If your office is open to the public and includes an entryway, chances are you need the stairs and floors to be extra durable to keep up with the all of the foot traffic that you will experience throughout the years. It would also be nice to go out of your way to add grip to the steps or floor to ensure people don’t slip. If you are painting the floor of the office on your own, this is a fairly easy task to do, one that is endorsed by Martha Stewart herself. We’ll give you some tips below.

An easy way to add an extra measure of grip to your floor is to add sand or commercial products to floor paint. You can mix the grit in a few different ways. For one, you can add the sand directly into the bucket of paint, stirring it occasionally to make sure that it does not settle at the bottom of the bucket. Another way is to paint the floor the desired color and then add sand on top of the paint while it is still wet. After this dries, be sure to add another coat of paint so that all of the granules of sand are covered.

If you are planning on using thinner paint on the floor’s surface, it would be best to use smaller granules of sand. The thicker the paint, the larger the granules of sand you can use. The thicker the granule, the better the grip. However, if you plan on walking around barefoot, it may be better to go with the smaller granules.

At Greenway Painting, your Cincinnati house painters, we have been mixing paint with grit for years. If you know that your home or office needs to add this kind of protection but you don’t want to deal with the mess, please call us for a free estimate.

In our last post, we talked about some of the legal issues you’ll need to think about when hiring a Cincinnati painter for your office. Now we’ll look at some additional things you’ll need to take into consideration before going ahead with the job.

When selecting a painting contractor, you want to be sure that they can work around your schedule. Start by determining the best time for the contractor to work. They will most likely disturb your place of business by painting the area during the day, so decide if this is practical or even doable. It also depends on how quickly you want the job to get done. If you want the job to get done more quickly, then it may be best to allow contractors to work during normal business hours. However, if you work at a bank, this could pose an obstruction to security, and it may be best to wait until after office hours to have the interior painted.

If your office is in a building that is shared by multiple offices, the contractors should alert your other neighbors to the fact that they’ll be painting. They’ll also need to use proper signage to indicate when there is wet paint. Keeping the lines of communication open is key and will prevent frustration on your neighbors’ part.

If you share a common building, then it’s best for the contractor to use a low odor, low-VOC paint. It would also be ideal if the contractor is knowledgeable about the different types of finishes. For instance, one finish may reflect more light than another, which would in turn reduce your energy costs. We specialize in both these types of paints and finishes at Greenway Painting, LLC.

We hope that these tips help you to select your next painting contractor. We’d love for you to give us a call at (513) 405-7048 for a free estimate today.

While you might opt for a DIY paint job at home, you’ll definitely want to leave the job of painting the office up to the professionals. As a businessman or woman, most likely you don’t have the time to paint your own office. You have more important things on your to-do list, like acquiring clients and closing business deals. You know—the stuff that actually makes you money. But when you decide that it’s time for a new coat of paint, how do you know which Cincinnati painting contractors to hire? When it comes to your business, it’s especially important to cover your legal bases when you hire a contractor.

To start with, you’ll want to get an on-site consultation before the painting begins. The contractor should sound very knowledgeable about the different types of paints and finishes. They should also understand that you have a certain deadline and budget to stick to. If they know that they may exceed your budget, they need to be honest and up front about this to prevent any frustration between the both of you later on.

As we’ve mentioned in earlier blogs, you want to make sure that the contractor is licensed with the EPA.  If the building was built before 1978, there’s a high probability that the original paint contains lead. Also make sure the contractor is insured. They need to provide their own liability and worker’s compensation insurance.  You need to see proof of this before the contractor sets foot on the job site. Also before work begins, you’ll need a written contract. Every item of importance should be listed in this contract. It should clearly state the job’s start date, any details concerning the contracted job, the guarantee of work, and a specific policy for cancellation.

First impressions truly count. Sometimes, nothing says more about a business than the way the office looks. If you want people to keep coming back time after time, you’ll need to have your place looking sharp to give that great first impression. You may not get a second chance to impress your client if your office leaves something to be desired the first time they see it. Potential clients see your business’s physical space as a reflection of the business itself.

This was brought freshly to my mind when I attended a new church recently. The altar area had a checkered pattern of orange, blue, and red squares. There were gold chandeliers hanging from the low ceiling, and the pew cushions were made with an orange fabric. The interior walls were painted a cream white. The church was built in the 1970s, and it appeared that it had all the original decorations. I immediately began thinking of the church itself as outdated because everything about its physical appearance was outdated.

That’s why it’s so important to regularly reassess your office space to determine what kind of an impression you are giving to your clients. If you’re an up-and-coming art studio, does your space reflect that, or is it boring and unmemorable? If you’re a law office, does your space exude a feeling of confidence, efficiency and reliability, or is it disorganized and with paint chipping off the walls? If you’re not projecting the professional image you need to be, it’s definitely time to hire some painters to help you get things back on track.

Stay tuned for our next post on legal considerations when hiring a Cincinnati painter for your office.

White is the traditional choice of color for ceilings. Have you ever considered why this is the case? Several reasons exist, and you may be surprised to learn about them.

• #1 Ease of Painting–I know that it may be hard to believe, but even Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel probably made a few errors. It’s very hard to position yourself in such a way as to paint the ceiling a solid color, let alone a work of art.  This could be one good reason why most ceilings are white.
• #2 No Reason to Paint–Why paint the ceiling when it doesn’t need attention like the surrounding walls? While grease, scrapes, and other various items are able to deface a wall over time, they are not likely to reach the ceiling (unless, of course, you are a smoker).
• #3 Feeling Claustrophobic–Most rooms are an average of 8 ft. high. If you paint the walls the same color as the ceiling, this actually makes the room look smaller, and creates a closed, confined space. Having white ceilings can open up the room and make it appear bigger. However, this does not mean that you can’t experiment with color.

If you have high ceilings or great natural lighting, such as skylights, the sky really is the limit for you.  It’s easier to paint darker and bolder colors with these luxury features. Typically, the darker the color, the more that color weighs a room down.  Keep this in mind when selecting a new color for the ceiling.  If you want to try another look, you can paint the ceiling a bold color but leave the walls white.

If you do decide that you would like to paint the ceiling, don’t break your back while trying to do it! Give Greenway Painting a call, your genuine Cincinnati painters!

Floors are very important. Just ask anyone who lives in or is trying to sell a home. Often the floor is one feature that people notice right away, especially when they enter your home. The floor will affect the look of the entire house. Indeed, many a paint or wall color or pattern was inspired or designed to correlate with the floor.

If you have hardwood floors, you are going to have to refinish them at some point to keep them looking their best, especially if you have children. When a floor’s finish has worn out, children who fall can get a splinter. And if you’re trying to sell your home, refinishing your floors will greatly improve your home’s appearance and therefore your chances of selling.

So how can you tell if your hardwood floors need refinishing? If you place a drop of water on the floor and the floor does not absorb it right away, you may be able to get by with simply cleaning and polishing your floor. Murphy’s Oil Soap is a good start towards cleaning a floor. But if the water IS absorbed right away, then the wood fibers in the floor have most likely been exposed, and it is probably a good idea to refinish the floor.

Keep in mind that if you are going to refinish the floor, it needs to be at least ¾” thick. If your floor is not this thick, there is the chance that you could accidentally sand down to the subfloor. You can sand a plank floor many times, but a tongue and groove floor cannot be sanded as often. If a floor is only ¼” thick, it cannot be refinished.

We hope that these tips help. Should you decide to hire professionals to refinish your floors, please give Greenway Painting a call at 513.405.7048 for a free, prompt estimate.

In a previous post, I mentioned that when my mother removed the wallpaper in our dining room, it transformed the dining room, making it look truly amazing. There was nothing inherently wrong with the wallpaper; however, wallpaper styles change with the times. It’s really easy to tell how old a house is just by the wallpaper that it contains. Although that wallpaper must have looked amazing back in the 1970s, in 2001 it looked totally outdated. Wallpaper styles change very quickly, much like clothing styles and prints change every year. For this reason, many people choose a less intensive method of decorating their walls–namely, painting. Paint is easier to remove or paint over when you feel like you need a change again.

Although you may think it’s possible to simply paint over the old wall paper, this is not recommended, since wallpaper will become exceedingly difficult to remove if you decide to change it again in the future. Unfortunately, this can be a rather difficult and lengthy process. To begin removing the wallpaper, you need to place drop cloths at the baseboards so any loose material or debris will not damage the floor beneath. Then you need to test how easy the paper is to pull off. If you lift the wallpaper and it removes easily, you may be able to remove any remaining adhesive by simply spraying warm water on it. If this is all it takes, you have it made. However, most wallpaper requires scoring and a chemical solvent to remove it.

You can find wallpaper scoring tools at the hardware store. These tools puncture small holes in the surface of the wallpaper that allow the solvent to penetrate and dissolve the adhesive more easily.  Another DIY method is to try four parts hot water and one part vinegar. You can also use a combination of 50% hot water and 50% liquid fabric softener. After mixing the solution, you’ll want to coat a section of the wall, roughly three square feet. Once you apply the solution, scrape away any wallpaper that remains. If there are several layersk you will have to apply the solution, let it soak, and continue to remove each layer bit by bit.

Chemical solvents are also available from the store. However, if you have to use a solution this strong, it may be best to call in the professionals. If sanding is required to remove any old wallpaper, remember that homes built before 1978 frequently contain lead paint. DO NOT attempt to sand the walls if your home may have lead paint. Instead, hire professionals certified by the EPA at lead paint removal to take care of the situation.

Whether your home contains lead paint, or you simply don’t want the hard work and mess of removing wallpaper yourself, Greenway is just a call away. The same guys you trust as your Cincinnati house painters will remove that wallpaper from sight and mind so it will never trouble you again. We’re EPA certified for lead paint removal, so no worries there. Then we’ll paint your rooms the perfect colors for your home.

The color that you have on your front door can say a lot about your personality. Is the color traditional and classic? Monochromatic? Bold and exciting? Your front door provides a lot of opportunity to make a statement. I have seen bold reds, mysterious purples, and traditional blacks. If you have a front door that needs a little sprucing up, we have some great suggestions on picking a color.

If you want the color on your door to pop, pick a bold color for your door as well as finish. Reds, yellows, and oranges are all good choices. Deep blues and purples are another favorite choice. When you consider what color to paint your front door you should also consider other areas of the house’s exterior. The last thing that you want is a house that has too many contrasting colors. In general, the garage doors should blend in with the rest of the house, unless there is a particular feature about them that you would like to highlight. If your home has shutters, then you might want to paint the garage door the same color as the shutters. Shutter colors also look good if they match the roof color. You can easily create a line of color which is visually appealing and draws the eye from the bottom of the house toward the top if you match all three of these areas.

Once you’ve selected your color, you also need to select the finish. You can choose between satin, gloss, or semi-gloss. A gloss finish is by far the most durable and can also appear very shiny, since it reflects the most light. Semi-gloss finishes are not as shiny, but they are easier to clean. Satin is the least durable finish, but if you have bumps and imperfections in your door, this is the way to go. If your door happens to be made of wood with a beautiful grain, you can apply a stain to enhance its appearance. Applying a clear coat of Urethane will also protect the door from the elements.

If you need help in deciding how to proceed with sprucing up your door, we are here to help. Contact Greenway Painting, LLC, your certified Cincinnati painters.

If you have a two-story house or a basement, you probably do a lot of running up and down the stairs. The stairs may seem to take up a small amount of real estate in the house. However, they take the greatest beating. It may well be time to take a good look at them and consider a new coat of paint.

There are many different ways to present your stairs. For instance, you may love having carpet because you have a lot of kids, and if they fall, you want them to fall on something soft. However, let’s say that your children are grown up. Or perhaps you do not have any children. This leaves a lot of room for other options. You can paint or stain the stairs. You can paint a stair runner. The possibilities are endless.

Before you go and buy all of the necessary supplies in order to redo your stairs, check out the condition of your stairs. If you are going to paint or stain the stairs, it is necessary to remove all carpet tacks, as well as any carpet liners, if you have carpet. If there are any holes, you will have to fill them before painting or staining, so add the appropriate putty to your supply list. Also, inspect the steps to ensure that they are still structurally sound. If there are splits or gashes in the wood, you will have to fill these with wood caulking, replace any damaged pieces of wood, or—worst case scenario—you will have to replace the whole stair.

Once any structural damage is repaired, you need to make sure that the surface is smooth. If carpet fibers have become embedded in the wood, then you will need to use a stripper to remove any remnants of a previous finish. If your house was built before 1978, it is highly likely that the previous finish contained lead. If you are planning on stripping this yourself, certification is required to meet EPA standards to finish the job. Don’t forget to sand the stairs using the proper grades of sandpaper.

Once you prepare the stairs, the fun part is selecting the color or colors that you would like to use to paint it. Or, if you are opting for a more natural look, a stain would be wonderful. If you have natural hardwood floors, a stain will help to bring these out. Some common wood floors are oak, maple, walnut, and pine.

On the other hand, if you would rather not mess with the hassle of properly preparing, painting and/or staining your stairs, leave the grunt work to us. We are EPA certified and also are excellent at removing carpet. Sit back, relax, and let Greenway, your Cincinnati Painting Contractors, take your stairs to the next level.

If you grew up in a home anything like my parents’ house, then the dining room was pretty much off limits. It was a formal room that we used only when important guests came over, or when the guests we had couldn’t fit at our kitchen table. Still, I remember when my mother took down the old wallpaper in the dining room and had it painted a new color–it looked amazing! Suddenly the room had more appeal to me, and I remember thinking, “When I grow up, I want my house to look like this.”

But painting dining rooms can be a bit tricky. Perhaps your home is more traditional, with the dining and living rooms separate. Or maybe your home is more modern and your living and dining rooms flow into one another. Each scenario calls for a different kind of paint job. If your dining room is completely separate from the living room, it may be easy to paint these two rooms two totally different colors. However, if your living room is connected to the dining room, how will you distinguish the two?

One option is to paint both rooms one color, and then add an accent wall of a different color to the wall in the dining room that is furthest away from the living room. The wall could be a bold color like orange, gold, red, or black. This bold color will make the wall in the dining room “pop” and distinguish it from the living room.

For other ideas on how to paint your dining room, there are many things to consider. For instance, if there are certain patterns on the chairs in your dining room, it’s possible to pull one or more of these colors from these patterns and use them throughout your dining area. The same goes for carpeting and rugs.

Does your dining room have hardwood floors? Crown molding? Wainscoting? If so, these are all other elements to consider. If your dining room is one of the lesser-used rooms in your home, feel free to experiment with different colors. Keep in mind that reds and oranges are more vibrant and will stimulate appetite, while cooler tones such as greens and blues will typically suppress appetite.

We want you to love the look of your dining room. If you would like to change things up with a new paint job but need some tips in doing so, please give us a call. We will always give you a free estimate! We look forward to serving as your favorite Cincinnati painters.