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Tag Archives: deck staining
Brown Exterior paint colors
Since almost all homes in Washington state have some sort of ever green tree background, brown exterior paint colors are our most popular and pleasant earth tone.
We have spent years experimenting with different shades of Brown Exterior paint colors, and would like to share some of our findings with anyone in the process of deciding exterior house colors.
You may also be interested in our article on popular exterior gray colors for the Northwest.
Dark, deep brown exterior paint colors
Not to be confused with “slate”, which is actually a dark deep gray, our darker browns are more suitable for either larger homes, or homes with what I call “interesting fronts”.
That is a house with lots of features in the front; plenty of trim to break up all the darkness of the brown, and maybe some rocks or other features to take away some of the strength of the dark color.
In most cases, I would not recommend dark Brown Exterior paint colors for ramblers. Darker colors can miniaturize the house further, and give it a more aged look.
Of course, your house color represents your personality, and if you do not plan on selling your home anytime soon, you must simply choose something you enjoy looking at.
Trim: Benjamin Moore Bone white
If you do plan on selling, I suggest choosing exterior colors similar to what new home builders are using these days.
Keep in mind, your potential buyers might be looking at newer homes before stoping by at your listing. The goal is to avoid any colors that might not appeal to certain personalities.
Favorite Brown Exterior paint colors
A braver approach to brown exterior paint colors
We also use plenty of fun and exiting browns. These browns usually have plenty of red in them, making them very attractive in the right situation.
You really have to have the right house for this kind of color. You need plenty of other features in the front so the unique color does not overwhelm the senses.
In the first image below, the huge brick surface draws some much of your attention.
You almost must have a unique color to keep the rest of the house from disappearing.
Second photo, this house has a very unique shape with multiple dormers on the roof, and also the roof is highly visible from the street, allowing this homeowner to choose as unique of a color as they please.
The third house, it was the shear size of it that allowed us to get away with pretty much any exterior paint color.
Neutral, earthy, & mild brown exterior paint colors
Here are a few brown exterior paint colors that appeal to every taste, and most importantly, do not offend anyones preferences.
If you want to keep things simple, blend in a little bit, or just want a nice normal color, here are few of our favorites from Benjamin Moore.
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Elegant Painting
11717 NE 144TH PL
KIRKLAND, WA98034
KIRKLAND, WA98034
Phone: (425) 242-4646
Monday-Friday 4-8pm
Major exterior makeover – Redmond – Fallcity
An Elegant Makeover in the Northwest
Sample progress report from an actual project in Redmond/Fall City WA
This Classic Northwest home is being prepared to go through a major Elegant Makeover. This house belongs to one of our all time favorite clients who we have known for many years. We painted the interior about 6 years ago and refinished the decks in 2009. Now it is time for the exterior to go through what we like to call…..An Elegant Exterior Makeover!
Power washing
Power washing was completed on June 3, 2013. We were able to remove a large number of bee’s nests and massive spider webs. We also removed any of the previous stain that was in poor shape. Luckily we were able to accomplish this task without any water going inside the house through any of the doors or windows.
Next step of this project begins on June 13th, 2013. Plan is to Mask off all windows, roof, decks, patios, and driveway, and prime all exterior surfaces, including eaves, porch ceilings, dormers, and trim. for this paint job, we will be using an oil based exterior grade primer to seal, protect, bond, and produce a workable surface.
Once the primer is dried, we will have some fun installing window trim on all windows. We will be using 1×4 pre-primed spruce, attached with 3.5 inch 16 gauge finish nails. Then the nail holes will be filled with “HM Ready Exterior” and edges caulked with our Benjamin Moore Morelastic adhesive. At that time, we will go through every square inch of each wall, and fill any cracks, gaps, joints, etc.
Possible color choices
Looks like we will be going with some shade of grey. Like all our exterior projects, we applied several popular Benjamin Moore samples for our home-owner to live with for a few days, and view in different lighting, and different times of the day.
Day 1; Preparation
By the end of our first day, we managed to mask all windows, mask roof, front porch, and deck, and apply a coat of oil based primer to about 70% of the house.
Priming complete! Since this beautiful house has never been painted before, we applied one solid coat of oil based primer on every square inch of the siding and eaves.
As always, we did a thorough job of cover-up. So far, zero primer on any plants. We take covering-up very seriously. A flawless and durable paint-job looses all of it’s value if there are drops of paint on plant, decks, or patios.
We used a roof pad to place a ladder on top of the hot tub, this is a piece of plywood with a 4″ sponge glued on the bottom to spread the weight and protect the surface.
Day 2; Rain….and window trim.
By the end of day #2, we managed to install trim on about 70% of the windows, and unmask front windows. The rain finally stopped by the end of the day, allowing us to finish priming the siding 🙂
Caulking
Once primer was dry, we went through every square inch of the siding and caulked any imperfections. Caulking must be done after primer. Similar to paint, caulking materials adhere better to primer than they do to the previous finish. These imperfections include cracks, nail holes, dents, bumps, bruises, or anything else that might allow the wood surface to hold moisture. Butt-joints are not caulked to allow the siding to move freely in changing temperatures. The only time we caulk butt-joints is when it has been done previously and we have no choice but to repeat the mistake.
Day 3; More rain….
Window trim Installation is complete and colors have been selected. 100% chance of rain tomorrow….We cleaned up well knowing we will be rained out tomorrow and are now hoping to complete most of the painting on Friday and Saturday.
Day 4; Painting
We finally had some nice weather and made some great progress. We now expect to finish this project on Monday June 24th. Plan for Saturday: finish the house. Plan for Monday: Finish doors and deck.
Back Rolling
This photo shows how effective back-rolling is. The effect is not just cosmetic. While the sprayer lays the paint on top of the grain, the roller forces it into the grain, making it one with the surface, Making it difficult for the siding to release the paint as time goes on. We believe this method adds 3-5 years to the already durable Benjamin Moore paint job. Corners, where the roller may not reach, are back brushed to make sure all surfaces receive the same treatment.
Second Coat
As always, we apply 2 coats, whether it is needed or not. Both coats are back-rolled to ensure an even spread.
Thank you for choosing Elegant Painting
MyHouse@elegantpainting.com
ELEGANT PAITNING®
11717 NE 144th pL
Kirkland, WA 98034
Phone: (425) 242-4646
How to change motor oil on a Dewalt Pressure washer
NEW: Review of our new STIHL Pressure washer BR800
Each of our pressure washing outfits consists of two machines. A 13 horsepower Dewalt with a Honda motor, and a small 6.5 horsepower machine as a backup. We avoid losing time due to equipment malfunction by always having two machines on the job site. The larger machine has a drain plug while the 6.5 Honda requires us to get creative in order to remove the oil. Let’s talk about how to change motor oil on a Dewalt pressure washer. Buy this washer on amazon
How often should you change the oil in a pressure washer?
We change ours every 6-8 houses. Each house takes an average of 5-6 hours, so the oil in our machines is changed after every 30-40 hours of use. The machines in the photos are 6 and 10 years old and they have both worked flawlessly the entire time, with minimum maintenance.
What type of oil to use in pressure washers?
We use automotive 10W-30, and as I mentioned we have had great results for several years.
What you need:
Wrench to undo the drain
Container to hold the used motor oil
Motor oil 10W-30 (automotive engine oil)
Funnel
PVC pipe for the machine with no drain
Cleanup rags
The perfect pressure washer is available to buy online – free shipping
Northwest deck staining – Do it yourself
Deck Staining – While painting the entire outside of a house might be impossible for most home-owners, staining a deck is a project that can be done in one weekend, and save you a good amount of cash. First time home-buyers are often unaware of the costs associated with maintaining a cedar deck. The majority of the cost is in labor, so by doing it yourself you save roughly 80%!
This article will explain in step-by-step detail, procedures we use to produce a professionally refinished decks that can battle our damp Northwest climate. We will also point out three areas where things can go wrong so you can be prepared.
What you need:
- Pressure washer.A reliable machine can be rented from the local hardware store for about$60.00 per day.
- BEHR Premium 2-In-1 Deck Cleaner. Available from the hardware store. $20.00. This is the only BEHR product we use for this, or any other project.
- Empty 5Gallon bucket, carwash brush, or a garden sprayer. This is used to apply the deck cleaner. There are no specific methods here. The idea is to get the material on all surfaces, however you can.
- Makita GV5010 5-Inch Disc Sander available at the local Home Depot for $89.99. This is the only power sander that will work for this project. What will NOT work for this project: Belt-sanders, palm-sanders, and hardwood floor sanders.
- Sanding disks for your Makita sander. How many you need will depend on the size of your deck. Each disk will provide roughly 20 minutes of sanding. The average 400sqft deck will use up about 10 disks at $3 each.
- Garden Blower
- TWP Fence and Deck StainAvailable from the local Dunn Lumber store. $40 per gallon. The average 400sqft deck will use up about 3 gallons of stain. This stain comes in a few different colors, but most of our clients prefer TWP 101 Natural Cedar Tone.
- Stain brush. We recommend purchasing the largest meanest brush you can find. Keep in mind stain brushes are not designed to produce straight lines. $15.00
- Clean-up rags. You can use any old clothing or towels.