Articles by Thaddeus Wojcik, senior painter, on the questions we hear most on walk-throughs: what things cost, when to paint outside, and how to handle plaster, lead and old wood.
Costs, seasons, older homes, materials and planning.
Exterior paint in Park Ridge has a season, and the weather station at O'Hare, a few miles from our headquarters, shows where it starts and ends. Here is how we read those normals month by month, and why the overnight low and morning dew matter as much as the afternoon high.
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Most kitchens in the ranches, split-levels and Colonials around Park Ridge have solid cabinet boxes and dated doors. Here is how painting, refacing and full replacement compare on cost, time and the finished look, and how to tell which one your kitchen actually needs.
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Cedar siding, decks and fences are common on homes built from the 1950s to the 1990s in Northbrook, Deerfield, Glenview and the northwest suburbs. Here is how stain types differ, what to check every year and when the wood needs repair before any stain goes on.
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Sheen decides how a wall looks in raking light, how well it survives a sponge and how loudly it shows every patch. Here is how we choose sheen for walls, ceilings, trim, kitchens and baths in the ranches, bungalows and Colonials around Park Ridge.
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A little preparation before an interior paint job keeps the schedule on track and your house livable while we work. Here is what to move, what to leave for us, how to plan around pets and kids, and what townhome and condo associations usually expect.
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A brick ranch in Niles and a wood-sided Victorian in Evanston can be the same size and still land thousands of dollars apart on a paint estimate. Here are the ranges we work from in Park Ridge and the suburbs around it, and what pushes a job toward either end.
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Cast iron radiators still heat a lot of 1920s bungalows and older homes around Park Ridge, and most of them carry decades of chipped paint. This is how we clean, prime and coat them, which products stand up to the heat, and where lead and heat output claims need care.
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Most people link lead paint with very old houses. In Park Ridge and the suburbs around it, though, the 1978 cutoff takes in nearly every brick ranch, Cape Cod, split-level and Georgian built after the war. Here is what that means when painters show up at your door.
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Brick ranches and Georgians line block after block in Park Ridge, Niles, Morton Grove and Des Plaines. Many owners want a lighter or more current look. Before anyone opens a can, it helps to know how each option treats the brick, how long it lasts and what it takes to undo.
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Many homes in Evanston, Wilmette, Winnetka, Oak Park and the older blocks of Park Ridge still have their original plaster. Some have had rooms redone in drywall since. Knowing which you have, and what condition it is in, decides how a crack or soft spot should be fixed before paint goes on.
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