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FAX: 703-550-3755
EMAIL: contact@bluedoorpainters.com
LOCAL: 703-504-2000
FAX: 703-550-3755
EMAIL: contact@bluedoorpainters.com
Hear From Our Customers
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“They arrived on time and finished job in about 1/2 the time I thought it would take. Great work!”
Fairfax, VA
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How Do I Deal With Water Damage?
A couple of water damage stains on an interior ceiling.
Information on Managing Moisture in Interior Surfaces in the Washington, DC/Northern Virginia Area
One of the major purposes of shelter, for any living creature, is to keep out the elements. Heat, cold, sun, wind – and, undeniably, water – need to be kept under strict control in an indoor environment if it is to remain a suitable shelter. Modern homes and buildings utilize thousands of years of complex technology in order to keep out the elements, but it is still an ongoing struggle. In this blog we share our years of contracting experience on what to do when unwanted moisture ends up inside your home.
First of all: why is interior moisture a problem? Obviously, no one wants to live in a swimming pool, or to have their furniture and belongings soggy, but moisture can also cause serious problems when present in far less dramatic quantities. Moisture undermines the structure integrity of most architectural building materials, encourages the growth of mold and mildew, and can cause paint jobs to completely fail. While exterior substrates (vinyl siding, stained decks, roofing) are designed to resist water, interior substrates are vulnerable, and will degrade rapidly in the presence of persistent moisture.
Second of all: where does interior moisture come from? If your basement or another part of your home floods, or if your roof or upstairs bathroom leaks aggressively through the ceiling, then the source of your moisture will not be a mystery. But sometimes a slow but steady leak in unexposed plumbing, a capillary effect, or even a place in your home that has a cooler microclimate, can cause subtler examples of moisture damage.
Third of all: how can you tell you have moisture damage, and what the source of the moisture is? Moisture damage will be detectable in a building because it leaves behind a stain on surfaces like drywall, paint, wood, and stucco. The shape and location of the stain will offer some clues as to what kind of moisture source you are dealing with. A round stain on a ceiling, or upside-down teardrop shaped stain on the wall, both indicate a long, slow leak, likely in the plumbing. If the stain grows more rapidly when it is raining, then the source of the water is the exterior of the house. If the stain is in a long line on the ceiling, it may come from a more diffuse leak in the plumbing. Stains from capillary action usually come up from the ground in line in a moist area, and stains from condensation are usually irregularly shaped patches near a microclimate change in the house.
Finally: what do you do about moisture damage? Because moisture damage is associated with both structural and health threats, it is essential to fix water damage as soon as the problem is observed. The steps are simple. First, locate and eliminate the source of the moisture. Second, cut out and remove all of the damaged substrate: drywall, wood, paint, and all. Finally, replace the damaged substrate with dry material, close the seams as thoroughly as possible, and repaint or refinish the patched area (as well as some of the surroundings, if you are concerned with the patched area sticking out).
Blue Door Painters is proud to offer water damage remediation as one of our services in the Washington, DC, and Northern Virginia area.
Touching Up After the Holidays
Four reasons why right after the holidays might be the perfect time to get your interior repainted
Blue Door Painters, as all painting and refinishing contractors in the Washington, DC area, typically sees a slow season in the winter. The weather prohibits exterior projects, as paints and stains require warm, dry conditions in order to effectively dry and cure, and most people are focusing on shopping and coping with the elements, rather than undertaking any major interior projects. And indeed, any interior projects that require high levels of ventilation or a lot of traffic into and out of the house can be extremely disruptive to a household’s indoor routine. However, the beginning of winter might be the perfect time to tackle a simple touching-up or interior beautification project. Here are four reasons why:
1. Ceilings and walls accrue damage from holiday decorations. You know that grayish brown streak on the ceiling from where the Christmas tree was just a little too tall, and scraped around while you were setting it up? What about the new nail dents and horizontal streaks in the walls left over from hanging lights, wreaths, streamers, and mistletoe? Look closely enough at the new dents and nicks that your interior has taken on from the holidays, and you will be bound to notice all the other reasons why your living or family room could use repainting. If you let it slide until later in the season, you will most likely forget about it, but if you take the opportunity and get it done now, you will go into the New Year with all that holiday residue thoroughly painted over.
2. Interiors accrue damage from holiday parties. Decorations aside, the holidays are the time of year for big gatherings – and that means the kind of chaos that tends to add wear and tear to your interior paint job. Your five nieces and nephews draw on the wall while you and your siblings drink wine, your guests crowd your hallways and spill drinks in your hallways, and after all the wrapping paper has been cleared away and the calories have been ruefully counted, you realize that your interior has taken a beating and could use some sprucing up. Doing a quick touch-up would make your space feel clean and new for the rest of the winter.
3. Having a new look helps you get a new start for the new year. Feng Sui practitioners and interior designers have established that your physical surroundings strongly influence your emotions and behavior. It can be difficult to get a good start on a New Years resolution when you are stuck in the same surroundings. Even a subtle change – improving an area that has been damaged for a while, or changing the main or trim color in a room that you just haven’t liked for a while – can make a huge difference in boosting your inertia for the other changes you want to make in your life.
4. Get ready for the cold weather. The end of the holidays means the beginning of the cold season in earnest in the Washington, DC area. While the end of December is too late for exterior projects, you could still squeeze in the last interior project that will improve your preparedness for the winter. Fixing any areas that have been water damaged will help your house hold up against the elements, and dealing with mold issues will make your indoor air healthier for all the time that you have to spend cooped up. Finally, since everyone will spend more time indoors during the winter, you have to expect that the interior will see more wear and tear, and take the opportunity to put down a new layer of protective semi-gloss paint in your high-traffic areas.
