Although Summer doesn't officially start until June 21st, it has been summertime for the home improvement trades in Bryan and College Station since mid spring, if not longer. After having completed all of our larger spring projects, one evening last week we treated ourselves to the home opener of the Brazos Valley Bombers baseball team that now makes it's home at Travis Park in Bryan.

As I mentioned a few months ago, our company was selected to prepare and repaint this facility that hadn't seen a face-lift in many years. Besides painting the park, Infinity Pro Sports renovated much of the stadium facility including concessions, restrooms, press box and much more. Attending a local baseball game is wonderfully relaxing and for me it was a thoroughly enjoyable evening, reminiscent of of simpler time in my life. If you spend an evening there this summer, you won't be sorry.

We are now involved with several projects that have been on our schedule for this summer for quite some time. Our largest project of the summer is the preparation and painting of the College Station City Hall and the adjacent Community Services building on Texas Avenue. Also included in this project is repainting the Wolfpen Creek Amphitheatre.

Because of the height and location of two of the buildings on Texas Ave., the city elected to have us apply the paint by brush and roller to avoid any over spray issues. I believe this was a wise decision. We expect to begin preparation work by the middle of next week and the entire job will take about a month for our crews.

After this job is complete, we have a couple of weeks to take care of a few smaller jobs before we are scheduled to begin the repair and renovation of several apartment buildings in one of the older apartment communities in town. This particular complex has been renovating their units gradually over the last 4 or 5 years.

In addition to new interior paint and resurfaced countertops and bathtubs that we will be doing, the management of this complex is adding broadband internet and free cable, new lighting and ceiling fans inside the apartments and many other amenities. This project is scheduled for completion by the time school starts in late August.

If you have projects in mind for your home or business, but haven't yet scheduled them, you may consider scheduling them for the fall. Once the summer rush is over, the calendars of most home improvement trades will begin to open. Scheduling for this time of year will be easier to accomplish and you may actually save money by postponing the project just a little.

Please give us a call if we can help you with any home or business painting projects. We will be happy to come out and provide information and pricing, whether you intend on having your project done this summer or later this year.[b]

Whether you're painting interior walls and trim or exterior siding and trim, you'll need to decide if you want a flat or gloss finish, or something in between. Choosing the right sheen will help produce the best results for your project; make the wrong choice and you could be very disappointed.

What exactly is sheen?
Sheen describes the light reflectivity of paint. Measured in degrees, the higher the percentage of sheen, the higher the gloss. The exact measurement of sheen in a particular paint isn't really important, but it is important to understand the terms flat, satin, semi-gloss, etc. and when to choose each one.

There are many terms used by paint manufacturers to describe the amount of sheen that paints have. From the highest to the lowest, these are the most common terms:

Gloss, Soft or Semi Gloss, Satin, Eggshell, Matte, and Flat. There are others, but these are the most common.

The question of what sheen you should use when you paint isn't always simple. Will the surface need to be washed or cleaned frequently? If so, I wouldn't recommend flat paint, despite what the label may say. While some flat paints are cleanable, most are not. Even those that claim to be washable don't really clean up as well as other paints. For this reason flat paint should never be used on woodwork.

So what good is flat paint if it can't be cleaned? A lot of good, for some situations. Although there has been a trend away from using flat in favor of more cleanable paints, from an aesthetic standpoint the velvety look of flat paint on walls is hard to beat, and is often the best choice when the walls or siding surfaces are less than perfect.

A favorite of many interior decorators, flat paint hides surface imperfections better than any other paint. Also, touch ups are easier with flat, as the new paint blends easily into the old.

Flat has also been used for years as a maintenance coating for rental property. Considering the ease of touch ups and the availability of low cost flat paint, it makes a lot of sense. Recently, eggshell and semi-gloss products have been used more often in rentals, since they are easy to clean. Ironically, most rental property is painted after each tenant vacates, so the increased clean-ability of these paints is often wasted.

Higher sheen paints also emphasize surface irregularities. I'm sure you've been in an room where the walls have been painted with semi-gloss and the light reflecting off of each poorly repaired, damaged spot just SCREAMS out at you.

Still, eggshell, satin, and semi-gloss finish paints are excellent choices for many homeowners since they clean so well. Children's rooms, hallways, utility rooms, kitchens, baths and garages can all benefit from these cleanable paints.

I often tell my customers a story about my youngest daughter, now a freshman in college. I was home one afternoon when she was 4 or 5 and she and a friend were playing in her bedroom. Something told me that it was a little "too quiet" in the bedroom and when I went in to check, the girls were busy coloring on the wall behind the door.


A fairly common incident, I'll grant, but one that I'll remember because the kids were able to clean up their own mess by scrubbing the crayon off the eggshell finish with Comet cleanser! You couldn't see any crayon marks after they finished and the walls looked like new.

Of course, I did help them a little bit.

It seems like I've written a book here, so I'll only add that you should talk with your paint retailer about sheen before you make a decision about what kind of paint to use. Even better, talk with us if you are considering a painting project. Our consultation is free, even if you decide to paint it yourself!

While doing an estimate yesterday, I was asked if we could repair the cracked stucco on the exterior of the customer's home. The homeowner mentioned that one of the other companies that she called said they could. My response to her might be of some interest to you.

Hire Specialized Contractors
I explained that while it may seem convenient to deal with just one person and, no doubt, tempting to let one company handle all of her home improvement projects, there are some things to consider before doing so.

If a painting contractor says he can stucco your home, install crown moulding, doors and windows, do electrical work and even offers to give you an estimate for remodeling your kitchen, you should think twice before assuming that he's heaven sent. Painting is a specialized trade, and so are trim carpentry, stucco and plastering, electrical, plumbing and remodeling.

It takes many years to become skilled in any trade, and it is hard for a small business to offer quality craftsmanship outside of their specialized trade. In other words, companies that keep painters, trim carpenters, plumbers, electricians, etc. on staff are practically non-existent.

It's generally a good idea to hire a painting contractor to paint, a window company replace your windows and a contractor who specializes in remodeling to remodel your kitchen or bath. Of course, there are some exceptions to this and some cross-training occurs in many trades.

Each of our paint crews, for example, has one or two men with experience in replacing rotten siding and trim. However, I would not accept a job and ask these men to frame a room addition to your home. While they are completely capable of replacing trim boards and siding, lumber on a deck, or replacing a picket missing from your cedar fence, framing an addition to your home is beyond their skill set.

Check Their Work First
I suggested to my customer that we bring in a plaster contractor to do the stucco project and if she wanted, w could oversee it as needed, scheduling and coordinating their work with our own. After she thought about it, I think she understood my point.

Some companies will offer several home improvement services, but to get the best quality results for your home, it is advisable to hire a contractor for each trade. If your projects are numerous and you just don't have the time to meet and negotiate with all of the subcontractors needed, another option would be to have a remodeling contractor oversee the completion of your home improvement needs. He or she can hire and manage subcontractors on each phase of your job.

A remodeling contractor will take bids from specialty subcontractors, negotiate with them as required and then coordinate, schedule and meet with each "sub" as the work on your home progresses. This coordinating work takes a lot of time and considerable expertise. A good remodeling contractor will bring his years of experience in working with subcontractors on projects like yours and will relieve you of many potential headaches that could result in trying to manage the job on your own.

Back to the original topic. Over the years I have seen some pretty dismal work produced by "jack of all trade" type companies. Some companies will say "We Can Do It All!"....maybe they can, but before you allow someone to work on your home, make sure that they are fully qualified in all of the trades that you are hiring them for.

In the words of Ronald Reagan, "Trust, but verify". Check their references and try to look at some of their work. You could end up saving yourself a lot of heartache.

Summertime is around the corner and the best craftsmen and home improvement companies in Bryan-College Station are always busy during the summer.

Here's a tip: call now to schedule all of your summer home improvement projects. If you need to have your painting project done between May 15th and August 31st, we still have openings available for your interior or exterior painting projects. Give us a call now for a free estimate.

Better yet, consider doing your summer painting project this spring. We still have room to fit your project into our schedule for April and May. Paint this spring and save summertime for Vacation!

Below is a short list of some of the projects we will be working on in April.

Preparation and repainting of the Travis Park grandstands, canopy and bleachers.

Completion of the drywall finishing (taping and floating) and painting of the renovation of the Records Storage facility for Texas A&M University.

Preparation and repainting a home in the Memorial Forest Subdivision of Bryan.

Interior drywall repairs and complete interior color makeover for a home in Briarcrest Estates.

Preparation, wood repair, and exterior repainting of a home in the Historical District of College Station.

Several "Painter for a Day" jobs for folks wanting smaller interior painting jobs done. One involves the color change of walls in one room and the trim prepared and repainted in another, along with mildew treatment for the exterior of their home and backyard garden shed.

Pressure washing of the exterior facade, and then repainting the exterior of a College Station Auto Repair business. It's due for a much needed color change and cleanup!

Add your project to our calendar today! Call 979-776-9109 for a free estimate!

One of the most common home maintenance problems that we in Texas face is mildew. Many people are not aware that mildew likes oil base paints. Oil base (alkyd resin) paints were once the only choice for exterior projects, but in the last 35 years or so, most paint manufacturers, retailers and contractors have discouraged their customers from using oil base paints on the exterior wood surfaces of their homes.

The reasons? Oil paints are non-elastic, hence subject to cracking and peeling, and more to the point of this discussion, they are more likely to encourage mildew growth than acrylic or latex based paints. So, if your home is painted with an oil base paint, the best thing is to switch to a mildew resistant acrylic or latex paint when your home is in need of painting.

If you aren't ready to paint, or you're not sure if your home needs to be painted because you can't see through the black mildew and mold growth, just kill the mildew and find out. This can be a "Do It Yourself" job, if you like. Just follow the easy steps listed below:


Mildew Removal

1. Prepare a solution of bleach and water in a pump-up garden sprayer. A ratio of 1 to 1 works best.
2. Add about 1/2 capful of liquid laundry detergent to that mixture. Be sure to add the detergent last, so it won't foam up when you add the water.
3. Apply the solution liberally to all areas. Treat all painted surfaces, even if you can't see any mildew. If there is mildew anywhere on the house invisible mildew spores are probably on every surface. Kill 'em all!
4. Allow the mixture to remain on the surface for about 10 minutes, and rinse. No Scrubbing Required!

The detergent helps make the surface slippery so spider webs, dead insects and other surface contaminants will rinse off easily with the hose and a spray nozzle. To avoid damaging your plants, you can quickly rinse them with water.

This is a process that everyone should do or have done at least once each year. Doing so will prolong the life of the paint coating on your home and you will be shocked at how good it looks afterward.

We begin each exterior paint project with cleaning the surfaces in this manner. Sometimes after we have bleached and washed a customer's home, the customer will ask us if the house really needs to be painted. Sometimes it doesn't!

If you aren't a "Do It Yourselfer" or just don't have the time, call us to do it for you!