We rarely take the time to comment on our competitors; we'd rather let our own reputation speak for itself.  But an ad that keeps popping up in our Facebook feed has prompted us to respond.  (We won't mention the company; not interested in giving them free publicity; but we have seen several similar ones.  Nor will we address the statements they've made that we know for ourselves are untrue.)

Our belief is that the best thing you can say about your company is something negative about your competitors, you've already demonstrated your lack of professionalism.  To the best of our knowledge, we've never commented negatively about a competitor.  Nor do we intend to.  That's just not how we operate.  It should be understood that there is a certain amount of professional courtesy in each industry.  We do our best to extend it whenever possible.  

One good reason?  At times we need to be able to refer a potential client to another painting contractor because we're simply not able to take on their project within their time frame.  (And we've had it come back to us the other way as well. )

We'd like to think we are on good terms with the other painting companies in our area.  We also believe that what goes around comes around.  

Ultimately, maintaining professional integrity speaks volumes about a company.  So does abandoning that standard.  

Recently a marketing specialist shared with us that people don't hire companies, they hire people.  So we thought we'd share a bit about the main face of our company, John Schweiss. 

(North Pine Painting is organized as a limited liability company.  John and Katie are majority partners, and they are joined in the business by David Krieger, who's been John's partner since 2003 when the company was based in Minnesota.)

John started his painting company (that would later become North Pine Painting) in February of 1994 in St. Paul Minnesota, just after he and his wife had their third child.  Eventually Katie quit her job as a paralegal to stay home with their three children and support John's business, handling the administrative end.

Except for a short time being self-employed, John had worked for other painting contractors since he first started in the field when he was in college.   Being able to have his own business eventually was his dream, and realizing just how much profit his employer was making on his services was just what he needed to make the move.

But before we get to that part of John's story, let's give a little more background.

On hiatus from Bible college in 1983, John (who had recently become engaged to Katie) was living in New Orleans, working to earn tuition money to finish his college.  A friend owned a painting business and put him to work.  There in New Orleans he learned many of the basics of the trade, and after graduating from college in 1985 and getting married shortly thereafter, he started working in the painting industry.

John and Katie were living in a small town near Dayton, Ohio at that time, and John had an encounter that would change the direction of his career.  He met an older painting contractor who specialized in wallpaper.  He was was looking for somebody who would eventually take on the business, and he saw John's potential.  John worked for Whitey for a couple of years, learning the wallpaper installation art from a true master. 

That training and exposure turned out to be life-changing for John, at least from a career standpoint.  And today, wall covering installation makes up almost half our business.  If you ask John, he'll tell you it's his favorite thing to do.

Because of the training John had in wallpaper nearly 40 years ago, North Pine Painting today is one of the few wall covering contractors in the Puget Sound area.  Sadly, it is a vanishing trade.  This makes no sense to John, because the popularity is on the rise, both with decorators and designers.  Commercial facilities like hotels as well as schools are moving to vinyl wall covering instead of paint, and there are few experienced professionals to install it. 

If you've ever been around John as he's working, you've probably realized quickly that he's a stickler for detail.  He's also very dedicated to making sure every customer is satisfied with the job.  That quality has made North Pine Painting one of the best in the area. 

(In 2012 North Pine Painting relocated from the Minneapolis/St. Paul area to Bellingham.  We're happy to have left the below zero temps and hot summers behind.  Recently we relocated from Bellingham to Ferndale, but we will continue to serve the same greater Bellingham area that we've been working in for 11 years.  We also occasionally travel as far south as Seattle, north to Lynden, and even out on the San Juan Islands.  Today as a matter of fact you'll find John working in Anacortes - hanging wallpaper on two separate projects.  One is a residential mural, the other is wall covering on a yacht. 

Painting your home is one of the quickest and most affordable way to improve its value and appearance. But because it is so easy to do, painting the house is often overlooked as an authentic way to improve its worth.

A nicely painted home communicates two important things to visitors and passersby. The first and obvious effect is that the house makes a good impression. Secondly, a nicely painted house suggests that the house is well cared for.
 
People judge your home by its exterior. Even if the home is in the best condition possible, that fact is not immediately obvious if the exterior looks shoddy. The way you paint the home’s exterior is the first thing that attracts people to the property.
 
If the exterior is not appealing, you may not get a chance to show people the other aspects of the home. Moreover, even if the rest of your home is in great condition, a rundown exterior will drag down its value, warns Windermere Management.

·Improved curb appeal
Exterior paint can damage your home’s curb appeal as much as it can help it. This can happen if you do not choose your paint colors and paint design carefully. Before you add a coat of paint to your home, be clear on what you want the home to communicate. The way you paint your home can put people off or draw them in because colors have the power to influence emotions.
 
This is why your choice of colors, as well as, your use of those colors matter so much. Note that your personal color preferences may not be the best for your home. To determine the best way to paint your home, think of the impact you want to make and choose colors and designs that will help you achieve that result.
 
·Protect your home
The least obvious benefit of painting your home’s exterior is how exterior paint protects your home’s external surfaces from damage. Paint is your home’s first line of defense against the forces of nature. The process of painting your house gives you the chance to uncover and address every defect on the building’s exterior surfaces.
 
If you periodically renew the paint on your home’s exterior, you reduce the possibility of damage to the building. Also, paint actively protects the surface from the impact of physical force, organic agents, chemical corrosives, and the actions of the elements. By painting the home’s exterior, you give it a protective layer that helps to maintain it in good condition.

As previously stated, all paint colors and designs are not equal. Some colors and designs will work against the appeal of your home and devalue it. On the other hand, choosing the right colors and design will boost the home’s value far above the cost of repainting the house. What are the things you should know before painting your building?

·Does the paint match your home style?
Homes from different eras or with a defined architecture have to be painted in ways that complement their unique characteristics. Painting your home in a way that is more appropriate for homes of a different style will diminish its value.
 
The home should be painted to reflect its unique identity and most attractive features. This will be evident in the paint colors you choose and in how you deploy those colors.
 
·Does the design fit the neighborhood?
In addition to the style of your home, you must preserve the distinct characteristics of the neighborhood. Your goal should be to make the home different in a nice way. This means painting it according to the overall pattern of the homes in the area while giving the building a unique level of individuality. If the design does not agree with the neighborhood design, you create problems for yourself and your neighbors.
 
·Is there underlying material you want to show off?
You may not need to paint the entire surface of your home’s exterior if the building is made of materials that are worth showing off. For instance, if some aspects of the exterior are made of bricks or there are some eye-catching stone details, you probably want to leave those unpainted. On the other hand, you may also choose to paint those features in a way that will still make their appeal more obvious.

·Paint preparation is vital
Lastly, paint preparation is the most important part of painting the home. Good paint preparation will detect problems with the various surfaces and repair them before the paint is applied. Good paint preparation also determines how well paint adheres to the surface and, therefore, how long the paint job will last. Do not overlook proper paint preparation because you think it takes time and costs more money.

Choosing the right paint for your home is hard work. There are so many colors and shades to choose from, that you are most likely going to end up feeling overwhelmed. And if you finally manage to decide on the colors you want, you are not completely sure of how they will look on your walls. A color might make perfect sense in the paint store and end up looking horribly out of place on your walls.

To save you from frustration and needless waste of time and money, you should have a tested guideline for choosing paint colors for your home. In this article, we explain the steps to make sure the paint you choose for your home turns out to be exactly what you hoped for. The post explains what to consider when choosing paint colors, how to test the colors, and why paint preparation is important.

The colors you choose for your rooms will not stand in isolation. Other elements of the room will complement or clash with the colors. The most common mistakes people make is failing to consider these other details of the room before they choose their colors.

• Flooring: The flooring in a room affects how the paint on the walls will turn out. There are more paint colors than there are wood stains or carpet colors. So it is important to make sure the colors will work with the carpet or flooring in the room.
• Lighting: Wall paint changes according to the lights in a room. The type of light produced by your light bulbs matter. Colors can look right in a certain light and completely wrong when you change the lighting. So if you intend to change your lighting, do it before you choose paint colors. You should also test your chosen colors under varying levels of illumination.  We also suggest that once you've put some shades on the wall that you leave them up for a few days and view them at different times of the day. Natural light can dramatically affect how a particular paint color appears. Conversely, on a cloudy day a shade may look dramatically different.  So it helps to analyze your options under a variety of light conditions.
  

After you choose your colors, the next step is to test them before you commit to putting them on your walls.

It is not enough to test your colors; how you test them matters. Even if you test the colors, you may not get the right results if you use the wrong methods.

• Do not test with boards

A lot of professional and amateur painters, as well as homeowners do this. But testing paint colors on white boards do not work because paint acts differently on boards than it does on walls. The texture is not the same and the saturation rate is different.

(Editor's note:  At times North Pine Painting may do a board sample for a client, but the intention is to help the customer narrow down their choices. Test boards may be helpful in this regard but they are not intended as an accurate representation of the final result  And at times a homeowners' association may request a board sample to approve an exterior color.)

• Paint directly on the wall

Painting directly on the wall where you want to use the paint will give you the best sense of how it will look when you paint the entire room. And if you haven’t made up your mind on which colors you want to use, paint all of your short-listed colors on the walls. Place them side by side with some space in between the samples.

• Paint two coats in large swathes

Painting a two-inch swath makes sense if you are thinking of reducing mess. But if you really want to see how the paint will look on your walls, paint in swathes of, at least, 1ft by 1ft or larger. Paint two coats on the selected wall space; one coat will not give you a good sense of the final outcome.  (Depending on the color and type of paint you choose, your painting contractor may work with you to determine that only one finish coat is necessary. This is especially true if a primer was used. Paint quality matters; more expensive paints generally provide better coverage with one coat than cheap paints; it's one of the reasons for the extra cost. )

• For some colors, use a primer

If you currently have a rich color on your walls, you will need to use a primer before you apply the samples. That’s because the existing paint can distort the way the samples look when you put them on your walls. When using primer, always apply two coats.

• Paint on multiple walls

All the walls in your home do not receive equal amounts of light, so it is a good idea to test the samples on walls with differing levels of illumination. As noted above, you should also examine the samples under different lights and at different times of the day.

This topic came up today when a friend posted the picture shown here, the remnants left behind by the former owners of the home she recently bought. She's not sure how long they were down in the basement, but one of the labels indicates more than 20 years, and others are from a store long gone from her area. Oddly enough, some of the cans contained paint in a somewhat 'liquid' state, though obviously unusable.

But what if the paint is an opened can? How long should you keep it around?

After a year we'd dispose of it, but it's possible if the paint can was fairly full and you sealed it well, it might still be usable after two years. But we probably wouldn't use it. One test is to stir it and see if you can get it evenly mixed. If it still separates or if there are lumps, it's not usable even if the paint is relatively new. 

Other tests are to smell it (bad paint will have a foul odor) or look for signs of mold. Yes, liquid latex paint can develop mold. Bad smells and mold are also reasons to ditch that can of paint. 

We usually leave any leftover paint with the owner, and we try our best to get those lids on tight. But those half-empty cans are meant for touch-ups in the near future. And we really mean NEAR. Like if you mess up the wall when you're putting your furniture back in place or hanging up your decorations. Or if your carpet layer scuffs things up.

One thing to keep in mind as you're hanging onto those old paint cans in case you need to do some spot repainting is that even the very highest quality wall and trim paints will fade over time. You've probably seen this if you go to move furniture or decorations that have been in place for a long time and the color underneath is different than the surrounding walls.  And paint can also darken as it ages. 

Our advice? Put the date on paint cans before you put them away, opened or not.  If you've got opened paint cans that you've had for a year or more, time to dispose of them.  Keep in mind that liquid paint is considered hazardous household waste, so you can't just toss it in the trash. Almost empty cans of latex paint can be left with the lids off to dry out and then thrown away.

You may have noticed a large time gap between this blog post and the last one.  Truth is, this has been such a busy year for us that I haven't had the chance to put thought and effort into an article.  But a recent occurrence kind of stirred my soul and I felt the need to respond to a comment from an irate client. He was incensed that our crew was washing paint brushes in house. Having been a professional painter himself, he let us know that no 'professional painter would ever re-use a brush.' He also indicated that latex paint going down the drain would damage his plumbing.

First off, I had to take some time to let my 'professional ego' simmer down. And then I needed to do some research to make sure that I was actually following industry best practices.  After 35 years in the business - which included an apprenticeship with a master painter - I had never heard of disposing of brushes at the end of a job.  Not unless you actually were using disposable brushes with some sort of finish that was difficult to clean up.

So I did plenty of investigating. And while we probably could have taken better care of this customer and asked if cleanup at his house was fine with him (or else taken the brushes back to clean at our shop, as we most often do), I would like to address his two points.

I've known and worked with a lot of professional painters over the years, and I have never encountered a single one who didn't reuse brushes.  In fact, good painters are very particular about the brushes we buy, because we expect them to last for years, with the proper care.  You get used to how a certain brush feels in your hand, and it actually makes your job easier.  Breaking in a new brush can be a bit of a pain.

So contrary to his belief that we were using 'crappy brushes,' we in fact buy some of the best in the trade. (I did have to double check to make sure this was true. And it is. (PainterGuide rated the 12 best brushes this year, and out of the 12, the two brands we use most often - Purdy and Wooster - occupied 8 of those 12 spots.)  Those brushes may cost a bit more up front but they pay for themselves in a short time because they perform well and they last.

Which brings me to my next point regarding disposing of paint brushes.  It's my belief that a painter who regularly does this ends up spending a lot more money on tools than he needs to, and his costs he passes along to his customers by way of the prices he charges are going to be excessive.  In short, he's wasting the customer's money.  Now, while we know we're not the cheapest painting contractor in town, we believe in giving our clients great value for their dollar.  And judging from the reviews we get, they agree that we do. 

So why do we wash brushes on-site at times?  Periodically it's because we're changing paint colors.  Or perhaps we didn't have the materials available to wrap up the brushes for storage for use the next day.  (Most painters will do this with latex brushes, and it is an accepted industry practice.)

Does latex paint damage plumbing?  Absolutely not.  Household cleaning products and chemicals like Draino can be harder on your pipes than latex paint.  (Never put oil-based paint down the drain, but that's a moot point because it's not water-cleanup anyway.)  You should never wash brushes used with latex paint where it could get into ground water - such as in your yard - but water treatment plants can easily processing highly diluted latex paint residue.

The belief may be based on the prohibition against washing latex paint brushes in a home that has a NEW septic system.  Unless the septic is well established, latex paint can inhibit development of the bacteria necessary to break things down in the septic tank. And because of that, contractors working on new construction will often arrange to have a tank pumped when they are finished. 

Yes, it's fine to re-use paint brushes.  In fact, we're highly in favor of it.  If that were not a good industry practice, there wouldn't be so many articles and video tutorials for PROFESSIONAL painters showing them how to do it properly.  And we try not to waste our customers' money, so we watch our costs and try to avoid unnecessary spending. 

Yes, it's fine to rinse off latex paint from brushes and let it run down your drain. There won't be an issue with your plumbing, and you won't have trouble with your sewer.  People put far worse things down their drains than a trace amount of latex paint, and their water pipes seem to do just fine. 

Apologies to the customer for not asking first, but we will have to agree to disagree about best industry practices when it comes to re-using and cleaning paint brushes. 

Enough said.

- John Schweiss

You can't tell by looking at a popcorn ceiling if it contains asbestos.

Asbestos fibers are very small and cannot be detected by the naked eye.  And unlike lead which can be tested for with a small hand-held kit, there is no easy test for asbestos. A sample must be taken and sent off to a certified asbestos testing lab. If someone tells you (unless they are a testing company) they can come out and look at it and tell you, they aren't being honest.  There are DIY kits on the market, but most likely you'll want your test performed by a licensed asbestos inspector or testing lab.

Asbestos ceiling spray was banned by the US in 1977.

If your ceiling texture was applied prior to 1977, it most likely does contain asbestos, but not all ceiling texture manufacturers used it, so it may not.  The age of the ceiling is not a fool-proof indicator.

If left undisturbed, asbestos is not a health threat.

Unlike lead, mold, and some other toxins, the presence of asbestos is not necessarily a threat to your health.  Asbestos causes lung problems ONLY when the microscopic fibers are inhaled.  Scientifically it's called 'friable.' Those ceiling texture particles must get into the air first and then get breathed in.  Ceiling texture left in place (especially if it's been spray painted over a few times) won't hurt you.  But scraping that ceiling - even to take a sample - can. 

If your ceiling is in good shape and you're fine with the look of the texture, you are probably better off leaving it in place.

Spray your ceiling area down with water before you take a test sample.

Wetting the ceiling down will prevent those fibers from getting into the air and drifting about.  And it's the method we use when we remove popcorn ceiling texture, even if we know it's asbestos free. It keeps the dust to a minimum and it makes it much easier to remove. 

This article contains some very good information on both the presence of asbestos in popcorn ceilings as well as how to handle obtaining a sample for testing.

North Pine Painting has been selected for the 2017 Best of Bellingham Award in the Painting and Wall Covering Contractors category by the Bellingham Award Program.

Each year, the Bellingham Award Program identifies companies that we believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and our community. These exceptional companies help make the Bellingham area a great place to live, work and play.

Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2017 Bellingham Award Program focuses on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the Bellingham Award Program and data provided by third parties.

About the Bellingham Award Program

The Bellingham Award Program is an annual awards program honoring the achievements and accomplishments of local businesses throughout the Bellingham area. Recognition is given to those companies that have shown the ability to use their best practices and implemented programs to generate competitive advantages and long-term value.

The Bellingham Award Program was established to recognize the best of local businesses in our community. The organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations and other business advertising and marketing groups. Their mission is to recognize the small business community's contributions to the U.S. economy.

SOURCE: Bellingham Award Program
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Based on unique projects we've had this year, I think that perhaps the term 'wallpaper' is somewhat limiting.  Recently we've done several ceilings as well as bathrooms on board two boats.  That's in addition to all our regular residential and commercial projects, including a couple of graphic murals for retail stores.  

Why wallpaper on a ceiling?  Frankly wallpaper usually holds up better than paint, plus you get a decorative option that paint just can't provide.  And one thing I like about hanging wallpaper on ceilings is that I don't get paint drips on my face (or in my ear, or all the other places I find it at the end of the day).  Check out this video and see what I mean.  

​Today's modern wall coverings are much more durable than the thin paper people used to use.  But even that stuff held up better than paint.  When I was first starting out hanging wallpaper, I went on a job with the guy who taught me.  The first thing we did was strip the old paper, and underneath it was a pencil scrawl with the date the paper had been hung - nearly 40 years before, and by the same guy!  

Now, I don't expect to find that on any of my jobs, because I got a much later start in wallpaper than Whitey did.  But I also expect that the wallpaper (and vinyl) that we install now could probably outlive me, no matter where it's hung.  

Yes, we're licensed painting contractors, but our real specialties are wallpaper and vinyl wall covering, including murals.  Look around - you'll find there are very few companies in Whatcom County that do this.  

You've probably noticed I've been absent from my blog for awhile, and with good reason.  I've been focusing on getting organized so that I can take better care of my customers.  Last year was phenomenal for us - the best I've ever had in the 30+ years I've been in the painting and wallpapering business. 

I realized it had been 30 years since I got semi-apprenticed to a wallpaper craftsman in Middletown, Ohio, where my wife and I moved right after we got married.  Vernon White (or Whitey, as he preferred to be called) was about my age when I went to work for him.  I had been painting for awhile but I wanted to learn the tricks of the trade from a master, which he was.  And he was looking to train somebody else to take over his business since his sons didn't care to. 

In addition to learning how to hang wallpaper (after about a year of helping him with prep he finally let me hang my first strip), I learned the importance of taking good care of customers.  He had some he'd been working for repeatedly for over 40 years.  In addition to being a master at painting and wallpaper, he was also a master organization.  He was always on top of his schedule and he had his tools in order at all times. 

It hasn't come as easy for me as it did for Whitey, but I finally figured out that part of the problem was I never really had the right space.  Corners of the garage for tools and paint and the side of the house to stack up ladders just wasn't making it.  What I needed was a home for all my stuff - one spot where everything was. 

Katie was helping me get the administrative side of the business in order with calendars, plus she finally dragged me into the digital age and got me a tablet to keep track of things, which has helped.  (And I'll let you in on a little secret - if you get an email that says it's been sent from my iPhone or my Samsung Galaxy, you'll know it's me.  Otherwise it's my wife masquerading as me as she holds down things at the office.)

So once we got the administrative tools in order, it was time to move on and get the business tools a home.  At the first of the year I moved everything into a shop space over off Hannegan that's just what I've needed.  (That's me in the shop in the picture above.)

Not only does it have a ton of shelves and places to stash everything, but it's got a utility sink so I no longer have to wash out buckets and brushes in our kitchen or bathroom.  (If you listen carefully you can hear my wife cheering.)    And one of my favorite things about this shop space is that the overhead bay door is big enough for me to pull the van in and load up, even ladders.  No more dragging stuff out from under the deck or trying to figure out where I put the sprayer!  Plus I don't need to carry things around in the van because I don't know where else to put them.

I trust all this will lead to being able to take even better care of our customers. If you'd like a tour of our new shop, give me a call.  I'm pretty pleased with the space and enjoy showing it off.  Plus I'd like to give a hearty thank-you to all our customers who have had to put up with scheduling mix-ups and have been patient with me as I've figured out how to get things in order.  I appreciate your trust and support. 

John Schweiss