Gutters and Downspouts

• Clean gutters and downspouts frequently throughout fall to prevent buildup of leaves and other debris. Neglected gutters can lead to wood rot problems and pest infestations, not to mention ruined gutters.
• Be sure water is not coming down behind gutters and that all support brackets are securely in place.
• Ensure that water drains properly and doesn’t pool. Pooling can cause damage to foundations, driveways, and walkways.

Windows and Doors

• Change summer screens to cool weather storm windows and doors.
• Inspect and repair any loose or damaged window or door frames.
• Install weather stripping or caulking around windows and doors to prevent drafts and to lower heating bills.

Heating Systems

• Replace the filter in your furnace.
• Consider having a heating professional check your heating system to ensure optimal performance and discover minor problems before they turn into costly major repairs.
• Clean your ducts to better your heating system’s efficiency as well as to reduce household dust and to provide relief to those with respiratory problems.

Plumbing

• To prevent pipes freezing and bursting, ensure that the pipes are well insulated.
• Know how to locate and turn off the water shut-off valve in case pipes do freeze.

Chimney and Fireplace

• Call a professional in to inspect and clean your chimney. Fireplaces that are regularly used during the season should have an annual cleaning to prevent dangerous chimney fires.
• Test your fireplace flue for a tight seal when closed.

Attic ventilation

• Be sure attic insulation doesn’t cover vents in the eaves to prevent winter ice dams on the roof.
• Be sure ridge vents and vents at eaves are free of plants and debris.
• Check bird and rodent screens for attic vents to prevent any unwanted guests.

Landscape and Yardwork

• Although grass appears to stop growing in the fall, the roots are actually growing deeper to prepare for winter. Now is the best time to fertilize and reseed your lawn.
• Prune your trees and shrubs after the leaves turn to encourage healthy growth.
• Trim any tree limbs that are dangerously close to power lines or the roof of your house. Heavy snow and ice can cause damage in the winter.

Spectrum Painting can help you out with many items on this checklist, including gutter and roof cleaning and soft washing, handyman items like caulking windows and doors as well as any unfortunate water damage from leaks. It’s also never too early to touch up your interior paint with the holidays right around the corner! Give us a call today at 973-706-6033 to set up an appointment with an estimator!

Caliente AF-290- Benjamin Moore

Benjamin Moore’s color of the year is a bright and fun red! Spectrum recently painted the exterior of a home in Wayne in this vivid color, really setting it apart from the other homes on the street and making it stand out. It’s a real statement color indoors as well.

Indigo Batik SW7602- Sherwin Williams

This deep blue has a purple undertone to it and looks great as either a pop of color on the front door or to create a dramatic looking living area.

Emerald Isle 2039-20- Benjamin Moore

This beautiful green has real Wizard of Oz/Emerald City vibes! Emerald Isle adds a distinct pop of color to your bedroom and looks great with bright white trim and accessories!

Daisy SW6910- Sherwin Williams

Daisies are always called the cheerful flower and this color doesn’t let its namesake down!

*Photos courtesy of Sherwin Williams, Pinterest and Benjamin Moore websites.

Let Spectrum Painting help you with your color choices. We are happy to offer a color consultation if you’re stressing on colors for your interior or exterior. Give us a call today at 973-706-6033 to set up an appointment with an estimator click here to learn more about our consults and other services!

• Using the Right Materials for the Job: If you have a place of business where there is high traffic and where families come, it might be best to paint your walls with a high quality matte or flat or even using a Scuff-X, something that can be easily cleaned. The higher the quality the better it will be washable AND it can be washed more often. The less shiny the better, as shine like a semi-gloss or satin will show imperfections or scratched in the light.

• Cleaning: CLEAN the marks as fast as possible or immediately when you see them. The longer that mark is on, the harder it will be clean. Try not to scrub the wall, wash the walls. You want to limit the damage by scrubbing, so start cleaning lightly then work your way to a scrub if you have to. Use a soft cloth and water at first. If that doesn’t work add a little cleaning solution.

• Touch ups: Now this can be a little more tricky. The older the paint, the harder it is to touch up due to wear and tear of paint over time. The flatter the paint the easier it will touch up. Paints like semi-gloss and eggshell is almost impossible to touch up over time, it stands out like a sore thumb. Matte and flat allow for easier touch-ups that are not as noticeable, if at all.

• Maintain Your Paint: Invest in a company that maintains your property: You want your paint job to last for a lot of years, not a couple of years. If you have a company that does the job correctly the first time, it will last for a lot of years. Let Spectrum Painting take care of your office painting needs and upkeep.

We can also help you out with office expansion. Need to make room for a new employee in a growing office? We can help. Take a look at this project where we helped turned a kitchen into an office.

Call us today at 973-706-6033 to set up an appointment with an estimator to talk about your commercial project!

You Don’t Have to Worry About Making the Powder Room Look Larger

In your powder room or any other small space, color is the quickest and easiest way to create instant style. The beauty of a small room is that you are not trying to make it look larger because it’s not possible and totally pointless. Instead, focus on choosing bold or dark colors that you’d never use in a small room. Here are five paint colors that will look large in your tiny powder room.

Peony 2079-30 | Benjamin Moore

A vibrant fuchsia like Benjamin Moore’s Peony, is a daring paint color choice, even for a powder room. A small room that is used only briefly can handle a strong and cheerful color like this. Creamy white trim, dark wood or tile floors, and a white stone vessel sink can balance this bold paint color. All shades of pink and peach are exceptionally flattering to skin tone in a vanity mirror, but a bright fuchsia may need some help. Decorate your fuchsia powder room with soft lighting to minimize the brightness and glare of vibrant wall color.

Marine Blue 2059-10 | Benjamin Moore

Deep blue can be a surprisingly glamorous paint color choice for a powder room. The secret to using a dark blue, like Benjamin Moore’s Marine Blue, is to pair it with crisp white, metallic accents, and a fabulous light fixture. Swap out the usual bathroom mirror for a luxe style with a glistening and ornate gold or silver frame.

Peppercorn SW 7674 | Sherwin-Williams

The secret to choosing a dark paint color like Sherwin-Williams Peppercorn is planning your lighting carefully. Wall sconces on either side of your powder room’s vanity mirror can illuminate the wall, and a delicate chandelier can add ambient light overhead. To add a touch of glamor, consider using a metallic silver or pale blue paint or metallic finish on the ceiling to enhance the chandelier’s glow and add extra light to the room.

Gingery SW 6363 | Sherwin-Williams

For Craftsman or transitional decorating style, a rich neutral color like Sherwin-Williams Gingery adds drama without straying from the overall vibe of the home. A warm yet vibrant rust or brown is a great alternative to the traditional red colors used in many powder rooms. Brushed metallic accessories and natural stone finishes pair beautifully with this color.

In the Tropics CSP-640 | Benjamin Moore

Benjamin Moore’s In the Tropics is a refreshing paint color choice for a beach-inspired powder room that needs some drama. While green may not be your first paint color choice for a bathroom, teal has just enough blue to keep making it more flattering. A versatile teal like this can be paired with natural woods and accessories, or made more luxurious with a glamorous mirror and light fixture.

Do you need help with color? Let Spectrum Painting send our color consultant out to help you. Call us today at 973-706-6033 to set up an appointment with one of our estimators!

(Photos via Pinterest)

Blue-Gray reflects an easy going beach vibe. Natural seagrass, darker wood, and classic black and white work beautifully with this palette.

Bedroom walls painted in light blue-gray.

Warm Gray, a color you see in beach pebbles and driftwood. This beach color palette also reminds me of a quiet overcast day on the beach. Warm gray is neutral and timeless, more complex than cream or white, a soothing backdrop or to set the perfect scene to pop a bright accent color.

Warm gray color scheme in a beach theme home.

Pearly Shell White is a white with a sparkle. Think of the pearl in an oyster shell or the pearlesque surface of a perfectly smooth shell.

A beautiful soothing shell white theme for a dining room.

Seaside is a neutral palette with the main color being a pale blue, creating a wonderful relaxing spa ambiance.

Blue spa paint color scheme in a home by the sea.

Ocean Blue is a paint color scheme inspired by vibrant skies and ocean waves.

Ocean blue walls in a dining room. This blue is an excellent backdrop for stronger colors.

Aqua Marine is another bold side of blue.

Aqua painted walls in a bungalow.

Seaglass Green, a color scheme consisting of blue-green hues. If you go too bright with this beach color scheme, you’re heading into turquoise or mint.

Seaglass green painted walls in a kitchen.

If you see a color scheme that you love, visit Benjamin Moore  or Sherwin Williams and check out all there collections and palettes.  Better yet, give Spectrum Painting a call and let our color expert help you with consultation.  Call us today at 973-706-6033 to schedule and estimate and let us help you achieve your favorite beach-inspired look!

(Photos obtained via Pinterest.)

If you’ve never painted your deck, no worries! Spectrum Painting can do it for you. Our painters are certified and experienced in all things exterior paint.

Here are a few things you need to know before you call us to schedule:

When to paint

Generally speaking, late spring and summer are the best times to apply the deck paint. Obviously, you want to have a few consecutive days with warm weather with a lot of sunshine. Be sure to schedule in plenty of time in case the weather puts the project on hold, especially when New Jersey has a week straight of rain! Another good time of year is early autumn when the summer heat starts to leave the region. Just don’t wait until it’s too late! New Jersey winters can sneak up on us, and our painters don’t apply any exterior paint colors in the snow.

Time frame

Deck paint typically requires dry weather for about two to four days with temperatures in the mid-80s. This ensures the deck paint dries evenly and thoroughly. Keep weather in mind as you schedule your house painting projects with us. Our crew of painters will consider this too before applying the deck paint. They’ll keep track of the weather as they work in case patterns change. And as you know, weather can be fickle, so we’re always prepared.

Clean deck and make sure wood is dry

Preparedness is key to having a great finished deck. In addition to planning ahead with the weather, the crew will need to take time to clean the deck properly and make sure the wood is dry. Painters do not want to apply paint colors to a deck that’s still wet from a previous storm. In addition, painting over old, chipped paint is not ideal, which is why cleaning it is important before we begin. Talk with our painters to determine what will need to be addressed before we can apply any exterior paint colors.

If you keep these three things in mind, it will be a seamless experience. Not to mention, the deck will look beautiful. And as always, if you need help with your interior and other exterior painting projects, our team of painters will help you pick the right paint color and help you apply them (so you don’t have to). If you live in Northern New Jersey and want more information about all of our exterior and interior painting services, contact us today! Happy painting, everyone!

So how do you know when it’s time to paint your house? Watch for these 6 signs.

1. The Paint Shows Signs of Wear

Peeling, bubbling, and cracking paint are signs that the paint wasn’t applied correctly in the first place or that the paint has succumbed to the elements. These signs may also mean you’re dealing with dry rot or mold. They shouldn’t be ignored, as they can lead to bigger problems down the road.

2. The Paint Is Fading

Fading paint makes a house look worn and tired. It’s time to repaint when the paint doesn’t have that same vibrant color it had when it was originally painted. Dark paints will fade quicker than lighter paints, so keep an eye out.

3. You’re Putting the House on the Market

First impressions only happen once. That’s why curb appeal is so important when you want to sell your house. Potential buyers will make split-second opinions about your house the moment they drive into your driveway. If the paint job is old, or was poorly done, they’ll notice — and that may affect their decision to place an offer or not. Likewise, the interior of your home needs to look fresh and taken care of. New paint can make your home look modern, clean, and inviting.

4. You’re Seeing Gaps or Shrinking

Do the boards on your home’s exterior look as if they’re shrinking? Do you see gaps between the boards? This is a sign of potential dry rot, meaning moisture could be getting into the wood. You’ll want a professional to assess the damage.

5. The Caulk Is Cracking

If the caulking on the exterior of your house is cracking or showing signs of being brittle, it has lost its elasticity and it’s time for an updated paint job.

6. The Right Amount of Time Has Passed

You don’t have to wait to see signs of paint failure before you paint. In fact, it’s better if you don’t. Just like you want to replace your roof before it’s caving in, repainting before you have huge issues will save you a headache or 12 — and it will keep your house in tip-top shape.

So how often does your house need to be painted?

• -Exteriors should be painted every 5 to 10 years. This timeframe depends on how well your house was painted the last time, the quality of paint that was used, the quality of the prep work that was done, and the surface of your exterior.
• -Wood surfaces, including cedar shakes, need to be painted every 3 to 7 years.
• -Aluminum siding needs to be painted about every 5 years.
• -Stucco should be repainted every 5 to 6 years.

If you’re seeing any of the above signs, give Spectrum Painting a call at 973-706-6033.  We use the best quality materials and do not cut any corners in the prepping process, including soft washing your home before prepping and painting.  Call us today and let us help with your next home project!

1. Accentuate the Past

There is something to be said about exterior paint colors of the past. This is especially true if you are lucky enough to own a house of a certain, definable architectural style—Victorian, Cape Cod, Craftsman, etc.

If you have the help of a designer—and most of the professional or contractor paint shops offer such an expert—then ask him or her to find paint samples from the era in which your home was built.

2. Be Aware of Neighbors’ Exterior Paint Colors

Whatever you decide will be your exterior paint colors, but try to consider what will work in your neighborhood. In other words, look at the whole picture—think of your neighborhood as fabric and your house as one thread in that fabric. You may be limited further by Home Owners’ Association covenants, so be sure to look into those covenants as well. By and large, being a good neighbor is something you ought to factor in. Will the colors you are leaning towards fit in the overall feel of the neighborhood? Can you manage to be unique without being the eyesore?

3. Structural Harmony with Rest of the House

Think not just of the neighborhood whole, but think of your house’s whole.

What color is your roof? Is it slate, aluminum, copper, cedar shakes? Though you don’t need to match your paint to your shingles, the colors should fit together somehow. Another consideration is the landscaping and natural elements around the house. Are you in a wooded area? Is there a lake nearby?

These can suggest color families that can help you decide your exterior paint colors.

4. The Inside Affects the Outside

If you have a favorite quilt on display, or perhaps a piece of fine china, that would make a great design motif for exterior paint colors. Don’t be afraid to pull the colors for your home from that piece and translate it onto your exterior. This adds a sense of harmony and integrity in design and can be as subtle or obvious as you’d like. All you’re after is an inspiration–not demonstrating to the outside world the connection between a quilt and exterior paint. It’s a personal thing: if the colors on this quilt or that plate caught your eye, then they’d likely work well for you on your home.

5. White House: The Color of Tradition

White House: If it’s good enough for our leaders, it’s good enough for your house. With the right complementary touches—eaves, window casing, door trim, etc.—white can be a fantastic exterior paint color option. Don’t think of it as a last resort or a default color; white is not a non-choice. White has its stately appeal. Bonus: Did you know that if your home is a bit smaller than neighboring homes, white tends to make homes look larger than life.

It will also last longer under the harsh solar glare since it repels harmful UV rays better than other colors.

6. Darker Details Make the Exterior Paint Color

Darker colors are great for drawing the eye to architectural details you don’t want to be missed. If you have an archway or trim, or any particular feature you want to be highlighted, draw attention with darker colors. Darker colors make things appear a bit smaller than they are, and are a great choice for recessed panels. If you have features that protrude from the wall surface, highlight those with lighter colors as they will stand out more against the darker shade. But be careful if you use darker colors as your field exterior paint color. In that case, be sure to use a higher sheen to ward off UV damage. Darker colors will fade quicker otherwise.

7. Consider the Number of Colors

If you have had the privilege of living near classic, Victorian homes–often called Painted Ladies–or even if you have visited San Francisco, notice how many colors the designers used. Sometimes you’ll see up to 8 different colors and that’s because they have so much architectural interest. The number of colors really depends on the simplicity or complexity of your home. Adding too many colors to a home that’s really designed to have a maximum of 3 or 4 colors will make the home look garish, and the exterior paint colors will come off as garish. Look for homes with similar architecture, hopefully by the same builder, and see what others have successfully done. The right home can have as many as 10 colors, but this requires the keen eye of a professional designer to make this work. Tip: Start out conservatively, then add more if the project requires it.

8. Take Advantage of Color Tools

At the very least, you will need to pick up a handy paint tool commonly called a color wheel or color fan. Ask your dealer if they can loan you a fan, or if you can take some samples once you think you’ve decided. Most professional shops have handy pint-size samplers available for a few dollars that you can take home and test on your exterior. Paint chips from the paint section are great to help you decide roughly what you’re after. Even better, get an actual wet sample painted on your home, even if you are the type to be sure of what you want. Exterior paint colors look much different in person than they do printed on handy pieces of cardboard. At different times of the day, the paint will take on a different hue or perhaps look a bit lighter or darker than you had hoped.

Call Spectrum Painting today to help you with your exterior needs, including giving your home a bath before we paint.  We even have a color consultant who can help you put these tips to great use!  Call today to set up an appointment with an estimator at 973-706-6033. 

Both conditions are a form of mold. Mold can weaken the roof, make its way into your home and introduce bacteria into your home. Roof stains can affect your energy costs. There are products that can safely be used by professionals to clean roof algae and remove the stains. Spectrum Painting is able to take care of these issues with their soft washing capabilities, which combines low pressure with special washing ingredients.

Maintaining your roof also provides the basic look of a clean roof, the curb appeal (important if you’re planning on selling your home) and the knowledge that you’ve taken important steps to protect your home. The small cost now to wash and maintain is much lower than the price of replacing a roof altogether.

Call Spectrum Painting today at 973-706-6033 to set up an estimate for a soft wash of your roof, as well as your home, walkways, fences, patios and pool decks.

Solid wood decks do require care and maintenance. Unlike some alternatives, such as concrete, brick pavers, or synthetic deck boards, a real wooden deck requires a little bit of love from time to time.

One of the most important maintenance choices you can make for your deck is whether to apply a finish coat of some sort and if so, what to use. Should you paint it? Should you stain it? Should you just leave it au naturel?

Let’s go over the pros and cons of each:

Finishing Your Deck with Paint

Painting your wood deck can be a great choice. Paint has quite a few benefits over the other finish options such as stain or sealer, but it may not be for you if you want a natural looking wood deck.

Here are the pros and cons of painting your outside deck:

Pros of Paint:

• Painting allows you to use any color you want. Because paint is solid, you can completely cover an old color or the wood itself, which means your options are wide open.
• Paint often fills gaps and cracks. Paint is a thicker finish, so it can often be useful for repairing wood that has already damaged a little by the elements. Some paints are even made just for that purpose.
• Paint might be easier to clean. Depending on the color, paint can be easy to clean. If the paint is of good quality and is allowed to cure properly before put into use, it creates a hard shell that dirt usually just washes right off of.
• Paint is more protective of wood. Generally speaking, paint resists rot, mold, and sun damage better than other options. However, other types of high-quality finishes can also do a great job of protecting wood.

Cons of Paint:

• Paint is forever. Once you decide to paint your wood deck, you’ve pretty much decided to always paint your wood deck. While you can go from stain or sealer to paint, you can’t really go back the other way without going to extreme measures.
• Paint is available in any color. While this is also in the “pros” list, it can be a challenge. What looks good on walls and trim doesn’t always look good on a huge surface like a deck. Floor paints used to be limited in color options, but not anymore.
• Paint can be slippery when wet. Depending on the sheen of your paint (gloss, semi-gloss, etc.), painted decks are sometimes as slick as ice when wet.
• Paint hides the natural beauty of wood. The biggest drawback is probably that paint hides the wood grain, thereby erasing one of the biggest upside features of a real wood deck.
• The alternative to paint is stain or sealer. Let’s take a look at those.

Staining Your Wood Deck

If you decide paint is not for you, you’ll probably look at either semi-transparent stains or a clear sealer for your deck. This category is very broad, encompassing many different types of finish material, but we can still look at a few of the more general pros and cons.

Pros of Stain:

• Stain retains the natural beauty of wood. Stain and sealer let the wood grain show through.
• Stain is less slippery. This is a generality, and some stains can be slick, but for the most part, stains are more of a flat surface that protect the wood without creating a very slippery surface.
• Stain is easier to apply. Stain and sealer are more forgiving. You can miss a spot here and there without it becoming obvious. Paint isn’t as easy to work with.
• Stain comes in many colors. You still have design options with stain, which is available in a large variety of colors. Always test an area with your particular wood, though, because the color of the wood itself will have a big effect on the finished color of the stain.  Stain also comes in different transparencies:  transparent- which shows the complete grain, semi-transparent- which shows some grain, semi-solid- which shows little grain and solid- which shows no grain.

Cons of Stain:

• Stain has a shorter life span than paint. It may not last as long, depending on quality and coats.
• Stain doesn’t fill cracks. It is generally much thinner; therefore, it can’t be used as a repair material to fill cracks, voids, and splinters.
• Stain is more “rustic” looking. For the most part, stain results in a more natural looking finish. So the “pro” that says you can see the grain can also be a “con” if you don’t want to see it. If you want a solid color with very little variation, stain may not be for you. However, darker color stains can be fairly uniform in appearance.

Both Options Offer Protection

Both paint and stain can give you a deck that lasts years longer than it would if left untreated. These materials make the wood less water absorbent, causing the wood to stay dry on the inside. They also include compounds designed to protect the wood from harmful UV rays, which means less of the awful sun damage that can ruin exposed wood decks.

In the end, the little bit of effort required to maintain a wood deck can be well worth it. Spectrum Painting is here to help you determine what’s best for your wood deck and is currently scheduling estimates.  Give us a call today at 973-706-6033 to schedule an estimate and get on our exterior calendar!