Tips for removing paint stains from walls and floors

Decorating your home for the festive season sounds great. Everyone is busy washing, painting their homes in beautiful colors. Getting painted each corner of your home perfectly in lively colors is a bone-breaking task, believe me. This job not only requires a very good sense of colors, but a great deal of patience, too. Choosing a perfect color tone for your home and then paining your walls flawlessly is something not an ordinary man can do. So, it is always suggested to hire experienced painting contractors in Lincoln Park, who not only save your time, but also your efforts and money.

Once the paint job is done, and then comes the most important task which we call as aftermath of painting, i.e. stains. However, a professional painting contractor always ensures not to stain objects lying around in the home, but it’s practically impossible. So, we always need to be prepared for some cleaning job. This task, as well, needs to be taken very seriously, because if you don’t know the right method of removing rigid stains, then you surely will end up spoiling the surface. So, you need to follow these easy stain removal tips to ensure your household objects don't fall prey to the home improvement regime.

• Floor - If your floor has asphalt, cork, linoleum or vinyl tile, then take a damp piece of cloth and wipe the stain immediately. Cover it with a rubbing alcohol compress for some time. Then wipe the area with cloth dipper in ammonia. Rinse the area with lukewarm water.
• Wood - Wipe the affected area immediately with sponge dipped in warm water, dry it and wax the wood.  
•   Brick – Wipe the stained surface with paint remover and dry it. Try to remove the stain using a wire brush and rinse the affected area with clear water.

·       One thing that you need to take great care of while removing paint stains is try to try these methods vigilantly; even a small amount of negligence can cause damage or discoloration of the surface. 

 

How to choose perfect paint colors for your bedroom

It always feels great when you see your favorite color around you. Be it your favorite dress or walls of your home, it has to do something with your favorite color. Color plays a very vital role in one’s life. It speaks much about your outlook, taste and personality.

You will feel more energetic and lively if you are surrounded by fresh and beautiful colors, whereas right opposite if your walls, clothes and everything else around is draped in dull, boring colors. As your day starts right from your bedroom, so walls of this room has notable impact on your psyche. So you should paint your bedroom walls in a color that breathes life in you and your room. But it does never mean that you pick a bucket of sharp yellow color and start painting your bedroom walls simply because it’s your favorite color. There are specific guidelines that need to be followed. 

 Before getting your room painted in your favorite color, you need to consider the fact is if you want a light airy or a dark and cozy ambiance inside your room.  And second and the most important element is age of the occupant. If you are planning to paint kids’ bedroom, then a colorful mural or bright colors can work like a charm. It not only gives your kid’s room a personal touch but also leaves a space for creativity. If you are an adult, then you (needless to say) need more romantic and sultry appeal inside your bedroom. Rose red and warm brown shades with gold tone can bring a touch of luxury and warmth of love to your bedroom. Accent wall can be the perfect for dark colors whereas other walls can bear comparably lighter shades in order to give more cheery look to the room.

Sharp shades of purple color are great for teenager girls’ bedroom. It not only stimulates brain activity but also adds a feminine touch to the room. These are just a few suggestions that you can work upon while getting your home painted, however Fortune Restoration - a renowned named in painting contractors in Lincoln Park - can suggest you numerous similar suitable color patterns that will make the most significant space of your home even better.

How the color of your house affects your mood?

Nowadays home decor is no more a simple matter of choice. People are now more particular, while selecting the color for their home. The proponents of color psychology state that the colors have an intense effect on the emotional well-being of the people in your house.

To make your dream of a beautiful house true, there is lots you need to think upon. Among all other factors affecting the beauty of your home, colors play a major role. The color of the rooms reflects your likes and personalities. There is one thing to be noted here, that the colors have the power to change the shape and size of furnishings. Moreover, they affect the shape and size of the room too. And, not to forget the room color influences your mood and thoughts significantly. Thus, when it comes to painting your rooms, it becomes important to choose the colors wisely.

Here is a short guide to understand, how colors influence your mood:

Red: It is a good choice when you want to raise a room’s energy level, especially at night. If you are using it in your living room or dining room, it boosts conversation and in an entryway it will exert a strong first impression.

Yellow: It brings the joy of sunshine and communicates happiness to the people. It is perfect for energizing and uplifting, so you can use it in your kitchens, dining rooms, and bathrooms. Researches state that people are more likely to lose their temper and even small babies cry more in a yellow interior. So, avoid it in living rooms.

Blue:On the contrary is the blue color, which is said to bring down blood pressure, respiration, and heart rate. Thus, this calming, relaxing, and serene shade is used worldwide for bedrooms and bathrooms. It also encourages relaxation; you can consider both warmer blues, like periwinkle, and theperky blues, such as turquoise.

Green: When it comes to rest and peace, green is considered the most soothing color for the eye. It is perfect for almost any corner of your house including kitchen, a family room or living room and even bathrooms!

And the list is very long

So, while selecting the colors, you don’t need to go blindly behind the trends. Rather you need to focus on selecting the colors as per your choice, and blend those colors into a pleasing combination!




 Contact Fortune Restorations 's experts to know more.

DIY: Repairing Chimney’s Tuckpointing

Tuckpointing of chimneys should be DIY only if the homeowner is absolutely sure of the job.
Chimneys made from brick and mortar always decays over a period of time. Their repair should be done on time, to avoid a situation where the bricks dislodge completely. 

Tuckpointing contractors in Lincoln Park advice that the balance of a person doing tuckpointing should be stable at all times. The DIY instructions for Chimney Tuckpointing are-

1.Brush the loose mortar on the chimney with a stiff wire brush. Remove all pieces that are crumbling and damaged by using a screwdriver or a tuckpointing tool.

2.Make a mixture of mortar and water in a bucket, by following the manufacturer’s instructions closely. A fortifier can be added to make it extra strong. The consistency of the mortar should be such that it sticks to the trowel when upside down. 

3.Now fill a mortar pail or a piece of wood with a few handfuls of mortar. Dampen the areas identified for tuckpointing with a spray bottle. Concentrate on a small section at one time.

4.Now using a trowel push mortar in between the joints, starting from one side. Smoothen out the mortar after pushing it to give it a smooth finish. 

5.Now repeat this procedure on another section. Spray the entire chimney once the mortaring is complete. Allow the mortar to set and dry completely. If possible the chimney should be subjected to spraying regularly for the next couple of days. The mortar will have a stronger bond by doing so.

A Homeowner’s Basic Guide to Tuckpointing

Tuck pointing is the procedure for removing weathered mortar from the joints between the bricks. Tuckpointing or re-pointing becomes very essential when the mortar leaves its place and becomes loose. The stability of the home structure is at risk if repair is not done on time. Let’s have a look at tuckpointing in detail-

1. Why’s Tuckpointing essential?
Bricks are known to last forever or for almost 30 years or so. But mortar has a much shorter life and needs constant repair and maintenance. To preserve its water proofing ability, it is essential that it is checked by tuckpointing contractors in Chicago, from time to time.

2. What should you tuckpoint?
Tuckpointing is a labor intensive project, it needs time and patience. Tuckpointing contractors oak park advise that it should be done only when it gets absolutely essential. When the mortar starts crumbling and the visible erosion is more than 6mm, it is time to tuckpoint. The first indication is the hairline cracks that start appearing between the brick and mortar. 

3. Identification of Points to Be Repaired
The bricks that have started looking bad and shabby should be scanned closely. A screwdriver or a trowel should be employed to scrape out the debris and test areas for damage. Once the areas are identified they should be marked with a water soluble marker.

4. Treatment with Mortar
Once the damaged mortar is scraped off, all loose material is removed with a wire brush. Now mortar mixture is prepared with water in a thin consistency. The areas to be tuckpointed are dampened with a spray bottle. Mortar is now forced between the joints with a trowel. Using a tool with a convex point, the mortar is given the same old shape. The most critical thing to remember is to work quickly before the mortar dries up. 

Various Tools You Need for Tuckpointing

Tuckpointing is a technical skill best carried out by a professional with some experience.  Tuckpointing will remove the mortar that has been damaged and fill up the gaps with fresh and matching mortar. Besides the tools you also need to hire a reliable set of tuckpointing contractors if in Chicago. Only an experienced handyman will be able to complete the job to perfection and ensure that the structure has durability and strength to last for many more years to come.

1. A Hammer and a Chisel

A good quality plugging chisel is required to properly clean the joints and to remove all the damaged mortar. The hammer is very effective in breaking stubborn joints that need to be replaced.

2. Trowel for Mortar

Depending on the size of the joints, the trowel should be chosen. It needs to be wide enough in order to allow easy access to the handyman. An extra wide trowel will also not serve the purpose as it will cover two bricks at one time. 

3. Grinder

A grinder is generally used when tuckpointing is undertaken in new buildings, as the mortar is not so old. It is used to remove the mortar in a quick motion without damaging the bricks.

4. A mortar Gun

A mortar gun comes very handy in all projects that involve brick repair. It is a power tool that can be easily attached to a drill. It is primarily used to apply fresh mortar to the joints.

How to Choose Right Wall Paints?

Selection of the right paint is as important as selecting the right painting contractor for a paint job.
Painting jobs are tiresome; they need time, effort and patience. Hence, the selection of the right paint will ensure that the job is complete and up to your satisfaction. A good paint job will leave you stress free and your home looking pretty for a long time.

Read on more to find out about eh types of paints available in the market –

1. Latex Vs Alkyd Paints

Traditionally alkyd paints were used for painting the interiors and exteriors. They were believed to be best suited for trimmings and especially for the exteriors. But recent studies have shown that they emit VOC or volatile organic compounds that are a health hazard and also cause pollution. Although, paint companies have come out with new VOC free alkyd paints, they are not very effective when compared to latex paints.

2. Cost of Latex and Alkyd Paints

The new age VOC free alkyd paints have reported to dry very slowly and are difficult to apply. They are also very expensive when compared to latex paints. Painting contractors in Chicago are of the opinion that after comparison of the two, high quality latex paint will give better results than alkyd paints.

3. Kinds of Latex Paints

There are three kinds of latex paints in the market today –
• The 100% acrylic paint is usually used for a high quality finish for the interiors
• The Vinyl acrylic is the least expensive latex paint in the market but can be used for interior walls, where quality is not an issue
• The alkyd modified paint is best suited for the exteriors and it gives a very high quality finish.