Paint your way to renovation

By Elna Seabrooks
Staff Writer
    HOULTON — Want a new look for an old house? Don’t want to spend thousands? Experts agree one of the best ways to improve the look of your home, apartment, cabin or camp without breaking the bank is that good old-fashioned standby — paint.
Pioneer Times photo/Elna Seabrooks
PAINT CONFERENCE — In the Sherwin-Williams store in Houlton, from left, painter Roger Saucier discusses products with Murray Williams, assistant store manager and Gary Shaw, store manager.
    With spring on the wing and summer just over the horizon, the time is right to freshen up your look whether you plan to sell your house or stay there for years to come. Murray Williams, assistant manager of the Sherwin-Williams store in Houlton on Smyrna Street, says customers are more adventurous these days and buy “a lot of earth-tone colors, a lot of greens a lot of browns. And, reds right now are very, very popular.” Williams says people are adding a lot more color to their homes. “Red never really sold much in the past. Now, we sell it all the time, mainly for the dining room because it looks so elegant.” Years ago, he says, customers opted mostly for white or off-white.
    But, if selling is your plan, stay neutral, stay safe and leave the vibrant colors for accents around the home like niches, architectural features or furnishings. Greg Miller, associate broker with REMAX Central in Houlton, says if you want to sell your house abide by advice from the National Association of Realtors. “Any realtor will tell you to stick with neutral colors, like white or beige, so that anyone can look around and imagine themselves in the home. Bright colors can dictate the whole showing.”
    OK, you’re sold on the idea of painting and you don’t plan to do a gut rehab. First, make sure you know how much paint you need by measuring the room for square footage. Then, decide if you want latex paint, for a simple water cleanup, or oil-based that requires a solvent like turpentine for cleanup.
    Professional painter Joe Hogan says the most important part of the paint job is “preparation, preparation, preparation because it’s important to the final product.” That means prep the walls to make them smooth. Even do-it-yourselfers can fix seams, nicks and gouges with spackle or compound. Then, sand and smooth the repairs. There are special liner papers to cover unsightly areas on walls before priming which your paint store specialist can discuss with you as an alternative or complement to repairs you make on walls before priming.
    The primer should be followed with a couple of coats of your paint color. Your local paint store can guide you on the type of primer for the surface you are covering. Be sure to look at the store’s paint color chips in your own home. You may even want to consider buying small samples to test on the walls or a sample board to make sure you get the color you want for your lighting.
    Choosing your paint wisely will determine how well it will last and wear. The decision to use latex or oil-based paint depends on the surface to be covered, the conditions it will face, and any base paint underneath. An expert, like Sherwin-Williams store manager Gary Shaw, says the shinier the paint the more the imperfections show up on the wall. But, the higher gloss paints are more washable. Choices for finish range from flat to satin to semi-gloss and gloss. Shaw also says many people like a satin finish with its low-gloss, washable characteristics and nice feel to the touch.
Pioneer Times photo/Elna Seabrooks
GETTING READY — The Sherwin-Williams store has a full line of supplies for professional painters like Joe Hogan.
    And, for added drama like faux finishes, he stocks a full supply of materials and pamphlets to transform plain walls with techniques that replicate materials like marble, wood and stone. You can faux like a pro and cover problem walls, too.  
    Sherwin-Williams’ Duration Home line of paints for interior jobs are marketed for durability and holding up under repeated washings. The comparable exterior paint, Duration, is marketed for its longevity. And, the company has an eco-friendly, green product with low odor for interiors — Harmony.
    Then, there are the basic supplies for painting that you will need from paint rollers and drop cloths to safety goggles and sandpaper. Shaw has a checklist so you don’t come up short in the middle of your project. And, he says it may look easy on some of those home improvement shows on TV, but often, they are not using proper techniques.
    With northern Maine’s 100-degree temperature swing from sub-zero snowy winters to sultry sunny summers, Shaw says exteriors take a real beating because of water and ice damage, lack of ventilation, old paint failures, moisture and sun. Before tackling any exterior paint job, Shaw says make sure it is “clean, dull and dry. It can’t be a day after rain because moisture will be trapped in the wood and the surface should not smooth and glossy. Plus, you need good prep.” Today’s latex paints are excellent, he says, for exterior jobs. And, Shaw will do a free home inspection to assist customers in making the right choice for their situation.