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House Painting, Painters in Atlanta, Alpharetta, Chamblee, Dunwoody, Roswell, Buckhead, Sandy Springs

What are VOCs in Paints?

Intelligent people agree that global warming is real.  While its exact causes are unknown, scientists say that greenhouse gases are contributing to it.  Whether or not greenhouse gases are causing global warming, we can all agree that they are bad for us to breathe.  The chief cause of greenhouse gases are volatile organic compounds (VOC).

These compounds are organic chemicals with low boiling points.  Because of the low boiling temperatures, these chemicals convert into a gaseous state in normal conditions.  They typically are toxic and flammable.

Here is an everyday example of what this means.  Water has 3 states; solid, liquid, and gas (please don’t comment about plasma).  Water is solid at 0 C and below, liquid between 0-100 C, and gas at 100 C and above.

Instead of water, let’s look at toluene.

Instead of the vapor pressure of 100 C, toluene’s is 25 C.  This is cooler than room temperature.  Because of this a bucket of toluene will emit vapors in cool temperatures.  Unlike water, these vapors are toxic to humans, animals, plants, and the ozone layer.  Toluene is a solvent common to many industrial coatings and epoxies.

Why are the VOCs in paint?

Paints contain VOCs because of the chemicals that act as the paints solvent.  Solvents keep paint in liquid form until you use it.  That is why paint smells while it is drying and then stops smelling.  The fumes come from the solvents leaving the paint.

The reason that so many paints use toxic solvents is because that is all that technology had allowed for a long time.  Paints that used water as a solvent, like acrylics and latex, were not so durable as paints that used MEK, lacquer, and stronger chemicals as solvents.  This is just one of those “life isn’t fair” things like “why is the most delicious food the least healthy?”  God has a twisted sense of humor, I guess.

The good news is that scientific advances have made acrylic resins compete as good as their more toxic counterparts’.  By replacing the resin package, scientists are able to make awesome paints that use water as the solvent.  That is how paint manufacturers develop “0-VOC” paints that perform better than VOC heavy coatings.

Thanks science!

By

President of GreenWave Solutions, Atlanta’s first and best green painting company.  GreenWave Solutions offers the best painter services in Alpharetta, Atlanta, Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, Roswell, Brookhaven, Duluth, Grant Park, Inman Park, Buckhead, Midtown, and many more!

Atlanta Wallpaper Removal, Roswell, Alpharetta, Decatur, Sandy Springs, Buckhead, Chamblee

How to Remove Wallpaper

We are going to tackle one of the most tedious and annoying jobs for do-it-yourselfers – wallpaper removal.

Anyone who has removed wallpaper knows that it is a horrible experience.  The scraping is horrible enough, but after it is done, you are left with dirty damaged drywall.  Then you learn that refinishing walls is harder than it looks on HGTV.  After that you get to have fun priming and painting.  I can’t tell you that there is secret to make wallpaper removal easy, but I will tell how professional painters do it.  Here we go.

1. Gather all you materials.  This is list of almost everything you need (there may be other items that I take for granted because I see this all the time.  Please don’t send me hate mail if I forgot something).

  • a steamer
  • scrapers
  • construction paper and plastic
  • painters tape
  • sponges and rags
  • wallpaper removal gel or solution (optional)
  • powder drywall joint compound, “mud” (45 minute)
  • mud pans
  • finishing knives
  • paint brushes
  • rollers, frames, pole
  • sand paper and pole sander
  • dust masks and eye protection
  • alkyd or shellac based primer
  • paint

2. Prepare your work area.  Cover floors with the construction paper.  Try and close off the area using the plastic.  This is for keeping the dust contained.  Remember to close any intake ducts or turn off HVAC.  Take off switch plates, electrical outlet covers, and anything else that’s in way.  This process is annoying, but you will be glad you did it at the end.  It controls dust and makes clean up MUCH easier.  Trust me.

3. Time to start removing the wallpaper.  If you are using wallpaper scorers and gels, follow the manufacturers instructions.  If you have a steamer, start steaming.  I recommend using a scoring tool to make holes in the vinyl layer.  This helps the heat and steam get through the paper for better release.  This can go two ways; either the paper is going to comes off in nice big pieces or small ones.  Pray for the first option.  Use your scraper to get under the paper and GENTLY scrape the paper and adhesive from the wall.  Try your best to avoid gouging holes in the wall.  The more damage you do during the removal, the more difficult refinishing the wall is going to be.  Keep a bucket of warm water and wipe off the wallpaper adhesive while its wet.  This also will facilitate next steps.

4. By now you are ready for a break.  Take a break, eat something, drink a beer and let the walls dry.

5. Refinish the walls.  This can be tricky.  Make sure you mix the drywall compound using the ratio on the bag.  Only mix small amounts at a time.  Using your finishing knives, apply a THIN layer of mud over the areas that have damage or are rough.  The trick here is too use as little finishing compound as necessary to bury imperfections.  Remember the more you put on, the more you are going to have to sand off to achieve a professional finish.  Also, it is much easier to apply a thin 2nd layer coat having to sand down a even a 1/4 inch of excess.  Putting too much joint compound is one of the most common rookie mistakes.  After the mud dries (about 45 min depending on temperature and humidity), sand it down.  I recommend 150-220 grit paper.  Wear a dust mask and even goggles.  It is going to be disgustingly dusty.  That is why we made a barrier with plastic and closed intake vents in step 1.  Drywall dusts really sucks.  I’ve seen projects where people forget to turn on HVAC and the dust gets sucked up and blown through an entire house.  Not cool.

After you have sanded the walls, refinish any areas that need more work.  After everything is dry, take a damp rag or sponge and wipe all of the loose dust from the walls.

6. Take another break.

7. Now that you have smooth, clean walls you are going to prime everything that had wallpaper on it.  I recommend using an alkyd or shellac based primer for this.  Wallpaper adhesive is a water soluble, starch based product.  Using a waterborne primer can sometimes reactivate the glue and cause problems for the paint.  Alkyd and shellac based primers are going to have higher VOCs and typically have bad fumes.  Get fans blowing and open windows because these are bad to breathe.  Use a respirator if you have one.  Keep kids away, too.  They will have plenty of time to damage their brains in college.  The good news is that these products do dry quickly so the fumes dissipate quickly.

8. You’re almost done.  All that’s left is the easy part – painting.  Everything should still be prepared from priming so painting is super easy.  Choose your favorite paint and color and paint.  If you are using a dark color, have the paint store tint your primer so that one coat of paint will cover adequately.

Congratulations!  You have successfully removed and repainted a wallpapered area.  You also learned why so many people opt to call professional painting companies to do this job.  Doing it yourself can save you money, but the hassle and stress may cost you your sanity.

GreenWave Solutions specializes in wallpaper removal.  We remove residential and commercial wall coverings.  Call us to schedule your free estimate today!

GreenWave is also the best interior house painters, exterior house painters, and house painting company and serves Atlanta, Alpharetta, Brookhaven, Buckhead, Chamblee, Doraville, Dunwoody, Grant Park, Inman Park, Johns Creek, Duluth, Milton, Roswell, and most major suburbs.

By: Daniel Macris, President of GreenWave Solutions, the best house painters in Sandy Springs.

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interior and exterior painters.

House Painters in Sandy Springs, GA

Autumn in the South is one of the most beautiful times of the year.  The leaves change color, the weather cools down, and the football tailgates and cook outs fill the weekends.  The weather is perfect for spending time outside.  Since you are outside more often, you may notice that it is time for home maintenance.

Whether its pressure washing, rotten wood replacement or exterior painting, GreenWave Solutions is the best at restoring your home’s beauty.  Our professional painting crews take the utmost care when painting your home.

GreenWave Painters are not only experts at exterior painting, but also interior painting specialists.  We take every precaution when painting inside your home.  We cover floors and furniture to protect your property.  All of our painters are trusted GreenWave employees – no random day laborers.

We know that the upcoming holiday season brings expenses so we are having our annual Fall Special.  For the rest of the year, Sandy Springs residents will get 15% off all house painting services (some restrictions apply).

Call or email us to schedule your free estimate.  GreenWave Solutions also offers custom gutter installation services.

By: Daniel Macris, President of GreenWave Solutions, the best house painters in Sandy Springs.

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Ceiling texture removal, Atlanta Painting Company, House Painters, Atlanta, Alpharetta, Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, Brookhaven, Buckhead, Roswell, Marietta, Milton, Decatur

How to Smooth a Popcorn Ceiling

Today’s Article is going to tackle one of the more tedious projects with which homeowners face:  Removing popcorn or stipple texture from a ceiling.

This is not a difficult process. It is, however, extremely messy, labor intensive, and tedious. It also requires good finishing skills for professional results. I am going to make this a step by step explanation.Gather all of your materials and supplies:

1. Gather your materials and supplies.

  • spray bottle with water
  • scrapers
  • plastic and construction paper
  • sand paper and poles
  • trash bags
  • dust masks
  • eye protection
  • paint brushes
  • drywall compound
  • finishing knives
  • paint

2.  Prepare the area.

This is going to be a dusty, messy process so proper preparation is imperative.  Move all the furniture out of the room or into the center of the room.  If the furniture stays in the room, cover it with plastic and tape the plastic.  Cover all floors with plastic or construction paper.  Also, cover A/C intakes or turn of the HVAC altogether.  The drywall dust is so fine it will go into the ventilation and get spread throughout the building.

3. Start removing the texture.

Both stipple and popcorn texture are water based products.  The easiest way to remove them from your ceiling is by spraying them with warm water and letting the water seep into the texture.  After a few minutes, the texture should be soft enough to be scraped off.  How easily the texture comes off depends on many variable and can’t be accurately determined until you start scraping.  Continue removing the texture as described about until it is all gone.  You are done for the day.  Let the ceiling dry and get some rest because your neck and shoulders are probably sore.

4.  Refinish the ceiling.

This takes some skill.  There is no doubt that the ceiling looks like it needs help.  Get your drywall compound and finishing knives ready.  I recommend buying a 5 gallon pail of joint compound or the bag mix so that you can make as much as you need.  Now that you have your finishing tools ready start refinishing the ceiling.  Remember that the less compound you use, the less sanding and dust you will have to deal with in step 5.  After you have finished applying drywall compound on the ceiling, take lunch and give the compound time to dry.  Dry time depends on temperature, humidity, and the type of compound you used.  I recommend 45 minute compound.

5.  Sanding and touch up.

Now comes the really messy part.  Put on your dust mask and eye protection.  Sand the entire ceiling until it is smooth.  If there are areas that don’t look right, touch them up with more compound and re-sand it after it dries.  Once you have the ceiling smooth, dust it with a damp rag or paint brush to get the loose dust off of it before step 6.

6.  Prime and paint.

You’re almost done!  I know that step 6 says, “Prime and paint”, but you may not have to prime.  If you are using flat paint, which I recommend on ceilings, then you can paint directly on the finished ceiling.  If there are water stains, then they do need to be primed using an alkyd or shellac primer/sealer.  After the paint dries, do a walk through and address any areas that need to be touched up.  If everything looks good, then proceed to the last step.

7.  Clean up.

This should be a welcome step by now.  Clean up all of the plastic and paper, put the furniture back and enjoy your nice smooth ceiling.  Hooray!

If you just got through smoothing a textured ceiling you are probably thinking, “I am never going to do that again.  Next time I am going to hire a professional.”

That’s when you call GreenWave Solutions.  We are Metro Atlanta’s best painting company.  We serve Atlanta, Alpharetta, Brookhaven, Buckhead, Chamblee, Cumming, Duluth, Dunwoody, Doraville, Grant Park, Inman Park, Milton, John’s Creek, Sandy Springs and more.  Call us for the best interior painters in Alpharetta!

Simply put, GreenWave Solutions has the best painters in Atlanta.

By: Daniel Macris, President of GreenWave Solutions, the best house painters in Atlanta.

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