Spring Home Maintenance Tips

exterior painting

Warmer weather means that snow melts and moisture accumulates, so it’s a good practice to inspect the outside of your home. This ensure you can catch little problems before they become big ones.

 

As you walk around the outside of your home pay attention to these areas:

 

Wooden window sills – snow and water can accumulate on these, so they are usually the first place where paint starts to peel

 

Decks and railings – snow and rain can accumulate on these areas as well so they generally need a lot of maintenance

 

Foundations – look for any cracks in your foundation, when snow melts and water expands it can cause hairline cracks to get worse

 

Shady areas and areas of low ventilation – these are prime areas of mold and mildew growth

 

Eaves and downspouts – if ice has formed in these over the winter, as the ice thaws it expands and can damage both eaves and downspouts

The exterior painting season at CAM Painters

As the temperature rises we often think about all the outside projects we have to do, and painting is usually one of them. Well, at CAM Painters we’re gearing up for the exterior painting season, BUT we can’t rush things…

Why? Most surfaces need time to thoroughly dry after the spring thaw, and this can take a few weeks. Wooden surfaces especially can hold on to moisture for weeks!

 

2 things we look for before starting exterior painting:

Temperatures stay above 5C at night

Moisture content is at an appropriate level (for wood this means less than 15%)

 

This usually means that we don’t start exterior painting until mid May and we stop exterior painting usually in late September. This only gives us 4 and a half months of exterior painting, and then we have to deal with rain delays too!

 

So the prudent thing to do is, if you’re thinking of doing some exterior painting this year, now is the time to get an estimate and book the work in!

 

 

Why do my walls keep cracking?

Why do my walls keep cracking?

Introduction

Cracks in walls can be a major cause for concern, especially if you live in an older home. The thought of water damage or structural issues is frightening, but it’s also possible that your wall cracks are caused by something as simple as temperature changes. If you want to know why your walls keep cracking and what you can do about it, read on:

If you have a cracked wall in your home, the first thing that comes to mind is usually water damage.

Water damage is one of the most common causes of cracks in walls and can happen in several different ways:

  • Flooding from storms or natural disasters
  • Leaks from plumbing problems (running toilets) or roof leaks
  • Condensation buildup inside your home due to poor insulation or ventilation

If this is the case, the source of water infiltration must be found and rectified.  This can involve a roofer or other exterior contractor in the case of water penetrating from outside.  If it’s a plumbing issue, then a plumber needs to be called to locate and fix the leak.

Cracks from expanding and contracting materials.

Construction materials expand and contract with seasonal changes – they expand during warm weather and shrink during colder temperatures.  However, not all building materials expand and contract at the same rate, and that can be a problem.  Drywall/plaster expands and contracts at a different rate than wood, which expands and contracts at a different rate than metal, then tile and so on…  So wherever two different materials join, such as a door casing against a wall there’s a greater chance of cracking.  In these cases we use a very flexible caulking that can tolerate the normal shifting of the 2 materials without cracking.

Cracks from movement in the foundation or crawl space.

If you have cracks in your walls, it’s likely that they’re from movement in the foundation or crawl space. The most common cause of this kind of cracking is frost heave; this occurs when water freezes in the soil and expands, pushing up against your wall. Soil settling is another possibility for wall cracking–the ground under your house may settle due to erosion or shifting soil conditions, which could cause cracks to appear on your interior walls as well as exterior ones (if they’re exposed).

Cracks caused by high winds, earthquakes and construction.

If you live in an area where high winds are a common occurrence, cracks can be caused by the force of the wind. 

Cracks can also be caused by earthquakes.  In Toronto we don’t usually get many natural earthquakes, however we get a lot of man-made earthquakes called “construction”!  Whether it’s roadwork or building a condo these activities shake the ground and can cause cracks to show up in your walls.  In this case, it’s best to wait until the construction is over and then have us in to fix the cracks.

Conclusion

We hope that this article has helped you better understand the causes of cracks in drywall and plaster. Some of these causes are beyond our scope of expertise as painters, but we can always refer you to a reputable professional to help you out.  Once they have eliminated the cause of the cracks we can come in and make your walls look as good as new.  

 

We offer FREE Touch Ups!

We offer FREE Touch Ups!

Our clients are the best and we want to make sure that they are well-taken care of, and one of the ways we do this is by offering FREE Touch Ups!  Here’s how it works!

 

How it works

 

Every year on the anniversary of us finishing your paint project we offer 1 hour of FREE touch ups.  This includes every surface that we have painted.  So note down when we finish painting for you and for the next 5 years on interior projects and 3 years on exterior projects we will schedule in your hour of FREE touch ups!

 

Why do we offer FREE touch ups?

 

Accidents happen and sometimes unfortunate dings and scratches can happen too.  Children, pets, aggressive cleaners and others can damage even the most durable of paints.  We’ll come and touch up those areas so your home looks as good as when we originally finished!  Homes that we’ve painted are our best advertisement and we want to make sure your home looks it’s best!

 

What’s the difference between our warranty and our FREE touch ups?

 

Our warranty covers our workmanship.  This could apply to an area not properly prepared, or an improper primer or finish coat used, or improper application.  Basically it means we made some sort of mistake that has caused an area to fail prematurely.  

 

Our 1 hour of FREE touch ups covers the rest, it doesn’t matter if it’s not our fault, we’ll come back and fix it (to a maximum of 1 hour, of course).

 

In conclusion

 

We want you to be proud of your home and we think that the paint job should look as good 5 years down the road as it did when we first finished.  It’s all part of transforming your home with lasting beauty!

Why we love using Farrow & Ball paints!

Why we love using Farrow & Ball paints!

Introduction

We love using Farrow & Ball Paints – they’ve got an incredible selection of unique colours that can only be achieved with pigment-rich paints. Here are just some of the reasons why we think these paints are awesome:

Their colours look fantastic!

Farrow and Ball is known for having a wide array of deep saturated colours in a variety of finishes. How do they achieve that?  On average their paints use 8 different tints per colour.  Most other manufacturers use a maximum of 5 tints per colour.  As you can probably guess, this creates a depth of colour and a complexity of colour that other manufacturers can’t match

Farrow & Ball paints are available in modern matte finishes as well as traditional eggshells, satins and glosses; there are even semi-glosses if you want something in between those two extremes!

Their paints offer great coverage

Their paints are pigment-rich.  Not only do they have a wide variety of tint in each can, they have a lot of that pigment in each can.  This results in excellent coverage.  Why should this matter to you?  If we have a paint that gives great coverage in 2 coats rather than 3, that saves us labour time and ultimately that time savings saves our clients money!

Their paints are durable

Farrow & Ball paints are made with the highest quality materials which means that they are durable and able to handle the day to day wear and tear that your walls and trim are typically subjected to – especially if you have pets or children running around!  Not only that, if an unfortunate accident happens to your paint job, we’ve got you covered with 1 hour of FREE Touch ups every year for 5 years

Conclusion

Farrow & Ball paints are a great option for your home, the colours they offer are beautiful, the paint itself gives great coverage and is durable.  It’s a great choice to transform your home with!

 

Transform your Toronto Office!

Transform your Toronto Office!

When it comes to painting your office, it pays to hire an expert!  At CAM Painters, we have been helping both homeowners and business owners with their painting projects for over 20 years. We can transform your office space with minimal disruption and stress on you and your employees!

How we work

  • We meet with you in person to discuss your office painting needs so that we can tailor an estimate which best meets your goals.  Also, when we are in your office we can accurately assess the condition of your walls, etc. so that all small details are incorporated into the quote!
  • We understand how to work with Property Managers, Front Desk Security and tenants, and we’re able to get WSIB clearance certificates and Certificates of liability insurance to stakeholders in a timely fashion.
  • We develop a plan with you for the sequence and timing of your office painting so that there is as little disruption to your workforce as possible.  If this means that we work section by section, or come in early or late, let us know and together we’ll come up with the best plan for you!
  • During the project we keep you updated with our progress, so that you know where we’ll be working and what we’ll be doing
  • At the end of the project we’ll take care of any touch ups and leave behind any leftover paint, labeled for any future touch ups

Final Thoughts

We provide office painting throughout Toronto.  Whether you have an industrial unit with a front office, or you’re in a highrise office building in the heart of downtown, we’ve got you covered!  If you have any questions or would like to learn more about our services, please contact us today!