At Reston-based All American Painting Plus, we are always evaluating our painting processes. We’ve earned a reputation as a leading residential painting contractor in Northern Virginia, at least in part because of our consistent delivery of beautiful end products at affordable prices. We intend to keep that reputation, and to do that requires periodic review of the “tool belt” our professional painters have available to them.
Tools are always changing as technology is applied to even the simplest of tasks. When we look at adding new tools, we look for two things: Will the tool make the job safer for our employee and will it make the employee more productive? In the painting business, labor is the biggest expense. Anything we can do to prevent accidents, reduce physical strain, and increase the productivity of our painters keeps us in a position to be exceptionally competitive.
So, with that in mind, we have listed some tools that we find essential to delivering the kind of quality that our residential and commercial customers have come to expect.
Professional Painter Experience
Granted, you can’t buy this tool at Home Depot or order it from a painter’s supply catalog, but it’s the one tool that is imperative on every interior painting project or house painting job we take on. At the heart of it, experience is what differentiates a professional from an amateur. So how do we expand our experience? We seek out new challenges like renovation of old barns and restoration of historical homes. The overall objective is to ensure a skilled and widely experienced crew working on your project.
Quality Canvas Drop Cloths
We use drop cloths to protect flooring and furnishings and any space we don’t want to drip paint on. That means we are walking on them. And if we are painting a ceiling, we are looking up, not down. We need solid ground under our feet, and canvas, particularly with no-slip backing, works a lot better than other materials. Paint just soaks through lightweight fabrics, and plastic becomes slippery and does not absorb drips.
Wide Step Ladders
The step on the typical 6’ household step ladder is a perfect fit for somebody with a size 5 shoe. Our boots are significantly bigger. Ladder work takes a toll on the legs, back, and upper body, particularly when you are trying to balance a size 10 boot on a size 5 step. Where possible, we get wide step ladders that improve safety and reduce physical strain.
Variety of Quality Roller Covers
The typical Northern Virginia home probably has two roller covers, one 7 inches, and the other smaller. Rollers play a big role in delivering smooth finishes. Consequently, having the right cover available is essential for providing a quality product. We don’t cut corners with these covers. The cover fabric and nap have specific “best use” purposes, so we stockpile all sizes and all fabrics.
Professional-Grade Power Washer
When you combine a craftsman with the experience tool and a commercial power washer, you can save a huge amount of time when preparing the exterior of a house. A skilled power washer operator can blast off dirt, grime, pollution residue, mildew, and peeling paint. Without the washer, all that would have to be done by hand. For homes with brick, stone, or masonry exteriors, a good power wash is often all that is needed to refresh them.
If you are thinking about updating the look of your home, inside or outside, give a call to the painting service with all the best tools. Call All American Painting Plus now!
