The first step for many homeowners is to invest in windows and doors with Low-E glass and finish exterior doors with a UV-stabilized polyurethane coating.

“Without the protection of Low-E glass technology, UV rays can damage furnishings, rugs and other possessions in the home,” says Brian Hedlund of JELD-WEN, a leading window and door manufacturer. “When upgrading to energy efficient windows and doors, homeowners should take extra measures to make sure they are receiving these essential benefits.”

To help protect a home from damaging UV rays, here are a few tips from JELD-WEN window and door experts to give your home a healthy dose of sunscreen:

1. Low-E glass is a must for a green home.

Low-E glass blocks harmful UV rays that cause interior fading. The ultra-thin metallic coating on Low-E glass works by reflecting heat back outdoors or holding the heat indoors in cold climates. It has the ability to allow visible light to pass through while blocking up to 99.5 percent of harmful UV rays. Ultimately, a home protected by Low-E glass remains comfortable year-round, and heating and cooling costs are reduced year after year.

2. Doors need protection too.

After staining an exterior wood door, apply a high-quality, UV-stabilized clear polyurethane coating to protect against the heavy beating it will take from the sun. When upgrading, consider fiberglass doors, typically filled with a polyurethane foam core, to create an ultra-energy efficient door that can also stand up to regular sun exposure.

3. Block powerful solar rays.

The direction that windows and doors face can make a big difference in the sun’s intensity level inside the home. South- and west-facing windows and doors should have the highest level of protection. Window and door exterior overhangs, sized depending upon climate and latitude, provide privacy and block powerful solar radiation from entering the home while helping to reduce electricity usage and indoor temperatures by as much as 15 degrees. To naturally shade the home, consider planting more trees and shrubs. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, properly planting just three trees near a house can save homeowners up to $250 a year in heating and cooling costs.

4. Focus on proven methods tested against industry standards.

Window and door manufacturers achieve energy efficiency in different ways, from Low-E glass to gas-filled insulating glass. The bottom line is to make sure the products are tested and certified for energy efficiency using industry standards, no matter what technology is employed. For the best all-around UV-resistance and energy performance, look for the ENERGY STAR label appropriate for your region.

To browse windows and doors that meet ENERGY STAR qualifications and provide superior UV protection, visit www.jeld-wen.com or call (800) 877-9482.

Courtesy in ARAcontent

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Preparation

Proper preparation is key, as it is with any painting job. Trim will need to be masked exactly. If wall painting is done first, it can be very difficult to achieve the proper color if wall paint has touched the trim first. If trim is being done alone, it’s necessary to mask around the trim to avoid getting paint on the walls. Even if the trim and walls are the same color, new paint will show as a different shade.

Windows represent a special challenge. Mutins (the wooden or metal dividers between panes), make necessary precision masking to avoid getting paint on the glass. It’s usually easier to mask the glass carefully than to scrape off paint afterward. Also, it’s safer, since a blade used to clean off the glass can slip and scrape the newly painted trim.

Conditions

As with any exterior painting job, it’s critical to ensure that surfaces are dry before beginning. That goes double for trim. Large wall surfaces exposed to the sun will dry off more quickly than sections of trim that contain angles that trap moisture.

Wait 2-3 days after it has rained before beginning an exterior job. Also, start the job a little later in the day, to allow morning dew to evaporate. By the same token, it’s a good idea to finish a couple of hours before dusk, to let new paint dry a bit before the evening moisture arrives.

More than just moisture, temperature is important, too. Apart from the fact that moisture gathers more readily in cooler temperatures, cold weather causes paint to dry too slowly. In extremes, cold temperatures can cause wrinkling. About 50F/10C is the minimum for most climates.

The opposite extreme can be just as big a problem. High temperatures cause paint to dry too quickly, which can introduce surface irregularities. Blistering is common when oil-based or alkyd paints get too hot. The compounds separate and a bubble forms with solvent inside.

Technique

As with any painting job, always start from the top down. Dip the brush a couple of inches into the paint, but remove any excess by wiping the brush against the rim. Don’t try to rush the job by using too much paint at once. Then pull the brush up and hold it parallel to the ground with the paint filled surface up.

Work the brush perpendicular to the grain for the first few strokes. That gets paint into all the miniature grooves and crevices. Then brush with the grain to smooth everything out.

On smaller surfaces such as window mutins, use a smaller brush or at least turn a large brush on its side. Even when the areas are masked be prepared to take the time needed to do trim right. A fast brush will flick paint onto surfaces where it’s not desired. This is not a part of the paint job where you can expect to do large sections quickly, as with wall surfaces painted by a roller.

Smaller rollers can be used, though, on thick trim. A four inch wide roller can do a four to six inch piece of trim just fine. Go slowly though. A fast roll will inevitably fling paint onto the walls.

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Skipping this step will almost always produce a poor final result. Adding to the difficulty is the fact that interior preparation jobs require much greater care than for exterior surfaces. Washing is harder. Dust from sanding requires special handling to avoid making the complete house unsanitary and possibly unhealthy.

But the results will be well worth the effort. A well-prepared interior surface makes painting go quick and easy. It produces a wall that shines and paint that lasts much longer.

Step one is to remove any wall fixtures, outlet or switch covers, or decoration from the area and make repairs. Unless you intend to put them right back in the same place, you’ll want to plug any nail or screw holes with putty. Any gouges or cracks are fixed at this stage. Wood filler goes on easy and dries quickly, leaving a surface that can be sanded to perfection.

One step that is easier is cleaning. Most interior surfaces haven’t suffered the kind of weathering the outside gets. Mildew is much less often a problem. That can make it possible to skip any but minor cleaning before sanding. A quick wipe with a moist cloth may be all that’s needed.

Any sections with peeling paint should be dealt with before sanding. A 6-8 inch scraper can do large areas quickly. For corners, angles and other close-in areas a smaller blade will be necessary. For really stubborn areas that look like they’ll continue to peel even after sanding, a heat gun can help loosen the paint.

Sanding is usually easier for interior jobs, as well. Rough spots will need to be dealt with. Anything that is visible before painting will appear magnified after the new paint is applied.

Still, it’s important to control dust. You’ll need a mask to prevent inhaling particles that come off the surface. Repeated exposure can lead to allergic-like reactions. After sanding a section, be prepared to wipe down the area with a dry cloth and/or vacuum periodically. Those same particles can fall onto wall surfaces and the carpet or floor where they get blown into the air later.

For an area that is discolored or contains water stains, what needs to be done depends on the degree of the damage. In some cases, a simple primer applied before the top coat is all that’s needed to prevent them showing through. In other cases, it may be necessary to sand more thoroughly or even replace sections of drywall.

Naturally, if the wall or other surface is brand new preparation can be close to nothing. A fresh panel may require only a little bit of primer before getting painted. This is a good opportunity to apply a treatment that prevents mildew from even getting started. Oil-based paints, for example, can trap moisture and organisms can grow under the surface. That leads to rot down the road.

Now for the easy part. Painting.

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Once the paint dries, a thorough inspection is called for. Before removing any masking, look for areas near the edges or corners that are not quite covered. Be prepared for a little touch up here and there to ensure that the new paint was applied everywhere desired. Old paint may be the same color, but new paint is always a different shade, even from the exact same can of paint used a year earlier. All paint fades.

Then, keeping any drop cloths in place, remove all masking and covering from the trim or walls. Inspect again, looking for streaks, blotches and uneven or irregular areas. A final, professional look is only achieved by attention to the small details.

With a steady hand, touch up those areas where the lines aren’t quite straight or there’s unwanted overlap. Be prepared to scrape a little paint bleed off windows. No masking job is perfect. In some cases, it may be necessary to do a little sanding in small areas. If paint was applied in excessively hot weather there may be some bubbles to smooth out and re-do, for example.

Now for the part no one enjoys: clean up.

There’s no getting around the fact that cleaning up after any but the smallest painting projects is hard work. But knowing that you’ve done a great job and that you’re almost finished can lighten some of those dark thoughts.

If the project used latex paint, the job will be simplicity itself. Just rinse thoroughly with soap and water and before long tools, containers and you will be relatively paint free. Sometimes, small amounts just have to wear off.

For oil-based or alkyd paints a little more effort is required. But that work can be minimized if good preparation techniques were employed. Laying down drop cloths and plastic or paper covering is one method that’s effective for large areas. But for tools and body parts different techniques are required.

Unless you’re satisfied to let paint wear off your hands and face over a period of weeks, wearing a pair of gloves and a good mask and head covering during the job are essential. At the end of the job you just throw them away or save them for next time.

For quick jobs, or if you’ve torn a glove or run out, hand and face lotion can be pretty effective at keeping paint off the hands and face. Paint adheres to the lotion, then you wash normally and most of the paint will come off.

To remove excess oil or alkyd paint at the end of the day or after the final work, a good solvent is needed. Use gloves to protect your hands from it and clean up in a well ventilated area. Throwing away rollers and brushes is an option, but a very expensive one. With a little solvent and some elbow grease they can usually be reused several times.

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Many surfaces aren’t quite ready to serve as the base for a single coat of oil-based or latex paint. They may soak up too much paint, or be uneven. They may be discolored. They may have chemical or physical properties that make applying a single, even coat nearly impossible.

Primers solve all those problems and more.

Primers apply a coat directly to the surface allowing a top coat to stick better. Without one, it might require several coats to produce the same result. Since primer is generally much less expensive than final-coat paints, that can substantially raise the total cost of materials. With a primer, only one coat of the final type is needed, resulting in an overall cost reduction.

A good primer will smooth out rough surfaces. Some walls, obviously, may be too pitted, requiring putty or other preparation. But a wall that is simply rough can often be made to appear smooth with a proper primer.

The effect is the result of both thickness and color. A thick primer helps fill in the low, broad valleys in a wall surface. At the same time, the color (usually a dull white or gray) helps mask any highlights, making the wall appear smoother even when it’s not.

Primer helps even out the final color in another way, too. The amount of paint soaked up, surface discolorations and other defects can cause a final coat to have a slightly different shade from one area to the next.

By giving the top coat paint something to cling to other than the bare surface, the final coat applies evenly. That results in a smoother looking wall or ceiling. Thus, light reflects evenly off the surface across the entire area. The eye sees that as a uniform shade. Even the same color can appear differently when shadows and other reflection effects occur.

Discolorations can occur because of weather, smoke, smudges and a hundred other causes. Cleaning a wall during preparation can only go so far. A primer can create a flat, even color that masks those problems. It provides a uniform starting point to which to apply the final paint. That results in a more uniform final result.

Primer is designed to dry quickly, so the job isn’t delayed much beyond the time it takes to apply. In many cases, a large wall section can be primed, then the next. The first will dry while the second section is being done. The first can then be painted while the second section is drying. That keeps the work going smoothly.

Latex primer is odor-free, dries fast and is easy to clean up. That makes it an excellent base to lay down on those surfaces that need a little more preparation before final painting.

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Also, despite the existence of power tools that can be helpful, most of the job comes down to good old elbow grease. There’s no getting around that it requires a fair amount of tedious scraping, sanding and cleaning.

But the results will make the effort seem worthwhile in the end. A well-prepared house exterior will make paint go on quick and easy and produce a smooth, superior shine.

The amount and degree of effort depends, of course, on the condition of the house and the surface to be prepared.

Peeling paint will take longer to deal with. Scraping and sanding is a must. Any areas of mildew will need to be treated for removal, then treated again to protect the wood before painting. Aluminum siding, on the other hand, typically requires no more than a good wash followed by possibly a spot sanding.

Inspect the surface. Look for areas of peeling paint. A 6-8 inch scraper can usually take large areas off with a little bit of effort. Rarely is it necessary to remove every scrap of paint, just any sections that will continue to peel. For areas close to angles and smaller sections a smaller scraper will be needed.

Next comes sanding. It’s pointless to simply sand off layers of dirt. So, before beginning, give the surface a good wash. Power washers are available, but most are so powerful they can easily gouge wood. In many cases a bit of TSP (trisodium phosphate) and a garden hose can do the job. For areas beyond easy reach, a car washing tool with an extended arm can be a great aid.

Allow the surface to dry thoroughly before sanding. Sanding wet wood will rip the fibers, making for a very rough surface. Sanding wet aluminum siding will considerably shorten the useful lifespan of a rectangle of sandpaper. Drying may take a day or even two depending on the humidity, temperature and time of year which affects the number of hours of sunshine per day. To be completely sure, a moisture meter can measure the moisture content in the wood.

Sand any area thoroughly that needs it. Which are those? Areas where peeling paint was removed will usually have edges. Sand them down smooth. Areas where the surface contained mildew need it. Any section where a rough spot resides or putty was applied to a gouge. Anything that looks rough or sharp at that stage will appear magnified once the paint is applied.

For the final step, another good wash is essential. You don’t want to paint over the dust left by sanding. You need a clean, dry surface that will allow paint to be absorbed. Dust will hinder absorption and new paint will begin to shed or flake off soon after.

Now for the easy part. Painting.

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All house paints, for example, can be put into one of two categories: solvent-based or water-based. The first encompasses all oil or alkyd types, the latter is generally labeled ‘latex’. It’s certainly possible to use latex paint for exterior jobs. Decks or fences, for example, will sometimes get a coat of latex rather than more expensive oil-based paint.

Latex is easier to apply and much easier to clean up after, along with usually being less expensive. But in any area that gets substantial sunshine or hot weather, it won’t last anywhere near as long. Also, it doesn’t have a property inherent in many alkyds: chalking.

Chalking is a process in which the paint slowly oxidizes. Over time, the paint turns to a chalky dust. As rain and wind bathe the outside of the house, the chalk is gradually removed without homeowner effort. That removes dirt and old, very thin layers of paint, keeping the house looking good for a long time. Latex, by contrast, typically peels as it ages, especially from wood surfaces where it hasn’t soaked in well.

Chalking may not always be desirable, either. Depending on the amount of rainfall and how the exterior surface is oriented, the chalk can remain on the surface. That requires that it be cleaned off manually. If left on the wall, the surface looks dull and old.

Oil-based or alkyd paints take longer to dry and are more difficult to spread evenly. They’ll be more difficult to remove from surfaces to which they’re accidentally applied, such as trim that wasn’t perfectly masked. Latex paints allow easier movement of air, ensuring that any moisture trapped evaporates.

But, oil-based paints tend to be available in a range of more vivid colors. They’re made with more, deeper pigments. And, they can be applied to a wide range of surfaces, of the sort usually encountered outside. Aluminum siding, for example, can be painted with a bright, oil-based paint that will last for years and continue to look great. Latex would usually peel off in a year or two.

Though many homeowners will want to use stain rather than paint, there are wood surfaces that can look equally nice painted. Non-wood surfaces are also often found outdoors. Concrete block or clay brick, stucco and other surfaces generally look better longer with an oil-based rather than water-thinned paint or latex.

Every homeowner’s situation is individual and making a final decision may require some experimentation. A few dollars spent for a small amount of each type is a good investment. Spend a few hours or less to paint some small and less visible surfaces. Let the results dry for a day or two or even a year ahead and take a look. The shorter period won’t reveal peeling or other problems, but it will give visual evidence to make selection easier.

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Paint selection is task #1.

Naturally, everyone has difficulty picking out the desired color. It’s hard to visualize a whole wall from a single, small square. Paint color changes after application, too. It always dries a slightly different shade than what appears in the can. But with some research and a little experimentation you can pick out just what you want. Today, every shade the eye can perceive can be mixed up.

The type of paint chosen is equally important. Latex has some inherently desirable properties. It cleans up easily, dries quickly and breathes to evaporate any trapped moisture. On the other hand, oil-based or alkyd paints last a very long time, produce very vivid colors and can cover a discolored wall with a single coat. Which is best depends on the intended application and, to a degree, personal taste.

Whether or not to use primer also depends on the specific circumstances. For new surfaces, or those that won’t absorb a topcoat well, a coat of primer can save money and grief. It covers discolorations and old colors. It provides a good surface on which to lay the final paint. The alternative would be many more coats of topcoat paint, raising the final costs substantially.

Preparation is equally important for producing a quality final result.

In many jobs, preparation is 80% of the work. Scraping off old, peeling paint is a must. Applying new paint over it would cause the effort to be quickly wasted. Patching gouges is important. Sanding edges and rough spots is essential to producing a smooth, professional appearance. Any surface irregularities left are amplified many times by the light reflections from new paint.

Masking and covering, with paper or plastic, using materials designed for painting is key to providing a satisfactory result. Nothing looks shoddier or more unprofessional than globs or streaks of paint where it isn’t supposed to be.

Using cheap materials (not just inexpensive, but of poor quality or design) just won’t do. A few dollars extra for blue tape and professional paper or plastic covers intended for painting work is a good investment. It’s a very small percentage of the total and makes a huge difference to the end look. Using quality brushes and rollers of the right size and material is equally important. They will make the job easier and spread paint more effectively.

Painting technique improves with experience, just as with any task. But a very fine result can be produced even by those undertaking a painting project for the very first time. Careful attention to selecting the proper tools and a willingness to take the time to do the job right is 90% of the total. With a little bit of practice, you’ll be painting like an old pro in no time.

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Popular Areas

As per Home Improvement Statistics people have spent the most on property extensions and conversions.  There are some interesting facts which a survey in Ireland yielded.  About 20 percent of the owners had an extension or conversion to their home.  More than half the respondents had two or more new rooms and about a third of them had a new kitchen as the priority addition. Additions in the form of sunrooms, conservatories, home offices or attic conversions were popular features.

Home Improvement Statistics also include bathroom refits, tiling, wooden floor installation, decking or landscaping. For such jobs quality trades professionals are required and their requirement has grown immensely in the last few years.  It is now becoming a problem for service providers to meet the demand for quality trade professionals. Getting the right professional takes time, but it is worth the wait.

Changing with the Times

The total home improvement product sales has increased by 12.6 % since last year in the US and the Home Improvement Statistics attributes some of the increase in activity due to the natural disasters in many parts of the country.  But in general, homes are becoming more flexible and practical.

This is happening because of the contemporary lifestyles and evolving environmental concerns.  Homes are becoming efficient due to the ‘work at home phenomenon’, which indicates that the boundaries between workspace and personal environments are merging.

At a seminar of Home Builders in Canada, the importance of the kitchen was brought to the forefront, because they are becoming family hubs where there is multi-tasking.  On the other hand the living room is losing its popularity and being turned into big libraries or home offices.

This change of concept has an effect on the Home Improvement Statistics, because property owners are changing with the times.  They are making the new conversions in their old homes, building spacious kitchens and incorporating libraries, instead of buying new property with all the new features.

The Green Element

The Home Improvement Statistics is also showing an increase in homeowners who are willing to pay a higher price for home improvement if it is environment-friendly. They are looking at future energy cost savings and are sure that green features will improve the resale value of the property.

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With the advances made in technology it is possible for anyone to use home improvement software and taking the time to become familiar with home improvement software is a project management skill you will always be glad you acquired.  Even if you have never used a computer before in your life it would be well worth your time and effort to learn how to use one and then learn how to use some good home improvement software.  You will be very glad you did.

The first convenient use of home improvement software is to be able to see the project on screen as you are planning it.  You can see how your improvement will look with the rest of the house, plan color schemes, and even make changes to your own design all while seeing how it would look when it is complete.

The ability of home improvement software to take your ideas and get them in a format that you can use even before you put a single hammer to a nail can save you a lot of time, money, and aggravation and can even help you if you need to discuss your changes with any engineers in your local government.  Using home improvement software in the planning stages is the new way to plan and it makes everything so much easier.

Not Just About the Pictures

Now that your home improvement software knows what you want to do, it can also give you estimates on materials needed to do the project. It can even give an estimated timeline on how long each phase of your project should take to complete.

It can help you to make sure important things like load bearing walls and other structural elements are taken into account and can help you create a budget for your project. About the only thing home improvement software cannot do in your project is the actual work.  Something tells me they are working on that but in the meantime coming into the computer age can help immensely with your home improvement project.

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