Generally, when people think of exterior painting, they think of a complete repaint of the building. The reason is that it has usually been many years since any painting was done. Often, the paint is flaking in a lot of places, the stain has worn off and the woodwork shows serious rotting.

When such signs are visible, it generally means expensive scraping, sanding and caulking, as well as a substantial carpentry bill. If periodic paint maintenance had been performed, such an outcome could have been avoided.

In the Philadelphia area, the elements conspire to undermine the integrity of the caulking, paint film and wood components. The most vulnerable areas are the wood joints and the areas where the wood elements meet other surfaces. If the caulk or paint film breaks, moisture will be allowed to enter the joints and wreak havoc with the paint film and the wood. Such a minimal failure, if corrected early, can be repaired at little expense.

You can imagine what happens when the water is allowed to enter the wood joints for a prolonged period of time. Intervening at that stage will mean a more expensive epoxy repair of the window casing and sill. If the repair is delayed further, the entire window might have to be replaced. In some cases, the problem may have as well caused water damage to interior surfaces of the house.

As house painting contractors in the Philadelphia area, we believe that an ounce of prevention is worth many pounds of correction. Paint maintenance saves money and avoids headaches! To make it easier for our clients to do that sort of paint maintenance, we offer them a FREE inspection of the exterior surfaces of their house. After making a thorough inspection, we prepare a list of corrective actions, if necessary. Following such a maintenance program adds years to the useful life of a paint job and keeps the house looking good. Email us to schedule a free inspection:

steve@kapskipainting.com or visit our website at www.kapskipainting.com to schedule.

The market is heating up. No, really.

Coast to coast, a much higher percentage of listings are (a) selling, period (b) selling, fast and (c) selling at or above the asking price than they have during any spring in recent memory. Don’t take my word for it — from Chicago to Orange County, Calif., local papers have picked up and started to report on the phenomenon.

Yet and still, today’s buyers hold in recent memory the real estate mountaintop and the depths of the recession; some have been waiting out the market for years, hoping for a deal, but unwilling to buy into a declining market. Others actually lost homes to foreclosure at the beginning of the housing recession and are on the comeback trail. And competition from short sale and foreclosure listings is still abundant.

Long story short, the days when every home on the market got multiple offers are still a thing of the past. By and large, the listings I see receiving multiple offers and selling for over asking on today’s market have the following ingredients (a recipe sellers can replicate if they’d like to set the stage to receive multiple offers, too):

1. Pristine and staged. The homes that I’ve seen get multiple offers in my own market recently are immaculately clean — not a whiff of anything within noseshot, so to speak — and dressed to the nines. Their photos look like something out of a home decor catalog or design magazine — like no one lives there, even if someone does. Their owners have often spent months in advance cleaning, decluttering, organizing, primping and otherwise sprucing their homes for sale with the intention of blowing the competition out of the water.

I won’t purport to capture the art of staging in a sentence, but prepacking is a good visual to hold in mind as you prepare your home. (And anecdotally, I will say that it strikes me that a large proportion of multiple-offer homes have actually been professionally staged. I’d urge a seller who wants multiple offers to explore whether there’s some level of staging service or even staging advice that is worth the investment, before dismissing it as too expensive out of hand.)

2. Low prices. The homes that get multiple offers are not priced at the top of their markets. In fact, I know that many of their listing agents and owners specifically aimed to list these homes slightly below what they believed to be the true fair market value of the property at the time they listed it. Why? What seems like it might be risky is actually a time-proven strategy for cranking up the number of buyers who come view the property.

When buyers see a beautiful home listing online for less than they’d expect for the area, they show up in droves, eager to get a great home for a great value. And the math from there is simple — it takes more showings to drive more offers.

Once these value hunters are at the place and fall in love with it, they often become willing to offer more than the asking price if they need to, to secure it in the face of competing offers, knowing that it was priced well to start with.

3. Ample exposure to the market. Part of the effect of a low list price is that it creates an auction atmosphere, the environment that churns up bidding wars. The other half of the auction equation is ensuring that the home has ample exposure to the market, both in terms of time for buyers to come see and fall in love with the place and in terms of marketing the property aggressively to reach as many prospective buyer/bidders as possible.

Ample exposure can be achieved in several ways. Professional photography. An aggressive online marketing campaign — most experienced local listing agents will happily brief prospective seller clients on what they do in this vein. One ample exposure method I’ve seen become a standard practice in my area is to create and publish an offer timeline. In my town, it’s now almost universal for listing agents to list the home a day or two prior to the broker’s open house, hold it open for brokers once, hold two general Sunday open houses and then take offers the Tuesday following the second Sunday open house.

By publishing this timeline as part of the listing, buyers are assured that they will have time to see the place and get their ducks in a row in order to compete for it. And sellers are assured that they will not forgo the great offer that might come tomorrow by virtue of taking a good one that comes in the day after they put the home on the market.

Now, sometimes, aggressive buyers force a seller’s hand, making an offer immediately upon seeing the property, despite a preset offer timeline. In those cases, the listing agent can call up all the other agents who have expressed an interest in the place and offer them the opportunity to get in the game. For this reason, and for any other important updates or changes that might come along, it’s essential that buyers and their brokers let the listing agent know if they plan to make an offer, even early in the published offer timeline.

4. Showable on demand. Hard-to-show homes just don’t sell, when there’s lots of competition. When buyers’ brokers put their home tours together, if a particular listing requires too much notice (i.e., 48 hours) or too many calls and callbacks for appointment-setting, they’re very likely just to turn to one of the other dozens of homes that’s easy to show. Anything that diminishes the chances your home will be shown diminishes the chances your home will receive multiple offers.

To get multiple offers on today’s market, in fact, a seller’s home must be showable on demand. If you require an appointment, you should keep advance notice requirements as low as possible — an hour or less is ideal. Even better is to be accommodating and let brokers show your home at their leisure — ideally, stepping out or running to the market when they come by. Allowing your broker to put a lockbox on the place and let it be shown at all times while you’re at work or out and about on the weekends will require that you keep the place in tiptop shape, 24/7, but it will also be well worth it.

While small-business job creation isn’t as strong as we’d like, it’s stronger than many people think.

Since the recovery began, small and midsize companies have been producing more jobs than their larger counterparts and creating them at a faster pace than during the recovery from the 2001 recession. But because small-business employment hasn’t yet caught up to where it was before the recession began, the perception that small employers aren’t hiring endures.

This matters more than you might think. Since big companies and small companies each account for about half of private-sector employment, employment growth is usually strongest when both are creating jobs. Knowing which one is lagging the other helps Washington figure out what policies we need to boost employment growth.

Let’s look at the data. The ADP Employment Report, a monthly analysis of employment at more than 300,000 private businesses using ADP payroll services, shows that companies with up to 49 workers employed 2.6 percent more people in March 2012 than they did in July 2009, when the economic recovery began. Similarly, businesses with 50 to 499 workers employed 3.2 percent more people last month than they did at the start of the recovery. Companies with 500 or more workers, however, employed 0.2 percent fewer people this March than in July 2009.

The Intuit Small Business Employment Index, a monthly reporting of the number of people working at about 70,000 companies that have fewer than 20 employees and that make use of Intuit Online Payroll, shows a similar pattern. The Intuit Index was up 4.7 percent from July 2009 to February 2012. By contrast, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ measure of U.S. nonfarm employment, which includes employment at larger businesses and in the public sector as well as at small businesses, increased by only 1.9 percent.

Job creation at small companies has also been pretty robust when compared with the previous recovery. In the 33 months since the current recovery began, small employers added 2.6 million jobs, a 2.9 percent increase in employment, ADP figures show. By contrast, in the first 33 months of the recovery from the 2001 recession, small employers added 1.8 million jobs, a 2.1 percent increase.

If small businesses are creating jobs faster than big businesses and faster than they did in the last economic recovery, why do we believe they’re not? Behavioral economists would say it’s because we tend to think about economic recoveries in terms of getting back to the way things were before recessions.

Because the decline in small-business employment during the downturn was so large, we have not yet replaced all the small-business jobs we lost. The ADP report shows that small-business employment is currently only 96.7 percent of what it was just before the economy went south. Similarly, the Intuit index in March was at only 94.7 percent of what it was immediately before the recession. At the current rate of small-business job creation measured by ADP, it will be another year and a half – the end of 2013 – before small-business employment gets back to where it was at the end of 2007.

We all want small companies to take us back quickly to pre-Great Recession employment levels. But policy makers need to try to temper those expectations, because economic growth and job creation are, in large part, self-fulfilling prophecies. If our unrealistically high expectations leave us disappointed by decent, but not stellar, small-business job creation, consumers and businesses may lack confidence and cut back, limiting job creation.

Influencing those expectations, however, will be nearly impossible in a presidential election year. The message politicians would have to deliver – hold on for a while more, we’re getting closer – isn’t the kind of uplifting message that gets voters energized, even if it would make sense to economists.

Crimson walls, worn carpeting, outdated light fixtures. Prospective home buyers may balk when a home they’re touring isn’t picture perfect. But don’t be put off by overgrown shrubbery or an avocado range. Such flaws can be easily, and cheaply, fixed and by accepting the house as is you may be able to bargain down the price and spend what you save to realize its true potential.

Wacky walls. Don’t be blinded by floral wallpaper or a splashy paint job. A coat or two of paint can brighten a room and make it more to your liking. A number of the interior paints in Consumer Reports’ paint tests were excellent at covering. In fact, almost half of our two dozen top picks are made to go on over old finishes or even bare wood and wallboard without the usual prime coat. You can buy a gallon of good paint for $30 or less although some brands cost more. For best results. match the sheen to the area. Low-luster satin and eggshell paints are ideal for most surfaces because they combine easy hiding and durability.

Frightening flooring. Carpeting that’s seen better days doesn’t have to trip you up, especially if the floor or subfloor is in good condition. Before settling on new flooring, spend a few dollars on two or three samples. That way you won’t wind up with flooring that looks great in a catalog or on a website but awful in your home. Manufacturers generally match most wood or engineered-wood flooring for color and grain. But variations can occur from one batch to the next, so buy all the flooring you’ll need at once. Consumer Reports’ floor tests include solid and engineered wood, linoleum, vinyl and plastic laminate. Prices for our recommended flooring range from $1 per square foot for plastic laminate to $6.30 for prefinished solid wood.

Lackluster lights. Tacky chandeliers and fussy ceiling fans can be a turnoff. If the fixtures are more than a few years old, your choice of lighting has greatly expanded since they were installed. Take advantage of the many energy-saving lightbulbs on the market but make sure you install fixtures that will provide the type of lighting you want. Not every energy-saving lightbulb can be used in every fixture. (Here’s a guide.) Check our Ratings of CFL, LED and halogen bulbs to make sure you get the right incandescent replacement. The CFLs we recommend cost between $6 and $10. LEDs can be two or three times that but have been decreasing in price as more come on the market.

Kitschy kitchen. If the layout of the kitchen works for you, many other upgrades can be done on a shoestring. You can paint the cabinets, replace the hardware or install a new faucet. And if it’s the appliances that need updating, you can find many top performers in our Ratings that are affordable too. Our five Best Buy bottom-freezer, French-door refrigerators, one of the most popular choices, range in price from $1,500 to $1,700. Dishwashers and ranges can be had for much less. Our dishwasher Best Buys range from $500 to $700 and Best Buy ranges are $700 for electric and $775 for gas.

Unenticing entry. Don’t knock a battered door or overgrown holly bush. Put out the welcome mat with a new coat of paint and new locks or hardware. Mow the lawn and trim the plants and bushes that are encroaching on your entryway. Our string trimmer tests show you don’t have to mess with a gas-powered model if you don’t want to. The best corded machines can trim, edge, and even tackle the tall stuff nearly as well–and some cost as little as $30. And while cordless, battery-powered trimmers still aren’t ideal for hacking away tall grass and weeds, the best do a creditable job although they cost a bit more than corded.

The real red flags are:
Once you’ve overlooked the small things, you can pay attention to the real red flags. Hire a home inspector before making an offer and do a thorough visual inspection yourself. Here are some things that can be a bad sign that’ll take more than a can of paint to fix.

•Broken or damaged gutters, downspouts, and leader pipes.>
•Cracked, curled, or missing shingles or loose flashing.
•Pest infestations (inside or outside).
•Visible mold or mildew.
•Foundation cracks, bulges or buckling.
•Cracks at upper corners of windows and doors.
•Mushrooms or fungus growing out of siding.
•Soft boards or loose rails on outdoor decks.
•Soggy ground and lush vegetation around septic tank or leach fields.
•Missing or torn insulation in attic.
•Scratches or algae on siding.

The research on color and mood has been well-established over the past 30 years. However, many business owners are unaware that they have the power to drive sales and increase employee retention just with a strategic use of paint. This is where we come in.

Here are some quick color tips, contact Steve at Kapski Painting or specific color, sheen and placement:

•Blue: Elicits feelings of tranquility and confidence. This is the least appetizing color, so it should not be the main color in office break rooms or in restaurants. However, people are more productive in blue rooms. Therefore, it is a good choice for office walls.

•Pink: Tranquilizing, so be careful. Sports teams sometimes paint the locker room of opposing teams pink so they will lose energy. You don’t want employees falling asleep on the job.

•Green: Representative of nature, health, and relaxation. Currently, this is the most popular color for decorating because it is easiest on the eyes.

•Red: Stimulates appetite in restaurants, but also raises blood pressure and heart rate. It does make people more cautious and accurate in their work, but the color should be used sparingly, as it also unconsciously symbolizes dominance.

•Yellow: People tend to lose their tempers most often in yellow rooms. It is the hardest color for the eye to take in. Yellow enhances concentration, speeds metabolism, and is perfect for office break rooms, restaurants and bathrooms.

•Orange: Denotes balance and excitement. This color is great for a fitness center, for example.

•Black: Effective in small doses as an accent color. It symbolizes power formality, and elegance.

•White: Simple, pure, clean, and brings a summery lightness to any room. Too much use of white in an office can make workers less productive. To use white effectively, an accented wall, colorful furnishings, or artwork should be incorporated.

You’ve invested in top-quality paint, and have painstakingly prepped and primed your rooms for a fantastic paint job, so this is no time to skimp on tools. “You’ve spent $30 or even $50 on a gallon on paint, so don’t buy a 99 cent brush,” said Debbie Zimmer, paint and color expert at the Paint Quality Institute, an industry group based in Philadelphia.
The reasons will become obvious soon enough:
The fly in the oinment The filaments from a cheap brush will almost surely slough off in the paint. The same is true with rollers. The fuzz from a cheap cover will be part of your paint job if you take the lowest-cost route. Also, cheap filaments do not stand the test of time. The paint gets wicked up in the fibers which tends to damage the brush even after a single use.
The cost of doing business It’s also important not to short change yourself on the number or sizes of brushes for the job (and make sure your painter doesn’t either if you’re hiring someone else for the job.) High-end synthetic brushes can cost $20 to $25 each, while top-of the-line roller covers can run up to $12..
Stick with synthetics. Softer brushes with natural hog bristles are still the tool of choice for oil-based paints, but as the majority of exterior painting are now done with Latex or acrylic paint with little or no volatile organic compounds, synthetic brushes have become the standard. These water-based paints require a stiffer brush that pushes out the paint more efficiently than natural fibers do. “Latex coatings dry more quickly so you need a brush that works the paint in easily,” said Keith Cornelius, who helps develop brushes for the Wooster Brush.

Check for tapering Cornelius noted that brushes perform more effectively when the filaments are tapered but solid. “The tapering helps the paint to flow better off the end.” And while the ends of natural bristles are typically flagged, or split like the ends of a human hair, this design isn’t ideal for quicker-drying water-based paint because is slows down the release of the paint. Tapered ends are also good for cut-in control when you need to make a straight line where the base of a wall meets the trim.

Get some of each Most effective exterior paint jobs require a combination of rollers and brushes. Rollers allow you to get a lot more paint on the wall at a time, but it’s best to back brush across what you just painted for a smooth finish.

There’s no way around it. Applying paint is an arduous job, and since no robot has come along yet that can ably take over the task, consider using brushes and rollers with the virtues of ergonomic handles. The engineering has evolved to make the job more comfortable for human hands. Ergonomic handles are typically made of a rubberized material that’s softer to the touch and easier to grip. Wooster’s Shortcut is shorter and more flexible than conventional brushes. Cornelius says that people with arthritis have reported that such styles are more comfortable to use since the handle fits entirely within most peoples’ hands rather than hanging out the back of the hand.

For more comfortable and efficient paint rolling, Purdy, a major paint tool company in Cleveland, offers a 9-inch cageless roller frame with a notably smoother rolling action since there’s no “thumping” on the surface as you roll. It also has an ergonomic grip handle. Wooster’s Flip Frame rolling device easily adjusts into four different positions with the touch of a button for better access to painting surfaces.
Indeed, many DIYers don’t consider the fragility of their backs during a big job like house painting. It seems simple enough, but not enough amateurs remember to pour paint from the can into a smaller bucket that’s lighter and easier to carry around as needed. Wooster’ Pelican Pail includes a rubber grip handle and can hold both a brush and roller. Disposable liners for the pail make color changes a cinch

However, before you head to the store, you’ll want to see what Consumer Reports found in its latest tests of almost 60 interior paints as it might save you time and money.

Contractor Bill Bradsell said paying more for high-quality paint can actually be a money saver.

“It’s more economical because a lot of times we can do less coats,” Bradsell said.

Consumer Reports tested to see how well paints cover in one coat. Testers evaluated dozens of interior paints that cost anywhere from $8 a gallon to more than $60.

They paint over increasingly darker stripes and found big differences.

Another important test is how well paints resist stains. Testers applied a greasy mixture and let it sit overnight.

Then, a machine scrubbed the paint to see how well the grease came off. Some came clean in just a few passes. But, the cheapest paint in the tests, Color Place from Walmart, didn’t clean nearly as well as some of the best paints.

Another question was what type of interior paint to get?

“Satin paint, which is also called eggshell, is the best way to go for most walls,” Rico de Paz said.

Among satin paints, Benjamin Moore Aura Satin earned the highest score, but it costs more than $60 a gallon.

For about half the price, Behr’s Premium Plus Ultra Satin Enamel from the Home Depot did just about as well.

Both did a great job covering in one coat, as well as resisting stains.

If you prefer a flat paint, Behr Premium Plus Ultra Flat at $33 a gallon scored the highest, with Behr’s Premium Plus version rated a best buy at just $20 a gallon.

Among semi-gloss paint, there was a tie, between Benjamin Moore’s Regal Select at $50 a gallon, and Behr Premium Plus Ultra Semi-Gloss at $34 a gallon.

There’s another plus with the recommended paints as well.

They were all rated excellent to very good at self-priming, so they can go over bare wood and wallboard without a coat of primer, which will save you time and money.

Companies such as our depend on word of mouth and know that the only way to succeed is to provide good service on a day to day basis.

We refer other trades to our clients as well. We could only do this if these businesses have a long history of unblemished work.