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If you follow our blogs, you know that we recently published an article about the risks involved in chasing cheap painting estimates. We fully understand sticking to a budget, but sacrificing value can open the door to longer-term problems, especially in regard to cut corners and lower quality materials. It literally pays to invest in a reputable painter who may cost a bit more up front, but delivers more value in the long run.

Today, let’s take a look exterior painting products. Are those higher-shelf options really worthwhile, or are all paint cans created equal?

High-Quality Exterior Paint: What’s the Difference?

It comes down to the key ingredients:

• Solvent – Liquid that ensures the binders and pigments stay in a suspended state until after they’re applied
• Binders – Come together to create the paint film as the solvent evaporates
• Additives – Determine drying time and other features of the curing process unique to the paint you choose
• Pigment – This is essentially the color of your paint, made with naturally-occurring and manufactured components

Higher-quality paint formulas use higher-quality ingredients, and that delivers more performance. In short, the better formulas deliver a number of benefits, including:

• Color retention. Don’t buy one color, then watch it evolve into something different!
• Longevity! Yes, better paint simply lasts longer.
• Durability. Your exterior paint isn’t just a pretty face – it’s also your home’s first line of defense against moisture, UV damage, pests, temperature fluctuations, and a whole lot more.
• Easy application! This point is hard to appreciate unless you’ve spent time on a ladder with a brush in-hand. Good paint applies well, smoothly, and goes further before you need to dip those bristles again. This actually saves you money as well, since buying less paint (even if it costs a bit more per can) is cheaper than buying a lot more cheap paint.

What Else Will Make Your Exterior Painting Project a Success?

Preparation is key! Even the best paint is doomed from the start if you don’t spend time cleaning, repairing, and prepping the surface. Be sure to ask you prospective pro what kind of prep they’ll include, and recommend, and what type of paint they’ll be using as well. You’ll be glad you did!

The Best Exterior Paint To Use for Your New Jersey Project

We recommend any paint that is 100% acrylic latex. These more advanced, modern formulas perform well, are breathable, and adhere securely.

Personally, we like Sherwin-Williams’ Duration.
If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at Brennan Contracting! We’re here to help.

As a New Jersey house painter, one of the questions we’re asked most is: “How much does it cost?” And, we totally understand. Budgets drive most home maintenance and improvement considerations, especially as you compare different service providers.

You want to strike the balance of finding someone who will really meet your needs, but also fit within your financial goals as well.

Today, we thought we’d help you better understand what goes INTO the cost of your interior paint job, hopefully making the best possible choice (and investment!) for your home.

What Impacts the Cost of Interior Painting?

There are really no standard, one-size-fits-all rates. Every home is different, requiring differing amounts of time for prep, repairs, and surface variety.

Here are a few combinations we can break down, just to give you an idea of why we can’t share an estimate from the hip without more information:

• Walls
• Walls and ceilings
• Walls and ceilings with different colors
• Trim and door painting
• Different colors for walls, trim, and doors, vs. the same color for all surfaces
• What color are we covering, and how many coats are necessary?

Also, there are variables that impact price points that you may not have thought of… The number of windows in a room, for example, directly influences the cost.

Why? Well, open walls cost less to paint than a wall with a window, simply because it takes more time to cut in around a window, trim, and sill. Open spaces are easier and faster to cover.

Is a Cheaper Estimate Better?

We’re the first to admit that we’re not a bargain painting company, and we’re actually proud of that. The lowest estimate you receive, especially if it’s substantially lower, should be approached with caution.

Painters who can offer incredibly low prices are leaving value out in one way or another, and it’s likely a value you wouldn’t want to LIVE without.

• They may not carry proper licensing or insurance, or not offer a warranty of any kind.
• Or, they may be a fly-by-night operation that has shallow roots and no real commitment to seeing your work done well. If they do offer a guarantee, what’s the likelihood that they’ll service it?
• Do they carry Workers’ Compensation insurance? If not, YOU can be held liable for any job site accidents or damage that may occur.
• Can you be sure that your standards will be met, and will your painter clearly articulate THEIR standards as well? Transparency is key for both parties.
• WIll your jobsite be carefully managed, ensuring that the work is meeting those aforementioned standards?

These are the questions you need to ask them. And, at the same time, ask yourself if paying a bit more for guaranteed value is worth it. Peace of mind can be priceless.

Need a Few More Resources?

We hope these help!

• 7 Tips for Finding a Painting Contractor
• Finding a Painter Who Focuses on Customer Service
• How Much Does It Cost To Paint Kitchen Cabinets?

If you have any other questions about your New Jersey house painting project, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We would love the opportunity to chat with you.

As a professional painting company, we hear a lot of seasonally-driven questions.

Right now, as we step into the winter months, our focus here in New Jersey is certainly on addressing all of your interior painting needs, ideas, and concerns.

With the weather turning cold, we’re often asked if interior painting in the winter is dangerous, since fumes are naturally more trapped than they are during the summer months when you can have a window open. And, how long will those fumes linger?

We’ve got some good news for you!

Wintertime Interior Painting Can Be Totally Safe

Paint is always evolving and improving, offering more value, longevity, and benefits with each passing year. Recently, low and zero-VOC paints have become more and more of a priority for major manufacturers, especially as we learned just how harmful continued exposure to VOCs can be.

VOCs, or volatile organic compounds, are the portion of your paint’s chemical formula that evaporates as it dries, allowing the paint to solidify on the surface. Paint with a limited number of VOCs has been available for quite a while, but there were legitimate questions early on about whether or not the paint would be as durable.

Today’s more advanced formulas have proven themselves completely, and we can say with full confidence that high-quality low and zero-VOC paints don’t sacrifice performance in any way. But they DO offer a much safer, more environmentally-friendly painting experience.

This means you can paint and return a room to full use very quickly – perfect for that pre-holiday painting project you might be trying to sneak in.

A Closer Look At Low-VOC Interior Paint for Your New Jersey Home

Here’s a sampling of a few major manufacturers and the low-VOC products they offer, if you’d like to learn a bit more about your options:

1. Harmony, from Sherwin Williams, is one popular option. It’s zero-VOC, and also helps to minimize common household odors.
2. Benjamin Moore’s Natura line is also a very green product, boasting zero-VOC and zero-emissions formulas.
3. Dunn-Edwards offers a number of environmentally-conscious paints – you can take a look right here.
4. Behr Premium Plus is a low-odor, combined paint/primer option as well.

If you have any other questions about interior painting project here in New Jersey, contact our office! It would be a pleasure to serve you.

In our experience, there are typically three categories of kitchen cabinet painters:

1. The well-intentioned DIY-er
2. The budget-friendly painting company who says, “Sure, why not? We can paint cabinets…”
3. True cabinet painting professionals

The first category is growing by leaps and bounds these days, especially with the explosion of empowering content you can find on social media and the internet in general. And, we get it! Painting cabinets, in theory, doesn’t seem like such a big deal.

The second category is also growing as painting companies are quickly scrambling to meet the demand for painted kitchens. The scary thing is, many put on a confident front but are actually learning on the fly, essentially using YOUR kitchen as a learning/training opportunity!

The third category, like our team here at Brennan Contracting, is doing its best to answer questions from clients like you, and offering information to help you make the right decision for your home. And, we’re also fixing a lot of those DIY projects…

For more information, take a look at this brief video shared by Craig Brennan.

Why Hire an Experienced Cabinet Painter? What’s the Difference?

Here are a few of the key areas where experience really counts, and shines:

1. Durability – A major concern among homeowners is the durability of their painted finish. It’s ironic, with that primary concern in mind, that many are trying to do the work themselves or hire a subpar painter. In reality, professionally painted cabinets ARE durable, washable, and can withstand the wear and tear of your home like a factory finish would. Cutting corners, on the other hand, results in premature chipping and peeling… We see, and fix, these issues all the time.
2. A Focus On Prep – With budget and time constraints driving them, “regular” painting companies often skip the first surface preparation steps. Not good! A deep clean is essential, followed by scuff sanding, repairs, 2 coats of primer, sealer coat, and 2 finish coats.
3. Controlled Environment – The wrong painter can turn the heart of your home into a disaster zone. The right painter knows how to minimize dust, contain the space, and often will have an off-site space for refinishing doors and drawers. Here at Brennan Contracting, for example, we have a freshly-remodeled spray shop with a dust-free environment and dedicated space for spraying.
4. Upgrades! – Beyond just painting, a team like ours can also replace drawer slides, add soft-close hinges, update pulls, add new hardware, install molding, etc… They will look, and feel, like new cabinets!
5. Warranties – Will your painter stand by their work? We offer a 1-year warranty on our cabinets, standing behind our finishes and offering extra peace of mind.

Find the Best Local Cabinet Painting Company – It’s Worth the Investment

We love and support DIY projects in many cases, but when it comes to surfaces as important and valuable as those in your kitchen, we recommend experimenting and practicing in a different space. Take the time to research and find an experienced, dedicated cabinet painting service provider.

If you have any other questions about your Pitman, NJ, cabinet painting project, we welcome you to give us a call! We’re here to help.