Category: Painting & Handyman Blog

Here in Texas, we know all too well how sweltering the heat can be. We dread the days when the humidity seems to seep right into our homes, making our environment even more miserable.  And then there are the days we are all too familiar with, you know the days when one minute you are using the heater and later in the day you need the air conditioner?

By having a ceiling fan in the room, you can comfortably raise your AC temperature by 2-4 degrees so that it doesn’t need to run as long and use so much electricity.  That is a significant reduction in electricity usage.

Just having that breeze moving the air throughout the room makes your environment so much more comfortable.

On those sparse days when the weather is cold, the fan can also help circulate the warm air in the room with a simple flip of the air direction switch.

Professional installation is best

Proper installation of a ceiling fan is essential, as appropriate spacing from the ceiling and walls are needed for optimal air circulation and cooling impact.

Some rooms are large enough or have high enough ceilings to benefit from having 2 ceiling fans — such as the family room or living room. If you are going to have more than one fan in one room, spacing is even more important as you also need to take into account the distance between the two fans for the best air circulation.

Ceiling fan installation includes electrical wiring, which means this is a job best left to a trained professional for safety and accuracy.

Let the pros at Excellent American Painting & Handyman Services handle your ceiling fan installation for you.  You can take care of the fun part-picking out the ceiling fan that you like, and we’ll take care of the rest.

Take control of your comfort and your energy bills. Contact us today! We are available 7 days a week, ready to help you with handyman and painting services.

The latest permit numbers reveal that many major cities are experiencing a surge in home remodeling projects. Is this the right time to renovate your house, or should you save the money for another purpose? Consider remodeling if you find yourself in one of these situations.

A. Unsightly Rooms: Interior design trends come and go; you shouldn’t necessarily embrace all of them. However, it makes sense to remodel a room if you genuinely dislike the way it looks or feels. The project could significantly improve your quality of life.

B. Replacing Equipment: Perhaps you already need to replace a major piece of equipment that has failed, such as a shower or built-in refrigerator. This provides an excellent opportunity for remodeling; you could save money and minimize disruptions by completing both tasks at the same time.

C. After Disaster: If a fire, earthquake, storm or water leak badly damages a room, think about remodeling in the process of performing repairs. You need to replace fixtures and surface materials anyway, so it’s a good idea to update and improve the interior design.

D. Planning to Sell: Have you been thinking about selling your house and moving somewhere else? If so, bathroom or kitchen renovation could expedite this process and yield a higher resale price. This is only a wise investment in a structurally sound home.

E. Planning to Rent: The same goes for a house or apartment that you want to start renting out. If future tenants see attractive, up-to-date rooms when they look at rental listings, they’ll be more likely to rent your home and pay more money. Plan ahead; many projects take one to three months to complete.

If you’ve decided that now is the right time for your next remodeling endeavor, we can help. Our home improvement specialists know how to enhance the appearance, practicality, efficiency and safety of almost any room. Please contact us today to get started.

If you are looking into painting the exterior of your home, then it is definitely in your best interest to hire a professional painter for the job. There are several reasons why this is the best route and three of them will be discussed here.

They Will Properly Prepare The Surface 

The exterior of your home must be properly cleaned and otherwise prepared for the exterior paint to be applied. This involves washing your home, priming it, and doing whatever else may be necessary, depending on what your home’s exterior is made from. These steps are executed perfectly when a professional paints the exterior of your home, so you won’t have to worry about it at all.

They Correctly Choose And Apply Your Paint 

It is important that the exterior of your home is painted with the proper paint. If the wrong type of paint is chosen, then it will not do well when it comes to withstanding the elements and weathering process. It is also important that the paint itself is applied correctly so that it not only looks good, but also stays looking good for several years. Painting professionals know what paints are best for different exterior surfaces and will make sure that they are applied correctly for you.

Safety Won’t Be An Issue 

When you hire a professional to paint the exterior of your home, you know that safety isn’t going to be an issue. Not only will the professionals painting your home have all the necessary equipment to make painting as safe as possible, but they have also received extensive training so that they know the proper techniques for safely painting the exterior of homes. This is a much safer method than you trying to paint the exterior of your home yourself.

To hire an exterior painter to paint your home today, visit us at Excellent American Painting & Handyman Service.

Neglected plumbing repairs often make plumbing issues get much worse, as well as much more costly. Let’s explore why.

Higher Costs

Trying to fix a plumbing repair yourself can be a very bad idea, potentially causing more plumbing issues and damages over time. Plus, oftentimes the plumbing issues that you can see or hear aren’t the only plumbing issues going-on behind your walls. The quicker you address the issue, the sooner the issue will stop causing other issues.

Plumbing repair is much lower in cost when the first sign of an issue or damage is fixed immediately. Hiring a professional plumber to fix and replace a broken pipe seal, for example, is a lot cheaper than hiring one to replace ten linear feet of pipe and two broken pipe seals, or worse, tearing-out your bathroom walls just to address an issue that could have been repaired from the sink.

When considering plumbing repair cost long-term, small repairs are part of the essential maintenance of a home, while major repairs are something that can often be avoided with routine maintenance and repair.

Co-Occurring Costs

Plumbing leaks and damages often lead to the presence and rapid growth of mold, which is a very costly issue to handle. The quicker plumbing repairs are fixed, the less likely mold is to spread into places that are hard to treat, such as behind walls or ceilings.

Mold can also be very costly to your health, with side effects ranging from mild respiratory issues to lung cancer.

If you’re not sure whether you have plumbing that’s in need of repair, but you smell mold, see discoloration, or feel wetness in spots under sinks or near fixtures, it’s likely that there’s a plumbing leak somewhere that’s causing mold. Hiring a professional plumber to inspect for plumbing issues is cheaper than hiring one to fix plumbing issues that have been neglected.

Do you have neglected plumbing repairs? For efficient, professional plumbing service, contact us today!

If you are debating on whether or not you should have crown molding installed in your home, the answer is definitely yes! Crown molding is great for personalizing the architecture in your home and making it more appealing. There are so many excellent reasons to have a professional come to your home and install crown molding for you and two of these reasons will be discussed here.

It Makes Your Home Look More Elegant

If you want to give your home a more elegant and personalized look, then crown molding will do just this. The gorgeous molding around your ceiling will help your ceilings to look higher and your home to look larger. The molding around the floor will also make the transition from wall to floor more smooth.

You even have the option of adding personalized crown molding around your fireplaces, home entertainment centers, built-in shelving, cabinets, and more. The overall effect of the crown molding will help your home to flow and will create detail that you will notice and love.

Adds Value To Your Home 

If your crown molding is done well and installed all throughout your home, then it can definitely increase the value of your home. This is excellent because not only do you get to enjoy the overall beauty of your home, but you also get the benefit of knowing that your home is now worth more as well.

This is great if you decide to sell in the future because potential buyers will love how your crown moldings look and will likely be willing to pay more for your home because of it.

To learn more of the benefits of adding crown molding to your home, or to talk with a professional about getting crown molding installed, visit us today at Excellent American Painting & Handyman Service.

Whether you have plans to paint the interior or exterior of your home, hiring a painting contractor is the way to go. Not only are they incredibly skilled and will work hard to do a good job for you, but they will also make the whole process easier. Here are 3 reasons why you should always hire a painting contractor.

Protect Your Possessions

Painting contractors know how to properly cover all of your possessions in order to protect them. They will completely remove the items that they don’t feel are safe in the area that they are painting and will cover all of your flooring before they begin. This stops any paint drips from going anywhere they aren’t supposed to. If you choose to paint your own home, it will be up to you to not only make sure everything is moved out of the way, but you will also have to purchase all the materials needed to protect your items.

Speed Up The Process 

When you choose to have a painting contractor take care of your painting for you, this is going to speed up the process a great deal. They will be able to devote several hours a day to your painting and will have a crew helping them on the job if necessary. In contrast, if you try to paint your home, it is going to take you much longer. This can keep make it difficult to function inside your home and you run the risk of bad weather messing you up during the painting process.

Keep Everyone Safe 

Painting the exterior or interior of your home is a job that can be somewhat dangerous for multiple reasons. Ladders are involved to reach the higher parts of your home and a fall from this height could be very harmful to you. This is especially true when your home’s exterior is being painted. You also have to worry about the potential harmful effects that the paint fumes will have on your skin, eyes, throat, and lungs. When you hire a painting contractor to do the job for you, they have all the experience and safety equipment needed to paint your home safely and successfully.

To hire a painting contractor today, visit us at Excellent American Painting & Handyman Service.

If you are having an issue with your sprinkler system, then you may want to consider calling a professional to come and check it out. They have the skills and experience necessary to repair your sprinkler system and will do an excellent job for you. Here are three signs that you may want to call a professional for sprinkler system repair.

Your Sprinkler Heads Aren’t Working 

If one or more of your sprinkler heads aren’t working properly, this could be due to a plethora of issues. The sprinkler head itself may be damaged or broken, there may be a blockage inside the sprinkler, the head may be closed off, and the list goes on. When you hire a professional to come and look at your sprinklers, they will be able to determine what is the problem quickly and effectively and can give you options and bids for fixing the problem.

You Have Low Water Pressure 

Low water pressure is another issue that can arise with your sprinkler system. This is often a more serious issue and one that should be taken care of by a professional. They will be able to examine your sprinkler system to see where the problem lies. They may find that your pipes are cracked, which is decreasing the water pressure a great deal. Or the issue may lie within the backflow values, the sprinkler heads, or something else.

You Have Issues With Your Irrigation Clock 

Your irrigation clock is in charge of making sure that your sprinklers go off at the correct time, and in the correct locations, to water your grass, trees, and other plants. If you find that your irrigation clock isn’t working as it should, this is a big deal. Trying to figure out how to manage the clock on your own can be overwhelming and can seem almost impossible to figure out. However, when you hire a professional to come and look at your clock for you, they run diagnostic tests to see exactly what is wrong, such as a power issue, a programming issue, etc.

To get your sprinkler system repaired today, visit us at Excellent American Painting & Handyman Service.

Hiring a professional to come and pressure wash the exterior of your home is an excellent idea. There are so many benefits that come along with hiring a professional to perform this job for you.

Make Your Home Look Newer

One excellent reason to have the exterior of your home pressure washed is to  take several years of the age of your home. A professional will be able to use the pressurized water to remove stains, hard water deposits, bugs, dirt, and more. This helps to restore your home to its former glory and makes it much more visually appealing.

It Is Much Cheaper Than Repainting

A lot of homeowners think that they need to repaint when their home’s exterior begins to look discolored and old. However, this isn’t necessarily the case. A much more cost effective option is to instead have the exterior of your home pressure washed. This can restore the color to your home, and you may find that once it is cleaned, repainting it isn’t necessary at all.

It Is Great If You Are Preparing To Sell

If you plan on selling your home, then you want to make sure that it looks as good as possible before you actually put it on the market. Hiring a professional to pressure wash the exterior of your home will ensure that it looks great for the sale. Potential buyers who look at your home will likely notice this and it may increase your chances of getting an offer. This may also help your home to appraise for more, which may also mean that you can sell it for more.

To hire a professional to pressure wash your home today, or simply to learn more, visit us at Excellent American Painting & Handyman Service.

Have you noticed water dripping or pouring over the sides of your home’s rain gutters? If so, it could be damaging walls, window frames or the foundation. It’s vital to take action to protect your house and find an effective solution.

Precautions

Move any items under the gutters to safer locations. It’s best not to let a deluge of rainwater pour down on your patio furniture or grill. If you can’t move something and it isn’t waterproof, cover this object with plastic sheeting or a tarp.

If one or more windows are located beneath the overflowing troughs, remember to shut them tightly. Close any storm windows as well. Check surfaces under and around the interior window frames to make sure that no water is leaking indoors.

Diagnosis

Try to identify the cause of the overflow by looking at your gutter system and roof. When you see a lot of debris on the roof surface and/or in the troughs, your equipment might need cleaning. A professional can safely perform this task for you.

On the other hand, your downspouts or troughs may have to be upgraded if a large amount of water is successfully draining but the gutter system can’t handle all of it. Your roof could require wider units or a greater quantity of them. Large homes are more likely to need this upgrade.

Steep roofs are beneficial in most ways, but they can sometimes overburden gutters. If you have particularly steep roofing and notice that rainwater runs into the troughs but some of it splashes out, you might need splash guards to solve this problem.

A skilled handyman can thoroughly clean your rain gutters and address most other potential issues with this equipment. Please contact us today if you need assistance with overflowing troughs or other home repairs and improvements.

Painting your home is one of the primary ways you can create the look and style you want as well as protect the structure itself. Repairing and/or replacing cracks, holes, and other issues in your home’s woodwork make for a longer-lasting and more attractive end result for a painting job.

Types of wood repairs

Over time, the woodwork inside and outside your home can take a few hits. Interior woodwork like window sills and doorway trim is often bumped by moving furniture, or otherwise damaged by kids, pets, and accidents around the house. Exterior woodwork takes a beating from all kinds of weather, tree limbs, ivy vines, birds, insects, and more. A quality repair and painting prep job can resolve those issues.

Large chips and nicks can be patched before painting to provide a smooth surface for the end result, making your trim and sills look like new again.

Exterior wood damage can be handled in several ways. In some cases, wood can be patched or repaired, and in other cases, it must be replaced with matching wood or synthetic materials like PVC. Some wood damage is due to dry rot which can occur anywhere wood and moisture are in contact, even in newer homes. Because dry rot can spread along wood, it must be removed and the area treated to prevent its further spread to intact wood.

Why bother with wood repairs?

Wood problems like dry rot can expand from small areas on trim to damaging structural woodwork, so it’s important to treat it early, and certainly before it might be hidden under a new paint job while it continues to spread. Patching and smoothing chipped and uneven areas in your woodwork will also result in a much more satisfying and attractive result.

With any painting project, we’re ready to work on wood repairs as part of the job, too. Whether you want to add curb appeal, protect your home, enhance its value, or just want it to look the way you’d like, contact us to start planning today.