in Bethlehem.  Last year we worked with the condo association and scoped out the priority areas to repair and paint for them.  We hope to do this on an annual basis.  This will save them a large lump sum budget busting bill.  We can do the same for you. 

- Decks

Is it true what they say.  Decks really need to be stained every couple years.  If not it will start to flake and the cost of the project with be multiplied.  The alternative is to get a refresher coat once in a while to keep the water beading.

Painting – The Do’s and Don’ts of Doing It Yourself

Monday, February 22nd, 2010 | Uncategorized | No Comments

By Andy Grason

There’s nothing quite like the satisfaction of stepping back and admiring your freshly painted wall.  However, the spoils of your labor will be dependent on your prepwork and choice of materials.

Have you ever heard the old saying “clothes make the man”?  Well, in the same way paint makes the wall, spending a little extra will save a lot of frustration and yield more polished results. Good paint will cover anything in three coats, sometimes just two, but thin paint is guaranteed to drive you crazy as old wallpaper shows through coat after coat. You’ll probably end up having to trash the cheap stuff and buy something halfway decent instead, wasted paint is bad but wasted time is worse.

Let’s take a look at the brushes and rollers we’ll be using. Remember that bargain brushes create low-rent paint jobs—buy quality brushes. You will need a mohair roller with a half-inch nap for textured surfaces, a foam sleeve (always fresh!) for painting directly on plaster and a 2″ brush to cut in edges and corners.

Before you start your prepwork, examine the surfaces you’ll be painting. If the old paint or paper is peeling you’ll need to strip it off entirely, because any rips or patches will show through no matter how many coats you apply.

Stripping paper and paint is messy and tedious, and you need to take good care you don’t damage the underlying plaster. If the paper’s in good shape, and doesn’t have a texture or shiny finish, it may be possible to paint straight on to it, but test a small area beforehand to ensure it will accept the paint you want to use.

For stripping wallpaper, you’ll need a wallpaper scorer, a stripping knife, a decorator’s sponge, plenty of dust sheets and a bucket of warm, soapy water. Be advised, this is a really messy job.

Score the paper all over to break the surface, then drench it with spongefuls of soapy water. Leave it to soak for around 10 minutes, then test an area with the scraper to see if it’s easy to peel. If not, repeat the soaking process until it is, bearing in mind you’re always going to get stubborn patches. Ease the stripping knife between the loosened paper and the plaster, then carefully peel it away in strips. Clear away the scraps as soon as you can, as they’ll be covered in sticky old glue. Did I mention this is a messy job?

If the plaster is old, or the paper especially stubborn, you might end up with knife marks, or even holes where the old plaster has fallen away. You can fill smaller crevices with proprietary filler, carefully using the knife to smooth over blemishes, and sanding flat with fine grit sandpaper when dry. Remember to use a good quality particle mask with a fresh element if you’re sanding. But sometimes the surface is in such bad shape that professional replastering is the only option.

For stripping old latex paint, the best option is to buy proprietary stripper. The alternative is to peel off what you can, then painstakingly sand off the remaining patches.

Finally, your walls are ready for paint, but your ceiling isn’t!

The secret to getting a perfect edge is simple – low-tack masking tape. The steadiest hand can’t compete with the crisp edge you get from taking the time to mask round features like doors and windows. It speeds the job up too, as it’s much quicker to mash paint into those tricky edges than painstakingly inch past them. Using 3” tape makes a better screen, and aids removal. Position the tape, then rub the edge with your thumbnail so paint can’t bleed underneath.

Modern latex formulas resist separation well, but even so your paint needs stirring before use. Stir smaller pots with a clean, dust-free stick, but for multi-gallon tubs buy a professional whisk to mount on your powerdrill. The paint is fully blended when it is a smooth, lump-free liquid that can be rollered on for a smooth finish.

If you’re painting on fresh plaster, you’ll need to dilute the first primer coat with about 25% water. This helps the paint bind to the wall, which will make this paint job stay fresher, longer.

Use sweeping strokes from side to side and up and down, making sure you roller out any drips or rollermarks. The first coat may appear patchy, but subsequent coats will produce the dense finish you’re looking for. Cut in masked areas with the brush, then roller over the brush marks as close to the edges as you can. Apply the next coat only when the previous one is touch-dry. Carefully remove the masking tape after the last coat while the paint is still slightly tacky.

That’s it – you’re done.

If all this seems like a lot to fit into your precious downtime, not to mention the potential for ruining your plasterwork and coughing up dust for a month afterwards, it’s time to seriously consider calling in the experts. You’ll get a clean, professional job done in half the time, and with trade quality materials.

And remember – it’s a whole lot easier to dicker about price with a contractor than it is at the hardware store checkout.

Tags: diy, do-it-yourself, materials, paint, painting, plan, project

$299 Paint a Room Special

Friday, January 29th, 2010 | Uncategorized | No Comments

Project of the Month (January 2010)

Friday, January 29th, 2010 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Finished bar

Project of the Month: Marblehead Grille and Chowderhouse

What a project! Right over New Years we were able to complete a really neat project for a popular local restaurant.  Marblehead Grille and Chowderhouse brought us in to refinish their absolutely beautiful bar top as well as all the tables in their restaurant (there are over 40 tables in the restaurant).

Here is where it gets interesting.  Being they are a successful, popular restaurant they certainly didn’t want to remain closed long as we took our good old time.

So we were given four days.  And we didn’t want to do most of the work on site (in the restaurant) due to the amount of sanding that needed to be done.  And transporting them to our shop would have been quite difficult (that’s a lot of tables).

Oh, and we had to do it within four days in frigid temperatures…

How did we possibly accomplish this feat?

A total team effort.  Curt Passaro, Jerry Brown and Greg Round led the planning and production with strong support from Jeff Lengyl, Chuck Milositz and Shawn Price

We decided to set up shop out in the parking lot.  So, we pitched a tent, brought in heaters and went to work.

The bar top and the tables came out fantastic.  The restaurant is very happy.  And we are happy to show you some pics of our “Project of the Month”.

I would strongly suggest going in to see for yourselves.  The food is fantastic.  The restaurant is located at 4101 William Penn Highway in Easton (18045).  They are located one mile east of Route 33.  Learn more at: www.marbleheadchowderhouse.com or call them at 610.258.4301.

Our workshop inside the tent

Stripped, unfinished bar

Table staining room

Partially stained table

Finished Table Room

Finished round top table

Tags: Refinishing, stain, staining, tabletops, varnish

Some things are better handled by the professionals

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009 | Uncategorized | No Comments

Don't let this happen to you...

CASH FOR CAULKERS

Friday, December 11th, 2009 | Uncategorized | No Comments

Cash for Caulkers could mean $12K per home

• By Steve Hargreaves, CNNMoney.com staff writer
• On 5:45 pm EST, Tuesday December 8, 2009

President Obama proposed a new program Tuesday that would reimburse homeowners for energy-efficient appliances and insulation, part of a broader plan to stimulate the economy.

The administration didn’t provide immediate details, but said it would work with Congress on crafting legislation. Steve Nadel, director at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, who’s helping write the bill, said a homeowner could receive up to $12,000 in rebates.

The proposal is part of the President’s larger spending plan, which also includes money for small businesses, renewable energy manufacturing, and infrastructure.

We know energy efficiency “creates jobs, saves money for families, and reduces the pollution that threatens our environment,” Obama said. “With additional resources, in areas like advanced manufacturing of wind turbines and solar panels, for instance, we can help turn good ideas into good private-sector jobs.”

The program contains two parts: money for homeowners for efficiency projects, and money for companies in the renewable energy and efficiency space.

The plan will likely create a new program where private contractors conduct home energy audits, buy the necessary gear and install it, according to a staffer on the Senate Energy Committee and Nadel at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.

Big-ticket items like air conditioners, heating systems, washing machines, refrigerators, windows and insulation would likely be covered, Nadel said.

Consumers might be eligible for a 50% rebate on both the price of the equipment and the installation, up to $12,000, said Nadel. So far, there is no income restriction on who is eligible. That would mean a household could spend as much as $24,000 on upgrades and get half back.

Homes that take full advantage of the program could see their energy bills drop as much as 20%, he said. The program is expected to cost in the $10 billion range.

It’s not clear how the home efficiency plan would be administered – the government may issue rebates to consumers directly, homeowners might get a tax credit, or the program could be run via state agencies.

If consumers have to spend a lot of money up front to get the credit, it could throw a wrench in the works, David Kreutzer, an energy analyst at the Heritage Foundation, told CNN.

“This will not be something that’s attractive to people who are having trouble already making their budget payments month to month or week to week,” he said.

To keep consumers from having to spend thousands of dollars before getting reimbursed, Nadel said, one idea is to have contractors or big box retailers pay part of the cost up front.

Fraud issues could also come up, Kreutzer said.

“Any program that is going to run through a third party and is going to distribute billions of dollars needs to have lots of checks and balances to make sure there’s not abuse,” he said.

Nadel noted that as a way to guard against fraud, contractors would have to be certified to participate.

Energy company boost

Obama’s new spending plan also calls for renewable energy companies to get additional support. That could come in the form of loan guarantees – basically, money the government uses to secure loans for startups.

In the original stimulus bill passed earlier this year, $6 billion was earmarked for such loan guarantees. But then lawmakers took away $2 billion to fund Cash for Clunkers – the popular program that paid people to turn in their old cars.

The $4 billion from the original bill has funded about $40 billion in loans, said the staffer on the Senate Energy Committee. Meanwhile, firms are hoping for another $4 billion in loan guarantees, since they have another $40 billion worth of projects that need funding.

A bill on energy efficiency reimbursements already has supporters in the Senate.

“Not only will [such legislation] increase our energy security and transform our energy infrastructure to a modern, clean and efficient one,” Senate Energy Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., wrote in a recent op-ed column in the Hill, a Capitol Hill newspaper. “But it also will position the United States to lead in the development of clean energy technologies.”

see original article at: http://money.cnn.com/2009/12/08/news/economy/president_energy/index.htm

GOOD Food. BAD Color.

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 | Uncategorized | No Comments

Tags: christmas, dinner, holiday, paint, thanksgiving, turkey, wall color

“History Books and Aluminum Siding”

Wednesday, June 10th, 2009 | Uncategorized | No Comments

Hello. Again.  Hello.

It has been awhile, hasn’t it?

I thought I should contact you all to catch up on things. 

First the important stuff:

·      Movies:  “Rachel Getting Married” is very depressing.  It is not a romantic comedy. It is neither romantic nor comedic.  It is good.  But depressing.  And I generally like depressing movies (and do not like romantic comedies).  I would watch it if you are getting tired of being happy and need a change of pace.

·      Music:  I have recently heard for the first time – and I am embarrassed to admit I didn’t get to it sooner – Van Morrison’s “Astral Weeks”.  And now I cannot stop listening to it.   In the car.  At home.  Constantly.  If I had an IPod, and I am probably the last person left without one, I would listen to it while walking down the street and in line at the grocery store (because that isn’t rude or anything). 

·      Books:  I am on a history kick (“John Adams”, “1776”, “Truman”, “Team of Rivals” and next… “Mornings on Horseback”, the story of Theodore Roosevelt’s youth).  Yes. I am that boring.   And I am plowing through these books with speed, so if you have suggestions for summer reading… please email to me.  I will email out the list of suggestions to everyone.

Now the “business” stuff:

The exterior season has opened and the schedule is more crowded then usual.  If you are thinking about having some exterior work done this year get in contact with me for a free estimate. 

We have some exciting exterior projects on the horizon.  Some historical projects on and around Main St. in Bethlehem… Some big projects for a local university… As well as the homes of many of our faithful clients.

And remember!  Yes, aluminum can be painted!  It looks great and is ridiculously cheaper than replacing siding. 

And one more thing!  Stain your decks every 2 to 3 years.  It will save you money in the long run. 

Ok.  One more thing to go with the one more thing… referrals have been heating up.  We are sending out more money than ever to people spreading our name.  Feel left out?  Or need some extra cash?  Start shouting Stirling from the rooftops!

Tags: Aluminum Siding, exterior painting