Questions Homeowners Ask Us

How far out are you booked?

It moves with the season. Spring and fall exteriors fill up first. Interiors are easier to fit in winter. We have come out within days for people on tight timelines, so ask rather than assuming.

What time does the crew arrive?

Normally at the start of the workday, and consistently. Customers write about this specifically - same team, same arrival time, texted ahead. If something changes, Fred tells you before the day, not after it.

Will the same people be here every day?

Yes. Fred and four employees, and the crew on your job does not rotate. The man who prepped a wall is the man who paints it.

How long will my job take?

A single room can be a day. A large interior with closets and a garage can run four weeks. Fred gives you a realistic window at the estimate and updates it if he finds something behind the old finish.

Does somebody have to be at the house?

Not necessarily. Many customers give us access and go to work. Fred stays in touch by phone and text through the day either way.

Do you work weekends?

Our hours are Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm, with weekends by appointment when a job or a deadline calls for it.

What paint do you use?

Sherwin-Williams and Benjamin Moore. Which line depends on the surface and the room. Both companies make a budget product and a premium one, and the difference between those two cans is far larger than the difference between the brands.

Can I supply my own paint?

Talk to Fred about it. He will tell you honestly if the product you bought suits the job, and he will not put a coating on your house that he expects to fail.

How many coats do you apply?

Whatever the job needs, stated in the estimate. Two is typical over a similar color. Deep reds, strong blues, and any large color change usually need primer plus two, sometimes three. We do not stop at one and call it covered.

Do you prime?

Bare wood, bare drywall, patches, stains, tannin-prone woods and glossy surfaces all get primed with a primer chosen for that situation. Self-priming paint is real, but it is not a substitute for a bonding or stain-blocking primer where one is needed.

How do you handle nail holes and cracks?

Fill, sand, and spot prime. Drywall seams that have opened get taped properly rather than smeared with compound, because a taped joint is the only repair that survives the next season of humidity.

Is there a smell?

Modern interior paints are low odor and much lower in solvents than what was on the market twenty years ago. Rooms are ventilated as we work. Oil-based products, where a job calls for one, smell more and we will warn you first.

What happens to my furniture?

Small items you clear, we move the rest to the middle of the room and cover it. Floors get covered, carpet gets protected, and fixtures and hardware get masked or removed.

Do you clean up daily?

Every day. A customer who had us for four weeks wrote that his home was left as clean as possible each day, and that is what we aim for. You should be able to live around the job.

What about my landscaping on an exterior job?

Shrubs and beds get covered, and we keep drop cloths under the work area. Power washing is directed away from plantings where we can, and we rinse anything that catches overspray from the wash.

Do you remove switch plates and outlet covers?

Yes. Painted-over switch plates are a tell that somebody rushed. They come off and go back on.

What about pets and kids?

Tell us at the estimate. We work around nap schedules and keep doors and gates controlled. Say which room the cat hides in and we will keep it closed.

Is there dust from sanding?

Some, and we contain it. Popcorn ceiling removal and heavy drywall work produce the most, and those rooms get sealed off from the rest of the house.

Can you paint my kitchen cabinets?

Yes, and it is a large part of what we do. Doors and drawer fronts come off and get labeled, everything gets degreased and sanded, a bonding primer goes on, and the finish coats go on thin and even.

How long is my kitchen out of service?

Depends on the size, but plan for the doors to be off for several days. We tell you when the finish is dry enough to handle and when it is cured enough to be treated normally. Those are different dates.

Can my deck be saved?

Usually. We have revived twenty-plus year old decks by cleaning them, replacing rotten boards and re-staining to match an existing solid stain. What decides it is the framing underneath, not the deck boards on top.

Do you do carpentry?

Yes. Wood rot repair, trim and siding replacement, deck railings, crown molding. We would rather replace bad wood than paint over it.

Can you get rid of a popcorn ceiling?

Yes. We scrape it, repair the ceiling underneath, and finish it smooth or with a light texture, then prime and paint.

What else do you handle?

Drywall and plaster repair, wallpaper removal and installation, stucco repair, power washing, concrete staining and garage floor epoxy, and pool painting.

Are you licensed?

Yes, Virginia contractor license 2705098145. We are licensed, bonded and insured, and background checked.

What if I am not happy with something?

Tell Fred while we are there, and tell him at the walkthrough. He does the walkthrough with you for exactly this reason, and he does not consider a job finished until you have looked closely and said so.

Where do you work?

Our service area runs from Great Falls and Herndon down through Vienna, Oakton, McLean, Tysons, Reston, Falls Church, Arlington, Fairfax, Annandale, Burke, Springfield and Alexandria.

Do you paint commercial properties?

We do smaller commercial and multi-unit work along with residential. Call and describe the property.

Do you paint occupied homes or only empty ones?

Both, and most of our interiors are occupied. We sequence the rooms so you always have somewhere to sleep and a working kitchen, and we put everything back at the end of each day.

Will you match a color that is already on my wall?

Usually yes. Bring us a chip of the existing finish, or we can cut a small sample from an inconspicuous spot and have it scanned at the store. Matching is close but rarely perfect on an aged finish, so on a repair we often paint corner to corner rather than spot patching.

Can you work around my HOA rules?

Yes, and several of the neighborhoods we work in have them. Get us the approved palette or the submission requirements early, because approval timelines are usually the slowest part of an exterior project, not the painting.

How do I reach you fastest?

Phone, 703-869-0593. If Fred is on a ladder, leave a message. Response speed is one of the things customers mention most often about us.

Do you carry insurance certificates?

Yes, and we are happy to send a certificate to you, to a property manager or to an HOA before work starts. Ask when you book and it goes out the same week.

What is the best way to start?

Make a list of what is bothering you, room by room or wall by wall, and hand it to Fred when he arrives. The estimate goes faster and nothing gets missed. Take photos of anything on a second story or somewhere hard to see, and text them over ahead of the visit so he arrives already knowing what he is looking at.