Window Painting in Greystone, AL. Overkill?

Overkill. That is the underlying principle behind how I am able to offer a 5 year warranty on my work. Case in point – the Sherwin Williams Pro Industrial Waterbased Alkyd Urethane paint I applied to these metal windows in Greystone, Hoover, AL. Roughly 20 years old and still with a factory smooth finish on these windows, I elected to go to the extra trouble of masking off and spraying these windows with a product I hope lasts just as long as the factory coating. Did it take a lot of time? Yes. But far more important to me than getting things done quickly is knowing I have provided a superior product.

Some people in painting social media groups I’m in have wondered why I didn’t just spend 20 minutes brushing them and be done with it… if they already had brush marks on them I would have. But that original factory coating, although oxidizing and sorely in need of a repaint, was still perfectly smooth and in incredible shape, and I wanted to preserve that.

Speaking of overkill, if you’ll click on the paint link above, you’ll see what this product is actually meant for: structural steel, healthcare facilities, equipment, and machinery. It’s meant to take a beating in an industrial environment and last a long, long time. Is your house perhaps a bit neglected? Would you like to truly have peace of mind about it? Book me. Much more to come on this house soon.

Prepping a Greystone house for exterior painting in Birmingham, AL

It occurred to me today that everyone always shows off their before and after photos, but no one really shows the ugly prep phase. It ain’t pretty, but it’s essential. Clicking on the photo below and zooming in will show you the state that the wood trim around the upper windows was left in after pressure washing. Raw, exterior wood requires oil-based primer before painting. The lower half has had this treatment and is now ready for paint. The transformation phase is not attractive – but it’s absolutely vital.

Concrete Pressure Washing in Homewood, AL

We pressure wash houses before we paint them, but most people ignore their concrete. It’s one of the quickest ways to make your house stand out in your neighborhood. There wasn’t quite as much room as I thought to fully spell out my company name, but at least this is less boring than a plain before and after. We offer driveway pressure washing services, concrete pressure washing, and of course exterior pressure washing. In the case of a paint job, it’s necessary not only to clean off things like mildew, algae, dirt, and spiderwebs, but also to blow off any paint that may no longer be adhered well to the surface, thus exposing weak areas that need to be scraped and primed so that I can ensure longevity of your new paint. This concrete has officially been Doctored(™), lol.

Curb appeal & resale

This was a simple, quick refresh of the front only of a house going on the market; a great, cost-effective way to make your house pop for that new buyer. It’s not too obvious from the before photo (bottom) but all of the paint was oxidized and heavily UV damaged. Look closely at the garage doors before and after to see some of what I mean. All of the original gloss was gone and you could slide a finger across it and leave a mark. A good way to tell when your paint’s life is up is when the gloss is gone. If you pay attention to these things and paint in time, your house will never peel, need scraping, and will retain its utmost value and appeal. Selling your home and want it to go fast? Schedule an estimate with me, and I may be able to advise on what does and doesn’t need painting, inside and out.

Painted Playroom Stripes in Homewood, AL

A new year is dawning. A new chance to fulfill potential. I will firmly approach this new year with determination, motivation, perseverance, and more desire for unmitigated perfection than ever before. To that end, here’s a child’s playroom in Homewood that I just completed on December 28th, 2018. Yes, we can do stripes! And we can do them to your heart’s content. Let’s make your home all it can be. Have you unlocked its full potential? Is it time for some bold new colors for a bold new year? Here’s to a happy and very successful 2019 for us all!

Top: Before. Dreary, flat builder paint. Chances are this is pretty much what's on your walls. 
Bottom: (jealous neighbor)Oh my, who's your painter?? I simply must have him over at my house!
Please click to see this in its full glory!

Sprayed Column in Hoover, AL

Does this column look familiar? If you’ll scroll back up to the top of the page, you’ll see that this is one of the same columns in my main background image. It’s from a house in Hoover, right here in Birmingham, and it belongs to one of my best customers. Their entire home is a work of art and I was privileged to be able to work on it. I enjoy projects that demand a heightened attention to detail. All of the pictures on this website were taken by me and are my work. Freshly sprayed Benjamin Moore trim paint in this image, with precision green delicate surface Frogtape connecting the plastic all the way up to the quarter round for 100% hardwood floor protection. Our hands are the right hands.

Shiny perfection. Gleaming class. Testament of skill.
Flawlessly applied fresh wet buttery maddeningly glossy paint – don’t you just want to feel how slick it is?

Fixing other painters’ shoddy work in Hoover, AL

Paint: Color matched Sherwin Williams’ Superpaint, High Gloss

This shutter was a typical example of what I usually find left behind by other painters in Birmingham. It was up on the second story of the front of a Hoover home, and they figured no one would ever get up there to check their work – and they figured right, at least until I came along. Check out the streaks in the curve, they didn’t achieve full coverage over the old color; obviously a quick 1 coat job. They didn’t even bother trying to paint the right edge. Totally shameful, lazy, and sloppy. But hey, what a great chance to showcase the quality of work I perform in these situations. Tapcon screw and washer – primed and painted. Right edge – painted and fully covered. No streaks? Check. Sexy shiny gloss as requested by my customer? Check. Another happy customer? Check. Jealous neighbors? Ha! Give me a call when you decide your home deserves this same treatment. 😉 

Before and after exterior shutter painting
Shutter on left in bad need of TLC. Shutter on right almost purring in delight.

Red Tray accents on this interior paint job in Homewood, AL

Ceilings: Ceiling White, flat
Walls: Olympus White SW6253, Eggshell finish
Tray: Positive Red SW6871

Interior painting with tray ceiling in Homewood, AL… the homeowner wanted a splash of red in this room. Reds can be quite difficult to achieve coverage. You can count on my nearly 14 years of experience to know which paints cover the best, translating directly into savings for you. The line where your wall color meets the trim color, such as on crown molding or door frames or baseboards, is called the cut-in line, or just ‘cut’ for short. Take a good look at the cuts in your own home. Are they as straight as mine in this picture? It’s OK, it can be fixed. Just contact me. 🙂 Note: Walls were still in progress with 1 coat remaining in this picture; I just happened to look up and notice how awesome the red looked and couldn’t resist sharing this picture!

Red tray ceiling
Have you seen straighter lines?

Gray accent walls in Homewood residential home painting

The owner of this beautiful house in Homewood, AL decided to go with a light gray primary wall color as part of her interior paint job. Initially the plan was to do a dark gray accent wall in the windowed alcove on the left side of this picture, but after seeing how good the accent color looked she decided to use it even more. It ended up being on the far end wall, ceiling, and even behind the camera to the entry door wall. What we ended up with was a very striking color combination that ended up looking totally amazing. Major kudos to this homeowner for being brave, creative and original with her color selections, and for giving me the chance to show off my brush skills. Look at those cut lines!

Light Gray color: Gris SW7654  Dark Gray Accent: Gibraltar SW6257. We repaired all sheetrock defects and nail/screw holes, removed all switch and outlet covers and cleaned the old paint colors off of them that the previous “painter” (we use that term very loosely) had slopped all over them. We replaced those covers when the new paint had dried. If you’d like the job done properly by non-smokers who will respect your home, please call PaintDoctorMD. Painters Birmingham.

Light gray bedroom with dark gray accents
It’s ok to do a double take, I did too when I first realized how awesome it looked.

 

Deck restoration & deck staining at Hoover residence

This deck wood had been quite badly weathered. Check out the before pic closely; if you’ve been considering replacing your old, black, heavily weathered deck, please consider calling PaintDoctorMD and let us see if it can be restored. Our deck cleaning and staining services are most likely far cheaper than replacing the entire deck! This picture of a deck in Hoover, AL just shows the immediate, massive difference a good cleaning can make, but in a future post I will show you our before and after stain on this exact same wood. We also offer the full bevy of exterior painting services, including stained door refinishing. Feel free to browse through our showcase of before & after images to your right (below for mobile users). Painters Birmingham. Call for your free estimate at (205) 422-0710.

Deck collaged photos showing heavily weathered wood before and after cleaning by PaintDoctorMD
That’s not brand new wood? *gasp* These guys are amazing!