Residential painters will have the right tools to complete the job.

Look for one that has years of experience and a reputation for quality workmanship.

Different builders use different methods to initially paint a new home. Many builders (not all) use the quickest, cheapest method possible. Their contractor’s name is not at stake, so they are not responsible for the job. On average, new homes need to be painted between 4-6 years after they are initially built. Even more importantly is that new homes almost always need re-caulked.

Siding – we spray and back roll the first coat. Then we come back and spray the second coat. This will give you the best of both worlds. You are getting the smooth finish of a spray, with the adhesion of rolling. Trim – we normally brush and roll trim. It just depends on the situation. Gutters/downspouts – we normally spray gutters and downspouts. It really just depends on the job. We will discuss with you the plan of action during the pre-job walk through before we begin painting.

The crews will caulk holes, cracks, seems, siding, and seal up the house. Next, they will tape off windows, scrape and prime all areas where needed. They will wipe down the house with a rag, removing any spider/cob webs, hornet nests, etc.

The purpose of the pressure wash is to rinse away the chalky residue, removes dust, mildew and some loose paint; may be performed up to a month prior to painting. If the washer happens to miss something or could not reach something on the house, during the prep time, the painters will wipe down the house removing all cobwebs, nests, etc. No one has to be home for the pressure wash; we only need access to your back yard and to your water spigot. Please be sure that your animals are not loose. Although we love dogs, we do not want one of your pets escaping because we were not aware of them being there.

Yes and no. If the caulk is coming off of the windows or cracks, we will pull it off. Most caulk that is failing still sticks to the substrate. We caulk right over that. This is normal practice and is the best practice. Removing older caulk can cause gaps that cannot be re-filled. If you insist on caulk being removed, we can do that for an additional charge. (not recommended)

We always use the best. We use an elastomeric caulk. It moves with the material more than your normal latex caulk. More elastic = more moveable = less cracking = less wood rot. Great math in our opinion.

Not completely. A Painting contractor cannot prevent mildew recurrence. However paints can be formulated to inhibit mildew growth, but under some conditions, mildew eventually will reappear on any type of paint. We use additives from time to time with a lot of success.

ALKYD – technically means a synthetic (man-made) resin. Alkyd is OIL PAINT using a manmade oil. ACRYLIC – is Synthetic latex.

FLAT PAINT reflects little light. It looks rich and velvety, especially in deep colors. It doesn’t show all the imperfections in plaster or drywall. It’s great in a living room or a room frequented by adults who do not damage or touch their walls. It’s the least washable. Most builders use flat paint when you buy a new home.

SATIN PAINT is a step shinier than Flat. It’s one of the less common sheens. A lot of paints jump right up to eggshell from flat. It’s usually pretty close to eggshell.

EGGSHELL PAINT is a little shinier still. It is very popular as an all-around sheen. Not too shiny but still pretty washable. Good for offices, bathrooms, and public areas and rooms with kids in them with dirty little hands.

SEMI-GLOSS PAINT is good for doors and trim. It’s not super shiny but still gives a nice glow to the painted surface. Bathroom and kitchen walls do well in semi-gloss because it is even more washable than eggshell. The problem with semi-gloss is it shows drywall imperfections.

GLOSS/HIGH GLOSS/PLASTIC GLOSS are very shiny paints. They often look good on older traditional woodwork. The flaws really show with this paint but that can also be part of the beauty.

Acrylic (latex) paint dries much faster than Alkyd (oil). Paint tacks in only a couple of minutes. If we can see rain coming, we will stop. It only takes a few minutes for the paint to be tacked enough to not affect the job.

The painting contractor should prepare and repaint the entire window unit. The painting contractor must remove all loose paint with a wire brush or scraper, this includes the ends and underside of the sill, as peeling or cracking often begins there. Then, finish the surface prep by removing all loose particles from the sill. Now the painting contractor must apply one coat of exterior wood primer, again paying special attention to the end grain and underside of the sill. After the primer dries, apply an acrylic latex caulk to the joints. The painting contractor must follow with one or two coats of a top-quality acrylic latex flat or satin house paint. Window sills are a perfect reason as to why you should take advantage of our home maintenance program. Every exterior painting job comes with the first year FREE. Horizontal surfaces are the hardest areas to keep up.

The eaves (soffits) of a house are a frequent location for paint problems, with peeling and rotting topping the list of concerns. Moisture is drawn out of the house sometimes is the source of the problem, but usually, the issue is a lack of adhesion. This occurs when painting contractors apply paints to failing coatings. It also occurs when dirt and contaminants are not properly removed prior to painting. Our power wash process takes care of this.

Stucco and mortar joints contain hydrated or lime, a dry compound added to improve the workability of these materials. If the high alkalinity of the mortar, cement mixes and concrete is not addressed prior to painting by your painting contractor, a reaction can occur when moisture is present, resulting in peeling and burning stains.

With the settling, you get in a new house and as the wood dries and shrinks, you’re bound to have some places that will need to be touched up with more caulk and paint. Usually, after the first year, you won’t have any more shrinkage. Make sure your painting contractor uses a good elastomeric caulk that is flexible and will withstand some movement in the joint.

The most frequent causes for premature paint failures are due to a painting contractor failing to do sufficient surface preparation; not applying enough paint; using an improper coating; not applying the product as directed; lack of scraping.

There are two reasons: moisture and horizontal surfaces. Anywhere that snow can sit, or rain can puddle is a trouble area. Decks are all horizontal surfaces that snow can sit on. Strike two! Latex does not hold up well on horizontal surfaces. Moisture gets behind the coating and pushes is away from the wood. Decks are the only thing that we cannot warranty.

Typically the whole painting process takes 2-3 days, depending on how big the project is and weather permitting. It takes a few hours of a day to power wash before we begin painting.

For Exteriors, we typically use flat on siding and Satin Finish on the home’s trim. This gives a nice contrast of sheen.

We use Sherwin Williams and Porter Paint. We find that their coatings hold up the best to Indiana’s punishing weather.

No, it is typically cheaper for Elite Pro to supply the paint with our volume discount.

As many coats as it takes to get a consistent finish. We are not protecting your walls from wood rot on the interior as we are on the exterior. It is just important that we get the desired color and that the color is consistent. Whatever it takes!

Typically the shutters will be taken off the house to paint EXCEPT if they are attached to the brick mortar. Elite Pro does not want to be responsible for any damage caused by taking shutters off of brittle mortar.

Yes, we can paint exteriors while homeowners are not present. The homeowner will meet with the John or Mikeal before leaving to confirm the details of the estimate. Once the homeowner returns they will coordinate a final inspection with John or Mikeal to ensure everything is up to their satisfaction. We will then discuss payment. There is nothing better than returning from a trip to a newly updated home.

Yes, the warranty goes with the house, even if there are different homeowners.

Yes, Elite Pro is insured with a $2 million in Liability and Workers Compensation.

We use water base primer but will use Oil base if needed to prevent bleed through, and/or on surfaces that would require an oil based primer. We use oil on new wood.

Yes. We work closely with at least one contractor in every home improvement category. Call us anytime or send us an email.

Look for old paint cans in the basement, storage or garage. Look for a color name or code or formula on the paint can. If not take the can to the nearest Sherwin Williams store and have them match it for you.

• You can contact your HOA to see if they have them on file.
• You can contact the builders to see if they have them on file.
• Take a paint chip off the siding, trim, accent take to the Sherwin Williams paint store and they can match it for you. Taking a paint chip off of the home will match the existing color.

Sherwin Williams and SW store can match other brands of paint to their brand. If they do not have a specific color name to match exactly they will do a custom match which will have a formula instead of a color code.

Keep in mind that your existing paint color may have slightly faded due to time, the sun, and the harsh elements that comes along with the Indiana climate. The color was probably darker than what is currently on your home.