Posts

Atlanta House &amp Office Painting Quote

Winter Weather Means in Interior Painting Season

/0 Comments/in , , , , /by

Wow we’ve had some weird weather this year.  Summer was unseasonably cool and rainy.  Then we had a week of spring-like weather.  Thanksgiving was in the 20s.  The first week of December was in the 60s and now it’s cold and rainy.

There is no telling what Christmas is going to be like.  The one thing that we know is that this winter is unpredictable.  Unpredictable winters usually mean snow or ice storms.  In Atlanta, winter storms shut down the city because we don’t have  a lot of those machines they have up north to clear roads.

Personally, I like being snowed in (as long as there is power).  It makes you step away from work and spend time with family and friends.  There isn’t the pressure or temptation to go out because everything is closed and you can’t drive.  It nice to work out then watch movies, eat snacks and take naps.  And I nearly forgot to mention the best thing about winter storms; SNOWBALL FIGHTS!

If you’re wondering how this article relates to interior painting, you’re not alone.  I just realized that I forgot where I was going with that intro because I was thinking about how much fun snow ins are.

Back to the paint.

Because they predict that we are going to have wild winter weather, we will probably all spend a lot of time inside of our homes.  Since the weather outside is going to be cold, dark and possibly dreary, you should do everything possible to make your interior feel warm, cozy and inviting.

Interior house painting is the easiest way to achieve this goal.  New colors or even flatter finishes can make your home’s interior feel entirely different.

Because GreenWave Solutions is one of Atlanta’s finest interior painting company, you should call us to get an estimate for interior painting.

We are giving 15% interior painting projects until March 15, 2014.  Call us today to get a free estimate.

Remember, GreenWave Solutions also does cabinet finishing, exterior painting, color consultations, drywall installation and more!

Painter Sandy Springs Exterior House

Fall House Painting Specials

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

Is that football I hear?

Yes it is!  And football means that Fall is here.

We didn’t have a typical Atlanta summer this year.  It was one of the coolest and rainiest summers in recorded history.  It was good for interior painting, however, many Atlanta residents postponed their exterior painting projects due to the constant rain.  I’m not a weatherman, but I’m right about the weather about the same percent of the time and I hope that we have an unseasonably dry and warm Fall.

Typically, Fall is good season for exterior painting.  The lower temperature and relative humidity allow the paint to dry at near perfect conditions (manufacturers rate most coatings at around 70 degrees at 60% humidity).  Also, there is no pollen or surprise thunder showers like in Spring and Summer.

GreenWave Solutions is offering 15% off exterior house painting in Atlanta to help our neighbors that didn’t get to take advantage of our Summer specials.

Our 15% off Fall house painting special includes:

  • Exterior Painting

  • Interior Painting

  • Deck Staining and Sealing

  • House Painting

  • Cabinet Finishing

  • Wallpaper Removal

  • Popcorn Ceiling Texture Removal

  • Stipple Texture Ceiling Smoothing

These are only some of the many services that our skilled painters, carpenters and craftsmen do to make your home a more beautiful place.

Call us today to learn more about GreenWave Solutions’ services and specials.  Our professional interior and exterior painters serve Atlanta, Alpharetta, Roswell, Brookhaven, Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, Buckhead, Midtown, Grant Park, Inman Park, Decatur, Chamblee and other affluent Metro Atlanta suburbs.

Call GreenWave Solutions for your free estimate at 404-549-7776

Atlanta Residential Commercial & Exterior Painting, Atlanta Painting Company, House Painters, Atlanta, Alpharetta, Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, Brookhaven, Buckhead, Roswell, Marietta, Milton, Decatur

Hey Atlanta, It’s time for Exterior House Painting

/0 Comments/in , /by

Winter is over, pine pollen is over, April showers are over and that means it’s time for exterior painting and staining.  It’s also time for a bunch of fun things, but since we are a painting company that is what we’ll focus on.

The U.S. has experienced an economically turbulent decade.  The 2000’s began with one of the largest construction booms we’ve seen and was followed by an equally significant crash.

During the boom, 10’s of 1000’s of homes were built in Atlanta, Alpharetta, Milton, Sandy Springs and the rest of the metro areas.  Most of these home were painted using inexpensive, construction-grade paint which lasts only 5-6 years.

It’s been 10 years and it’s there are thousands of homes around Atlanta that need a fresh coat of some high quality paint.  GreenWave Solutions was founded by Atlanta natives that understand the elements that our home’s must stand up to and we are ready to help get everyone’s homes fresh and beautiful.

Our skilled painters specialize in applying all of the new ‘green’ coating and know get the most of the space-age acrylic resins.  GreenWave Solutions’ exterior residential painting projects both look beautiful and last a long time.  We are so confident in our work that we warranty all of our projects.

If you want an entirely new color scheme or just want to refresh your exterior, GreenWave Solutions can help.

Call us today for you free estimate at 404-549-7776 or fill out our contact form.

GreenWave Solutions offers painting services in Alpharetta, Atlanta, Decatur, Sandy Springs, Roswell, Brookhaven, Duluth, Grant Park, Inman Park, Buckhead,Milton, Midtown, and more!

Painter Atlanta, Painter Sandy Springs, Painter Dunwoody, Painter Brookhaven

How to Remove Stubborn Stipple Texture

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

As the best painter Sandy Springs has to offer, GreenWave Solutions gets involved in all kinds of cool and challenging projects.  One service that we have had many recent requests for is ceiling smoothing.  This includes both popcorn texture and stipple texture.

As a construction professional, I loathe both of these finishing systems because I know builders use them.  Textured drywall finishes are used to hide shoddy drywall finishes.  Drywall has 6 different levels of finish and here is a brief description of each:

  • Level 0:  Boards simply hung with no tape or mud.
  • Level 1:  Drywall and hung and taped, but the tape isn’t covered with joint compound.  Boards may have unfinished tool damage.
  • Level 2:  Boards hung, tape embedded in joint compound and screw holes are mudded.
  • Level 3:  Boards hung, tape and fastener heads embedded in joint compound, excess joint compound wiped clean.
  • Level 4:  Same as level 3, with two coats of drywall compound on fastener heads, tapes and other imperfections.  Then sand joint compound.
  • Level 5:  Same as level 4 plus a skim coat of joint compound on all drywall and full sanding.

Here is a great detailed explanation of drywall finishing

 

For ceilings and walls with a textured finish, such stipple, popcorn, knockdown or orange peel, you stop at level 3.  You can stop at level 3 because the texture is applied to cover the incomplete drywall finishing.

Typically, popcorn and stipple texture come off from ceilings quite easily.  However, when you run into a stubborn batch of texture, it is going to be a long project.  We ran into this on a project just a few weeks ago.

GreenWave Solutions was contracted to do stipple texture removal on a Alpharetta interior painting project.  After we finished covering walls and floors, the crew began removing the stipple texture.  They did the normal process of applying warm water onto the texture and scraping it off.

It wasn’t coming off without taking the drywall with it.

When I came to the house to check everything out, the first thing that noticed was that the ceilings were badly mangled with paper torn from the gypsum boards.  I told my operations manager, “Dude, Luis and the guys are going to have a long with this.”

After finding the guys through the maze of plastic sheeting, I was greeted with “This stuff doesn’t want to come off, man.”

My project manager, Luis, is as good of a PM there is and an excellent problem solver.  Had already Googled “how to take down ceiling texture” because this was worse than anything we had encountered in our 8 years working together.  He learned that by adding fabric softener to the water, it helps soften the texture compound.

It helped, but not enough.  After 2 days of fighting with this texture, Luis had enough and brought in the heavy artillery.  He went to Sunbelt and rented a commercial drywall sander with a vacuum attachment.  These Porter Cable drywall sanders is what I used to sell to huge drywall outfits to finish hotels and casinos in my days at Sherwin Williams.  My clients used these machines during the construction of places like Atlantis in Bahamas, The Wynn in Vegas, The W and Terminus in Atlanta.

We were using this on a 2500 square foot house.

A month ago, I would have told you using a commercial drywall sander for stipple texture removal was overkill.  Now, I have a new trick up my sleeve.  For less than $100/day, I can outfit my guys with a machine that does 4 hours of work in 20 minutes.

Once we got the ceilings smooth, we painted them and had another happy client.

Although this story has a happy ending, it isn’t all rosy sunshine.  There is no easy short cut to removing textures from walls and ceilings.  It is hard and labor intensive.  You have to have a strong neck to look up at a ceiling and work from a ladder above you head for 5+ days.

If popcorn ceiling texture removal and stipple texture ceiling smoothing doesn’t sound like something fun that you want to do during your free time, call the pros at GreenWave Solutions to do it.

I promise it will be worth money.

Connect with  on Google+

GreenWave Solutions is the best painter Sandy Springs has to offer.  GreenWave Solutions offers painting in Alpharetta, Atlanta, Decatur, Sandy Springs, Roswell, Brookhaven, Duluth, Grant Park, Inman Park, Buckhead,Milton, Midtown, and more!

We also offer residential and commercial drywall contracting, wood flooring, and many other home improvement and remodeling services.

Professional interior painters in Alpharetta, Atlanta, Chamblee, Sandy Springs, Brookhaven, Buckhead

Product Review: ProMar 200 Waterborne Alkyd

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Water based Alkyd?

That’s impossible, isn’t it?  Apparently not.  Sherwin Williams released its line of water based alkyds about a year ago and they are pretty amazing.

Based upon my chemistry background, I’m pretty sure that these products are not true alkyds.  I deduce this from the fact that water is both the solvent and reducer for these products.  I think that the moniker “water based alkyd” means “alkyd performance from a waterborne coating.”

We have used both the ProMar 200 and ProClassic water based alkyds.  I am reviewing the ProMar line because my painters reported better results from it.

Inside the can…

Upon opening the can of ProMar 200 wb alkyd, you will notice a smooth textured coating and a mild, sweet smell – like banana Laffy Taffy.  Because we have only been using this product on trim, we have not poured it into a roller pan.  We have either brushed or sprayed it from buckets.

Application characteristics…

ProMar 200 WB alkyd has a thin body.  It loads into your brush very nicely.  It releases smoothly and evenly.  For a thin bodies coating it covers well.

Another advantage of this coating is its adhesion.  ProMar 200 WB alkyd can be applied onto minimally prepared oil paints without needing a primer.  You should give the existing oil some profile by either scuff sanding or liquid deglosser.

The one pitfall that I saw was the urge to apply it too heavy or over working it.  It levels extremely well for an acrylic coating.  In order to avoid any runs or brush marks, apply it at a normal thickness and go.  The paint does the rest.

The finish…

The cured finish of ProMar 200 WB alkyd it what makes this coating so impressive.  It dries to a smooth, hard block resistance finish like an alkyd.

The Verdict…

I love ProMar 200 WB alkyd.  For the price, it’s top of its class.  It’s application, performance and finish are all comparable to a true alkyd, without the smell, slow dry time and messy clean up.  I recommend this for trim, doors, windows and cabinets.  (Note:  This product is for interior use only).

GreenWave Solutions is proud to serve the greater Atlanta area including Alpharetta, Brookhaven, Buckhead, Chamblee, Decatur, Doraville, Dunwoody, Johns Creek, Marietta, Roswell, Sandy Springs painter, Vinings and more.

GreenWave Solutions is the best painter Sandy Springs has to offer.

Connect with GreenWave Solutions on Google+

Connect with  on Google+

Interior & Exterior Painting Services Atlanta, Alpharetta, Dunwoody, Chamblee, Roswell, Buckhead, Sandy Springs

How To Paint a Bath

/0 Comments/in , /by

Bathrooms are some of the more fun places to paint.  They are small and you can usually get creative with colors because of this.  However, the one factor that you must account for when painting your bathroom is water.

Bathrooms are exposed to lots of water, steam, and traffic.  For this, you must take care when selecting bathroom paint.  Since GreenWave Solutions has the best Atlanta painters, we use the best paint.  Our professional choice is Sherwin-Williams’ Duration Home Matte Finish.  This product is washable, scrubable, and water and mildew resistant.  The resins in Duration are very resistant to peeling when exposed to shower steam or water splashing from the sinks.  After you have selected your paint and color, here is what you need to paint your bathroom like our Atlanta Painting pros:

–          Brushes and rollers

–          Roller trays

–          Drop cloths

–          Drywall repair product and knife

–          Tape

–          Tools to remove the back of the toilet

–          Alkyd based aerosol primer (maybe)

–          Caulk (maybe)

Here we go:

1)      Repair any drywall damage (gouges, scratches, etc) and caulk everything (if necessary).

2)      After drywall compound has dried, sand repairs smooth and prime with oil primer.  During this step, prime and water stains that are around using the same primer.

3)      Remove switch plates and outlet covers, tape around towel racks, light fixtures, ceilings and anything else you don’t want to get paint on (unless you are good enough to cut a line without tape).

4)      Start painting.  I like to do the trim first (see #5) and then the walls.  Use your brush to cut and roll the big areas.  If you want to, you can remove the back of the toilet so that you can paint the whole area.  However, using a brush, you can paint behind it enough so that it looks completely painted.  I don’t like removing the back of the commode because it sucks and isn’t really necessary.

5)      Atlanta painting pro tip:  If you are not using tape, paint the trim first.  This way, it doesn’t matter if you get paint on the wall because it is easier to cut a straight line on the wall than on the trim.

6)      Let the paint dry for 30 minutes or so, remove the tape, and do a walkthrough.  Walkthrough refers to checking for missed spots, holidays, etc.

7)      Clean up and get some beer to reward yourself!

This Roswell painting How-to is brought to you by GreenWave Solutions.

By 

President of GreenWave Solutions, the best Atlanta painter and Dunwoody house painters.  GreenWave Solutions offers painter services in Alpharetta, Atlanta, Decatur, Sandy Springs, Roswell, Brookhaven, Duluth, Grant Park, Inman Park, Buckhead,Milton, Midtown, and more!

Atlanta Faux Painting & Finishing

Faux Finishes

/0 Comments/in , , /by

 

Atlanta Faux Painting &amp FinishingFaux finishes in painting allow the person to create textures or effects that resemble surfaces such as stone, suede, crackled paint, etc., that enhance the appearance of the room. There are hundreds of faux finishes that can be selected from, depending on the design style that you want to achieve in your home.

Some of the most popular faux finishes include rag rolling, stippling, and stone finishes. Each of these faux finish techniques can be accomplished with your imagination and just a few materials.

For stone faux finishes start by making sure that the surface you are applying the faux finish technique to is clean, dry and free of any debris. It is a good idea to get a picture of the type of stone, (including colors and patterns) that you want in advance so that you have a reference while you work. Next you will need to apply a base coat in an off white color for the foundation of the faux finish . Once this dries, mix together the primary color of your stones, using a latex paint, with two parts of a latex glaze. This faux finish will now need you to use a rag or paper as an applicator to dab on the mixture to create the texture of your “stone”. Then, using cardboard or heavy paper, create a stencil for your “stones” and trace them onto the surface, taking care with placement of the “stone” so that they seem natural to the eye. Finally, your faux finish will need you to follow the lines of the outside of the stones with a natural color paint, creating the appearance of a mortar on the surface. While this faux finish technique may take some time, depending on the area to be covered, the results will create a beautiful faux stone finish that enhances any decor.

As with any faux finish technique it is advisable to first practice the technique process on a spare board or surface that can be discarded when you are done. Not only will the practice time make sure that you are comfortable with the real application of the faux finish , it will allow you to make any adjustments in color if necessary before you begin the work.

 


Atlanta Popcorn Ceiling Removal

Paint Your Ceiling to Give Your Room a Brand New Look!

/0 Comments/in /by

 

Ceiling Painter AtlantaWhen you decide to paint the interior of your house the first things that come to mind are the colors you want to paint your walls and how will you can make the walls look decorative and make the rooms in your house look more attractive BUT, do you ever give any thought to painting the ceiling?  Well, painting your ceiling may sound odd, but by doing so you can make the room look and feel different and stylish.  Painting your ceiling can change the entire look of your house.

Ceiling painting can magically transform the room and tie together the color palette, plus it makes decorating even easier.  For example:  If a room has high ceilings then a darker color paint can make the room look warm and cozy, because,  if you want the room look larger you can paint the ceiling with a lighter color.  Remember, it is not necessary that you paint your ceiling according to the color of the walls, though it can definitely make a room feel larger or smaller and add an element of style and flow to the entire house.

As you decorate and paint each room of your house, you should really pay attention to your ceilings. Remember to follow these important rules when you decide to paint your ceilings:

  • Before beginning to paint the ceiling, it is very important to clean it with soap and warm water.  Dust in your house can accumulate on your ceiling, especially if you have ceiling fans or AC ducts con the ceiling.  Ceiling tiles should be cleaned with a mixture of bleach and water.  Properly cleaning your ceiling prior to painting is imperative so that the paint can be coated smoothly and evenly.

 

  • Before using paint on the ceiling it is important, as with painting any surface, to properly apply a coat of primer to the ceiling. Applying a coat of primer to your ceiling will make sure that your coating of paint will dry properly, smoothly, and evenly.

 

  • It is always better to stay consistent while you are painting. For the best results always brush or roll in the same direction so the paint will coat evenly on the ceiling.

 

  • Before you actually begin painting the ceiling it is very important to have these important items handy:  Latex primer, paint, a bucket and/or roller tray, paint roller, bleach, spray bottle, water, rags, newspapers and/or a drop cloth.  These are the essential tools to have when beginning to paint. It is also a good idea to have a drop cloth that can cover the entire surface area of the floor in the room whose ceiling you wish to paint.

 

  • With regards to the color you should use to paint the ceiling take into account the color of the walls, furniture and decorations, check out a variety of color palettes and do some “test runs” by painting small areas of the ceiling where it adjoins the wall.  Most of all USE YOUR IMAGINATION to make your room look unique!

Connect with