Painting exterior edges

An overview of exterior edges; which is painted what color.

This page is an extension of your estimate document.

When it comes to edges and corners, exterior painting is a bit different than painting inside. Painting the outside has more in common with production painting and its purpose is preservation of the substrate as well as adding appeal to the home. Elegant Painting follows standard procedure and applies all paint products according to manufacturer recommendation.

Corner trim

This 1×4 pre-primed spruce board is designed to hide the joint between siding pieces. In most modern homes, this piece is used to create a sealed connection between siding pieces and also serves cosmetic purposes. If your home already has plenty of trim in the front, you may avoid the “busy” look by painting the corner pieces same color as the siding.

Corner trim with downspout

When the downspout is installed directly on top the trim piece, a portion of the corner trim is visible under the downspout. This small portion is painted body color to improve precision and avoid an unsightly stripe behind the downspout.

Door Trim

Since most siding is butted right upto the door casing, and the siding is often caulked into the casing, painting only the face of the trim is the only way to produce a neat and straight line. Other options include painting door and trim same color as siding to make them all disappear a bit, or paint door and it’s trim boards all trim color to make them stand out.

Gutters

Downspouts are usually painted the same color of the surface they are attached to. If a downspout is installed on a trim piece, it should be painted the color of the trim piece, but sometimes a downspout runs down the siding and it should be painted siding color to help make it look less visible.

Posts and Pillars

Not every home has posts or pillars, but when they do, we try to ad an elegant touch by painting any trim on the surface. Painting the metal flashing the body color is one way of adding our elegant painting detail signature to any home.

Edges on Doors

How do we know which edge should be painted the interior color and which edge exterior? Here’s a simple method; Stand outside and open the door. The edge you see from the outside should be painted the exterior color. If the interior of the door is being painted, simply repeat this method from th

Cost of painting fiber cement siding

Elegant Painting offers exceptionally low bids on homes with fiber cement Siding

What is fiber cement siding?
Fiber cement siding is a type of popular artificial siding that can withstand all kinds of climates, including our damp Northwest weather. Currently 5.5 million homes in America are being protected by this type of materials.
Fiber cement boards are made of sand, cement and cellulose fibers. Complete with artificial texture, this siding resembles wood siding and even imitation shingles. Once installed and painted, the exterior fiber cement boards require very little maintenance, and is not susceptible to termites or rot.

Do fiber cement boards need to be painted?
Yes. James Hardy of Hardieplank siding recommends painting the siding using a 100% acrylic exterior paint, such as the Benjamin Moore Exterior SuperSpec used by Elegant Painting. If fiber cement boards are not painted when a paint job is due, the moisture content of the substrate falls bellow normal levels, and they may warp, bend, and crack.

Does it cost more to paint a house with fiber cement siding?
No. Elegant painting bids are lower for homes that have fiber cement siding. Fiber cement boards take and hold paint extremely well, and are less labor intensive when it comes to back-rolling the paint, resulting in lowered labor and paint costs, which are handed directly down to home-owners.

Does it need caulking?
Yes. Per manufacturer recommendation, joints and gaps will be caulked to prevent moisture and wind driven rain from entering the walls. We also caulk around windows, doors, eaves, and other edges to make to prevent leaks. Using our premium flexible, rubber based calking called Sika, which is manufactured by The Sika Group of America. This is not ordinary caulk. This material dies into a hard yet flexible rubber that is similar to materials used in car tires. It remains strong and flexible well after it is dried and cured. Failing caulk on previously caulked joints are removed and a fresh coat is applied.

How does Elegant painting apply paint on fiber cement siding?

After our standard preparation procedures, paint is applied with airless sprayers, and the surface is back-rolled before the paint dries. Back-rolling is absolutely essential on all exterior siding. This method forces the paint into the substrate and produces a very even finish. Back-rolling adds 3-5 years to the life of our already durable paint job.

By Elegant Painting Kirkland WA

Cost of painting fiber cement siding

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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

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Exterior painting professional Preparation techniques

Exterior Painting Preparation

Painting Preparation is key to a durable, professional paint-job that can withstand our damp Northwest climate. Elegant Painting uses the following professional Preparation techniques to prepare exterior surfaces for painting. This process removes any loose or chipping paint and mildew, leaving the substrate ready for primer & paint.

Steps:

Power washing

Washing is the first step in any painting job. After moving items, such as patio furniture, planters, garbage cans, etc. a safe distance away, we wash they house by first soaking each wall, then we apply a mixture of TSP and bio degradable house bleach to any visible mildew and water-stains. The solution is then allowed sixty seconds to activate and washed using Honda power washers. The tip of the wand is kept a safe distance away from siding to prevent damage. Windows and doors are rinsed from an even further distance to prevent water entering the house. After the wash, we rinse all exterior surfaces to remove any debris before they dry.

One of our painters uses a disk sander to remove lose paint from a verge board in Sammamish, WA

Sanding & Scraping

After allowing sufficient drying time, our painters remove any peeling or chipping paint. We start by using Makita disk sanders to remove not only paint that is currently peeling, but also anything that we feel might peel anytime in the future. The Makita disk sanders remove loose paint as well as any early stages of dry-rot that might be developing underneath, leaving the substrate ready for primer.

Masking and cover-up

Elegant Painting gurantees, in writing, that our painters will complete a thorough masking and cover-up job and will not slop paint on any surfaces; windows, plants, walkways, driveways, patio furniture, deck, etc.

Primer before caulk

AFter all the sanding dust has been removed, KILZ oil based primer is applied using brush and rollers. We used brush and rollers to ensure proper penetration into the substrate.

Caulking

Caulking is done after the primer has dried. Much like paint, Caulking materials adhere best to primer. We caulk all gaps, cracks, nail-holes, and joints.

By Elegant Painting