 This article is a guest post kindly written by Paul Denikin Staying on top of your to-do list can feel like an endless chore. If you let things go it can lead to lowered energy efficiency and costly repairs. Use these tips to simplify fall home maintenance. Replace furnace filters. The experts at Dummies explain that furnace air filters trap allergens and dirt. Replacing the filters routinely helps your unit run more efficiently and extends its life. Here is how to perform this easy but important task:
Time for a short rant...
After being in this industry for 14 years full time, I still don't understand something that should be really simple - sheens, or gloss levels in paint... Over the years I've noticed that there are 3 quick, free and easy things that most experienced painters refuse to do that holds their quality back from producing professional results:
1. Caulk with a wet finger or rag, prior to painting. This reduces drag, leaving a smoother finish on the bead of caulk. It also prevents building texture with drag lines and tiny chunks of semi-dry caulk. The caulking deficiencies only look worse once painted, so proper application will give a better paint finish. Caulking applied after the painting is done will eventually collect dust, discolour and look unprofessional in a short time. Caulking requires top-coating with paint...  Do you suffer from Dread of Red like I did for many years? Doesn't it seem that if you are going to have problems with a colour, it is likely to be with red? One of my first bad spills was with a can of Benjamin Moore Collections in a deep red...right down this particular hallway actually, in the middle, on brand new carpet. I was so excited to impress a bunch of realtors, thinking this might be a great opportunity to make an impression and get some referrals. Well I think I succeeded in making an impression alright. I've learned too that red paint, when you open the lid, can look pink. That can fool an in-experienced painter into marching back to the paint store assuming there was a tinting error. But we learn that the magenta dries out of the paint and it actually looks red, not pink, once dry. And fast forward a couple of years where I experienced the dreaded 'red feature wall' that most painters encounter at some point in their career...the one that requires 8 or more coats of red, and still doesn't look good (poor or uneven coverage, 'picture framing', texture build up, slow curing...). Over the years i've tried several things to try and solve this vibrant red coverage issue...cutting and rolling small sections at a time to keep a wet edge, putting the paint on heavy, different naps and sleeve materials, different brands and bases of paints, pink primers, etc... When painting a room I find that having a system leads to the most efficient and consistent results.
One simple part of my system is working left from the entrance into the room and proceeding from left to right, top to bottom. This way nothing gets missed and no time wasted deciding where to start. Another part of my system is to... |