5 Attic Finishing Mistakes to Avoid in Denver Metro, CO.
In a world where working from home is becoming increasingly more popular and available, using every space your home offers has gained importance — just imagine trying to do your work with all the hustle and bustle of family life squashing out any quiet time.
Attic space, which was usually used for storing outdated items, has found a new life in becoming a home office or guest suite in order to provide for a quieter atmosphere and more flexibility at home.
However, there are construction and city codes to meet when converting your attic as well as design flaws that could cost you thousands of dollars in future repairs.
To help you with this project, here are five attic finishing mistakes to avoid in Denver Metro, CO.
1. Don’t forget the paperwork
Everything we do in our homes has some sort of regulation or standard to prevent homeowners from errors that might cost them their homes in the event of an accident or disaster.
Skipping this step, whether to avoid the filing costs or time it may take for an inspection, is the biggest mistake you can make as it could result in having to undo some of the renovation work to meet requirements and that can be even more daunting a task if you hired out the labor and will need to do so again to reverse and then reinstall what was already done.
Being sure to start with the step also helps you make design decisions for the rest of the project as you will know immediately what needs must be met in order to pass an inspection.
2. Keeping the air in
Attic spaces are vented in order to prevent the buildup of mildew and water that could cause wood rot — but these vents let in some of the weather as they are open to the outside.
It is tempting to close off these portals to be sure you are more comfortable in your attic space but be sure that you are finding alternate means of venting the room.
A great suggestion (even better if you are ensuring the vents are still in place, but helpful if not) would be to send any appliance’s exhaust directly outside rather than simply venting upward to avoid the trapping of the air around the attic.
3. Putting the light out
Attic spaces are generally sparsely windowed and even less lighted — a bare bulb in the center of the room is not uncommon to see in these spaces.
When converting your attic into a working or living space, however, you need to consider the lack of light in many dark corners that a simple mid-room fixture or small windows will provide.
You may need to perform some light carpentry to install larger windows or even skylights to bring in as much natural light as possible and scatter your light fixtures to cover every inch of darkness.
4. Not checking the insulation
Considering the vents to the outside and often underwhelming amount of framework in an attic space, these areas can be quite drafty and cold — certainly not ideal for a cozy home office or guest suite.
Also, pests can get into the attic and nest in the insulation without notice and the insulation, while present, might not be of a livable quality.
Be sure not to assume your insulation is in good order and always check prior to closing any walls or floor spaces — and choose an insulation that is right for the job as certain choices will add more climate control or your regulations may require specific types.
5. Forgetting the exits
Lastly, but very importantly, do not assume the stairs to your attic are an adequate escape in the event of an emergency.
In fact, they may not be adequate just for everyday use as regulations for attic stairways can be very specific depending on your location and may not suit the space once you are finished — meaning that extra work we previously mentioned as you have to tear out and redo the existing stairs.
However, you should also not neglect your windows in this case, either as they can mean the difference between rescue workers being able to reach you if a fire prevents you from descending to the floor below.
Don’t settle for just any painter when you can get the attention to detail and professionalism from Imhoff Fine Residential Painting in Denver Metro, CO. Call us today to speak with one of our professional color consultants.
7 Simple Living Room Painting Tips To Help You in Denver Metro, CO
There are many ways that you can improve the living room, the room in which you might choose to spend quite a lot of time with your friends and family.
You can of course decorate your living room to improve upon the look and even add an accent wall that will make the room have a nice place where people can look at some point while they are in the room.
The very act of painting the walls of the living room, of course, will make the room look nicer and if you think about it, getting it done well will make sure that it will look that much nicer.
Let’s now look at and consider seven simple living room painting tips to help you in Denver Metro, CO.
1. Taking Time To Clean
One thing you should definitely do when you’re looking to paint your living room is to take the time to clean the walls that you’re going to be painting.
Of course, there are some who would say that this is fully unnecessary since the walls are ultimately going to be painted but it really doesn’t work that way at all.
Instead what you would end up if you don’t clean is some walls that are covered in dirt and paint at the same time — and you can probably imagine that this is not going to be the look you want for your living room.
2. Protecting Your Floor
No matter how careful you may well be when you are painting your living room walls, you’re not going to be able to avoid the occasional drip of paint, and that’s even if you make sure that you are very careful when you are painting.
When you are perhaps painting under normal circumstances you will surely find that there will be a bit more paint dripping, and when that happens you’re going to want to make sure that the floors are well covered.
3. Remove Furniture From The Room
There are a lot of things that you can do to help you get your living room walls better painted and one of the better ones is going to be to remove the furniture from the room.
This happens to be because leaving the furniture in the room is just going to make the furniture get in your way, and additionally, it will help you not get paint on your furniture if the furniture isn’t there in the first place.
4. Remember That Drying Takes Time As Well
Among all of the things that you can do when you are getting your walls painted, you should remember that the only properly painted surface is one that was dry when you started painting.
The only way to achieve a good dry wall is to allow enough time to first pass without making contact with the wall such that the walls will dry.
Not doing this will lead to painting problems and you will just have to start from the beginning of the painting project.
5. Do Not Allow Wall Damage To Go Uncorrected
Unless your living room was just recently built, there’s a really good chance that you’re going to have at least some damage that will have to be addressed.
This could be because you have had nails in the wall previously that have to be patched, or even when you just bump into the wall and cause a possible hole depending on how hard you hit the wall.
Either way, just trying to paint the damage away is not going to help you and you’ll have to make sure to use the right remedy to take care of the wall prior to painting.
6. Two Coats May Be Needed
Sometimes one coat of paint is going to be just fine but in many cases, you will be better off applying a second coat of paint to your walls.
Really the only way to know what will be necessary is to first apply the first coat, allow time for it to dry, and then apply the second coat.
7. You May Paint Over Wallpaper
Lastly, you should remember that you can in fact paint over wallpaper.
The how is beyond the scope of this article but just know that you don’t have to remove your wallpaper before painting — though this too might well be its own article in the future for your perusal.
Don’t settle for just any painter when you can get the attention to detail and professionalism from Imhoff Fine Residential Painting in Denver Metro, CO. Call us today to speak with one of our professional color consultants.
Walk-In Closet Painting Tricks You Might Want To Know in Denver Metro, CO.
When you have a walk-in closet, one thing that you might not think about is how you will want the interior of the closet to look in terms of the color or colors that you will find inside — but there are a number of different colors that you can make your closet and have it look quite nice.
However, what some people might not realize is that if you take the time to learn about the ways that you can improve the painting of your walk-in closet, you will end up with a much nicer-looking closet with paintwork that could ultimately last longer.
Let’s have a look at some walk-in closet painting tricks you might want to know in Denver Metro, CO.
1. Use An Appropriate Color
You can imagine that when it comes to painting your walk-in closet, you’re not going to be able to use just about any color that you want and still have the closet look appropriate.
This is not to say that you can’t use any color that you want (as you are naturally able to use whatever color suits your want) but rather that certain colors are likely going to reduce the possible functionality of the closet – certain dark colors are going to make it more difficult for you to see in the closet, for example.
2. Clean Before You Paint
There are a lot of ways in which you will need to prepare the surface area which is going to get painted, but cleaning the area is going to be one of the more important ones.
It will be important because you aren’t going to want to get paint over top a surface layer of dust or grime of any sort, as it will be rather unpleasant to see.
The best thing that you can do is to fully clean the surface that will be painted and then allow that surface to dry entirely.
3. Remove As Much As Possible
You should probably realize that painting your walk-in closet is going to entail removing your clothing from it, but they stop short of removing everything else that may be in the closet.
The reason that this is so important is that if you don’t remove things from the walk-in closet, there’s a good chance that these things will get in your way as you look to paint.
Moreover, having fewer things in the way will mean that you won’t be able to get paint on these things.
4. Primer Before Paint
Lastly, you should know that even when you are looking to paint your walk-in closet, you are going to need to apply a coat of primer before you make use of your first (and possibly only) coat of paint.
There are a couple of benefits that you will get when you make use of a primer before you apply your paint, one of them being that you will gain a surface that is considerably more smooth than if you were to try to paint over the surface as it is unpainted.
If it happens that this is a new walk-in closet this is particularly good as you are going to have an easier time painting the closet having a smoother surface, which is of course a good thing.
The second benefit to making use of primer is that the surface that you are painting is going to be more adhesive, that is to say, that the paint that you apply to the surface will stay on the surface longer and be less likely to peel – meaning that in the long run, you will get a better return on your custom painting investment.
Don’t settle for just any painter when you can get the attention to detail and professionalism from Imhoff Fine Residential Painting in Denver Metro, CO. Call us today to speak with one of our professional color consultants.
Home Gym Painting Mistakes To Avoid in Denver Metro, CO
In looking to make your home look better, you might not think about a room as important as your home gym – for a lot of people the presence of such a gym has made the difference between being able to stay fit and getting in better shape and not being able to do so.
Of course, it’s crucial that in taking the steps to improve your home gym (such as if you are to paint it) you avoid some of the unfortunate errors that might cause your custom painting project to cost more and take longer.
The good thing you should know is that with some good hard effort towards avoiding these kinds of mistakes, you’ll be able to help avoid them by and large.
Let’s have a look at some home gym painting mistakes to avoid in Denver Metro, CO
1. Using The Wrong Kind Of Paint
One thing that you can do that would be quite bad for your home gym is in using the wrong kind of paint to paint it.
There are of course so many kinds of paint that you can use, and you may wonder how it’s possible that one would be called the wrong kind of paint, and this is fairly simple – for one, if you are using exterior paint and you’re painting the gym, you are using the wrong kind of paint – fairly straight forward.
You’re also going to want to make use of a paint that perhaps will be easier to clean if such a thing is necessary – and you will know it is necessary if you find yourself making a bit of a mess on the walls (such as if you frequently touch them with your dirty hands or feet during the workout process)
If this is so, you will want to make use of a glossy paint – these are much easier to clean than flat paints.
2. Not Considering Colors
You don’t have to really go into a color scheme when you’re looking at painting your home gym, but since it is the space in which you’re going to be working out, it would be a really good idea to think about the color or colors that you are going to use to paint the walls.
It would be a shame if you were to go to the paint store and to just get whatever is on sale in terms of paint and then finish painting your home gym and suddenly realize that you hate the way that it looks – and that you wish it looked nicer with better colors.
Make the time instead to find colors that are going to look nice in your eyes both now and in the future, ideally, and you will be able to enjoy quite a long time of seeing these colors in your gym.
3. Leaving Everything Uncovered
You might think that you are going to be able to paint your home gym with great skill and that you won’t have any issues avoiding getting paint places
This is likely not going to be the case, and all that’s going to happen is that you’re going to find paint places where it does not belong, and the amount of time that you will spend cleaning up the paint will be quite great and unpleasant.
The better thing for you to do is to make sure that you cover anything that is not meant to be painted with either a tarp or drop cloth or even painter’s tape if that is possible, and that will stop the paint from getting in these places.
After all, paint is going to drip and all you can do is to stop it from getting places it doesn’t belong.
Don’t settle for just any painter when you can get the attention to detail and professionalism from Imhoff Fine Residential Painting in Denver Metro, CO. Call us today to speak with one of our professional color consultants.
5 Useful Tips For Painting High Ceilings in Denver Metro, CO
Ceiling painting can be quite a difficult thing, even if the ceiling is your typical relatively high ceiling that one will find in a house.
When the ceiling is even higher than usual, on the other hand, you are going to be looking at a more difficult challenge, and it’s worth making the time that you know what you’re doing before you lift up the paint roller for the first time.
Let’s look at and consider five useful tips for painting high ceilings in Denver Metro, CO.
1. Make Sure Your Ladder Is Sturdy
One thing that you’re going to absolutely need to make sure of is that the ladder upon which you are standing is extra sturdy — and that if at all possible you have a second person to steady the ladder for you so that there’s no possibility that it could tip in either direction.
The reason that this is the case is that you are going to be so very high up that you have to be sure of the steadiness of the ladder and it’s not worth the possibility of an accident to risk not being so sure of how sturdy the ladder is.
2. Consider Scaffolding If It’s In Your Budget
Though it is a lot more sturdy than a ladder, a scaffolding system is typically out of the question for a lot of people who are painting ceilings, and certainly for those who are painting high ceilings.
This is because unless you are looking at higher budget scaffolding systems, it is very nearly always going to be not quite as secure to use a scaffolding system and it will likely be a lot more difficult to get to different parts of your ceiling.
If you do have the budget, however, it’s a good idea to be able to securely stand up there with a lot of room for walking back and forth.
3. Prepare The Room For Painting
Though you’re going to be painting the ceiling of the room and not the room itself, it still is important that you prepare the room for the painting process.
One way that you’re going to do this is by taking care to cover things that you don’t want to get paint — and this even includes the light switches and electric outlet covers, ideally with painter’s tape so that you don’t get paint on them.
4. Use The Right Kind Of Paint
Though of course, some would say that there are quite a few kinds of paint, there are not that many that are so well suited for painting your ceiling as a ceiling paint.
What sets apart ceiling paint is that it is an extra flat, which is good as far as painting ceiling goes, and it is usually made to drip as little as possible.
Having paint that is going to drip less is no substitute for having something to protect your floors, however — you cannot possibly think that your ceiling paint will somehow not drip onto the floor at all just because it is designed to drip less.
It’s therefore important to also cover the floor with a drop cloth which will protect the floor from the dripping paint.
5. Remove Everything You Can
Lastly, it’s a good habit to remove as much from the room that you can prior to starting the painting process.
You’re going to want to do this because when you have things in the room, they tend to get in the way and if this is the case when you are painting the walls of the room you can just imagine how much more it will be the case when you’re painting the ceiling.
Don’t settle for just any painter when you can get the attention to detail and professionalism from Imhoff Fine Residential Painting in Denver Metro, CO. Call us today to speak with one of our professional color consultants.
