Paint or Keep a Plumber & Electrician on Retainer?

My comments about the need to protect your home or property from water intrusion are not new.  But, I discovered a homeowner with an issue and you need to hear this one. The water intrusion in his home is causing the electrical outlets to sweat, corrode and has blown the circuits several times. 

The homeowner above related this story during a recent painting estimate visit.  The first step was to assume a plumbing leak in the hose bib on the outside wall.  Plumber was called and the hose bid connection was replaced.  Cost was not disclosed but surely this is never cheap.  Problem continues.  The next visit is from an electrician. Late afternoon call and nothing seems to be wrong.  Circuit is working fine.  Maybe the breaker is bad.  Service call and breaker replacement service provided.  Problem continues. This time the owner sees water literally dripping out of wall sockets in the room.  How can this be?  We fixed the leak.  Plumber called again.  Service call and they say the plumbing is fine.  They charge the owner a fee anyway.  Ok, let’s add this up.  Not sure, but guess we have spent at least $700+ so far and no solutions. 

The circuit blows again and the owner calls in a new electrician.  This call comes earlier in the day and he pulls the wall sockets out for a better inspection.  They are corroded and damp.  This one gets the issue.  Sir, “I can replace these but you will need to address the water intrusion problem with the outside of your home to avoid this issue again.”  “Moisture is coming through your exterior walls and evaporating out through the electrical sockets as the sun heats up the exterior walls.”  “You need to have your house painted and get those sprinklers off the walls as well.”  He replaced the sockets and the owner paid yet another bill of almost $300.

Over $1000 spent to discover what a professional painting contractor would tell you (for free) in a detailed estimate for painting your property.  Fortunately, they never had to introduce the fire department, their insurance agent and perhaps an attorney to defend their insurance claim since they failed to provide required maintenance on the exterior of the home.  This could have been disastrous.  This might have been one of those “faulty wiring” fire stories on the 6 o’clock news.

We are convinced this scenario is being replicated at thousands of homes in Central Florida.  Water intrusion from sprinklers and rain is very serious.  Water soaks into the masonry, weeps down to the slab level, and evaporates out as the sun heats up the walls.  If the exterior coating has failed, excessive moisture will evaporate into the living space behind the baseboards and through any channel it can find.  This includes electrical sockets, cable outlets, water pipes and other spaces in the walls.  The solution is really quite simple.  Make sure the coating on your home is maintained using high quality sealers and paint products.  A properly coated home should repel rain and errant sprinklers. 

People ask us why we are called ProTect Painters.  The answer:  We help protect your home and your wallet.  In this case, the issue could have been resolved by a $3,000 exterior paint service and by redesigning the sprinkler system.  Total cost for the services with plumbing, electrical, painting and sprinkler system redesign is well over $4,500.  Failure to maintain the exterior of the home cost the owner 25% more than was required. 

Like going to see a medical doctor, building trades are often very specialized.  The vast majority have no clue about paint and coatings.  It’s just the color on the home right?  No.  It’s far more important than it appears.  Painters are the Rodney Dangerfield of the contractor world.  We just don’t get a lot of respect.  We often arrive on the scene after all the other trades are gone and they just don’t see what we do or how important our work really is to their project. 

Proper painting protects your property’s structural integrity, your family and your wallet.  Before you throw money at symptoms, make sure you understand the cause. Call us for a free evaluation of your homes exterior.  You can reach us at 407-542-9036 or visit our web site http://www.protectpainters.com/fl/oviedo-winter-springs.aspx . We’re not just painters, we are ProTect Painters.

The Healthy “Painted” Home – Can Painting Really Help?

Bet you never expected to see a painter talking about creating a healthy home.  Well …. ProTect Painters is certainly not your typical painter.  We focus on quality and results.  The connection between paint and your health is far greater than we imagined.  We hope this article will encourage you to learn more and take precautions to help safeguard your family.

Indoor Air Pollution – Reduction or Elimination

The idea of the sick building syndrome is not new.  Most of the press is centered on public work spaces but the issue is no less problematic in a home.  In fact, our Florida climate may be one of the worst environments for creating a ripe breeding ground for sick elements.

Indoor air pollution is created by a long list of items including building materials, furniture, household chemicals, pets and virtually everything you bring into the home.  Under normal circumstances, these products give off the most contaminants when newly introduced.  That new carpet smell (like the new car smell) is one you may have experienced. Not all contaminants smell.  Many have no smell or are masked by other chemicals which produce more contaminants.  (i.e. A product labeled as unscented likely contains more chemicals than its scented partner.)  

Total elimination of indoor contaminants is not a viable option. In most cases, simply opening the doors or windows, letting in some fresh air, will help reduce the amount of contaminants in an indoor space.  Limiting or reducing the introduction of new contaminants is also a good way to reduce your exposure.

 VOCs – Why Worry?

 “Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids. VOCs include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short- and long-term adverse health effects”  “All of these products can release organic compounds while you are using them, and, to some degree, when they are stored.”  

“Eye, nose, and throat irritation; headaches, loss of coordination, nausea; damage to liver, kidney, and central nervous system. Some organics can cause cancer in animals; some are suspected or known to cause cancer in humans. Key signs or symptoms associated with exposure to VOCs include conjunctival irritation, nose and throat discomfort, headache, allergic skin reaction, dyspnea, declines in serum cholinesterase levels, nausea, emesis, epistaxis, fatigue, dizziness.”

(Source: EPA web site; http://www.epa.gov/iaq/voc.html )

Low/No VOC Paints and Lead Containment

Low Voc Paints

Most materials continue to give off small amounts of VOCs for extended periods.  Reducing the VOC content of paint introduced into or applied to your home can help reduce the cumulative build up and off gassing of VOCs. Use low or no VOC paints on all interior projects and low or reduced VOC products on the exterior.

Caution: The term Low VOC is akin to the word natural.  The definition is not well regulated.  Check the US Green Building Council LEED standards (http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=222&gclid=CLCEuJ-dmagCFQwZ2godWgizBg) or those developed by the Florida Green Building Coalition ( http://floridagreenbuilding.org/) for the levels of VOC s which are acceptable.

Lead Dust

For homes built prior to 1978, you may also have another issue – lead paint!  Lead is a deadly substance.  Lead dust created by chipping or deteriorating paint is ingested and absorbed into our bodies.  Lead causes a wide range of health effects, from behavioral problems and learning disabilities, to seizures and death. Children six years old are particularly at risk.

It is extremely difficult to remove lead from a home.  However, when properly coated with appropriate paint, lead can be contained.  You will need the resources of an EPA Lead-Safe Painting Contractor to evaluate your home and complete the project.   For a list of certified firms in your area, visit http://cfpub.epa.gov/flpp/searchrrp_firm.htm.

The Exterior of Your Home May Be Killing You!

The sub-title here is a bit extreme but the message is true.  Water intrusion, heat, and lack of proper interior dehumidification are combination for disaster.  Thousands or Central Florida homeowners are at risk.  We see tons of homes with failing exterior paint, cracking stucco, worn out or missing caulk around windows, leaky roofs and obsolete A/C systems. How many homes are at risk?  We don’t know.  However, our guess is 70-80% of the homes have more than one of these issues.

Maintaining the exterior skin on your home is critical.  Water intrusion through the exterior causes interior components to give off higher levels of VOCs and provides a breeding ground for other organisms which feed and grow on these organic materials (our most common nemesis is mold).  Keeping a good airflow and maintaining interior humidity levels below 55% can help.  But, you have to fix the source of the water intrusion.

Your house is designed to breath.  Fresh air comes in, goes through conditioning and then evaporating moisture goes out through the walls.  The exterior walls must provide a block for rain (particularly our wind driven storms).  If not, the pores in your home effectively get clogged and you have a recipe for toxic stew.  

Water gets trapped inside the walls, gets absorbed into building materials like block, drywall, framing and even interior paint.  Add exterior heat applied by our hot sun and Voila!  Those dormant VOCs wake up, start off gassing in higher levels and the critters that feed on this stuff (like mold) expand at alarming rates and cause even more damage to you and your home.  Since the moisture is now trapped inside your home, the VOC’s off gas in your space.  (Keep in mind they don’t all smell.  You can have this issue without smelling anything.)  Note: If you do have the smelly stuff, adding air fresheners will make it worse.  You are likely just adding more VOCs to your home. (see the unscented comment earlier) More food for the VOC feeders! 

Lead paints tend to repel moisture (that’s one reason why we used the stuff back in the day).  This also means extended moisture behind lead paint will result in adhesion issues and peeling.  Peeling lead paint creates dangerous levels of dust.  Picture the amount of power in a Sweet & Low packet.  Now spread this out over your entire house.  Can’t really see it now?  This much lead dust is enough to cause severe health concerns. 

Steps You Need to Take

We can’t solve all your problems, but you can take steps to reduce ongoing exposure to VOCs and improve your health.  Here are a few suggestions:

1. If your home is at a critical level, consider hiring an indoor air pollution consultant.  Not a mold test company.  I can almost guarantee there is mold in your home.  Hire a firm that has the right certifications and test equipment.  They need to able to test for many contaminants, have green building certification credentials and be able to provide thermal imaging of your home.  Expect to pay at least $600 and up for these reviews.  These are house doctors not actors.
2. If you have an A/C or a leaky roof issue, get an estimate and get it fixed. We can paint your home and help some.  However, professional painting is only part of the solution.  These other relatively expensive items have to be addressed.  
3. Painting your home is a lot more complex than the color you see.  Hire a professional painting contractor to do the work.  DIY is ok, but the majority of homeowners don’t do the preparation and sealing work correctly.  Don’t create bigger issues trying to save a few dollars. 
4. Make sure the painting contractor you select has knowledge and expertise in these topics.  The vast majority do not have a clue.  Worse yet, they don’t care. This is not acceptable.  Anyone with a paint brush can call themselves a painter.   That does not make them a qualified professional.
5. If your home was built before 1978, hire only EPA Lead Safety Certified contractors regardless of the renovation project (i.e even the replacement of carpet in a home with lead paint is an issue.)
6. Use only certifiable low or no VOC paint products on your home.  These are high quality paints from manufacturers (like Sherwin & PPG) that provide detailed chemical analysis on their products. 
7. Never seal the outside of your home with high build elastomeric coatings.  The newer ones are a bit better than prior versions.  However, these products don’t breath well and trap more moisture inside your home.  Use only high quality latex coatings.

 Summary & Closing Comments

We are not doctors or health consultants.  We don’t have a magic pill to make this issue go away.  We do have a prescription for improvement.  You owe it to yourself and your family to maintain and improve the quality of life in your home. 

Maintaining the skin on your home, working to reduce the introduction of VOCs into the environment and avoiding the conditions that cause additional deterioration are controllable events.  It’s your choice. 

ProTect Painters of Oviedo ~ Winter Springs is not just your typical painter.  We can help you make informed decisions about the health of your home.  Give me a call at 407-542-6031. Ask my client service center to set aside a time to discuss your home’s condition.  We’re still on our quest to learn more about these issues, but promise to share what we know.

Home Owners Insurance Can be Cancelled Due to Cracks – Take Action Now!

It does not take a genius to determine property insurance risk management in Florida is in a state of relative crisis.  Insurers are still reeling from the damages in the 2004 storm season.  Some new providers have come into the area but like health insurance, the rules for insuring your property are far from clear.

On a recent exterior painting estimate, I discovered a new twist.  Insurance companies are becoming more diligent with conducting onsite reviews of both new and existing policy holders.  The obvious items checked are diving boards and slides on pools, sinkholes and trampolines in the yard.  Seems these will get you denied or eliminate your renewal for many insurers.

The next comment may shock you.  Insurers apparently can deny coverage for lack of coating/paint and most certainly for visible cracks.  The homeowner above had their policy cancelled and renewal was denied due to these issues.  Yes, their house is overdue for paint and they have some settling and stucco cracks.  Bad news?   Their house is far from the worst we have seen.

I would estimate that at least 70% of the homes in Central Florida are overdue for painting.  And … virtually all masonry/stucco body homes we see have visible cracks in the stucco.  Insurers are not willing to take the risk for water intrusion through the exterior of the home.  If they cite your home during an annual onsite review, some may give you the opportunity to correct the issue.  Others will just cancel your policy.  Failure to prep, patch and paint the exterior, once noted, will likely be considered negligence and any damage post inspection will not be covered.

Water finds a home!  Don’t let it be your home.  Water intrusion can cause obvious damage.  It’s expensive to replace drywall, flooring and even furniture.  Worst yet… prolonged exposure creates mold.  Mold remediation requires a specialist and they are very expensive.  Live in a pre-1978 home?  Add even more costs requiring an EPA Lead Certified Renovator to conduct the repairs.

Bottom line?  Properly prep, seal and paint your home.  DIY patches on the cracks may not help you at all.  Most homeowners do not complete the process correctly.  The insurance inspector may fail your work and drop you if the work is not completed correctly.  Spend a few thousand now or pay many thousands later.  Your choice? 

PS – I would bet good money on the mortgage companies looking at this issue soon.  They have to protect their risk as well. 

They say… “Water Finds a Home.” Don’t let it be your home! Are You Ready? – Hurricane Season Begins June 1

Is your home’s exterior paint ready for Florida’s wind driven rains?    Hurricane season officially starts in just a few days.  Thousands of Central Florida homeowners have put off painting the exterior of their homes due to the economy.  Are you one of them?  You could find rain is seeping through the paint and causes damage to your property. 

Check out this comment found on the Internet: “My house is 5 years old.  It has a stucco exterior. For the last day, it has been raining with a strong wind (we haven’t had a  lot of rain recently).  The rain is hitting the walls (normally the eve
protects the walls somewhat).  I now have a constant drip from the top of  one of my windows and wet walls (the drips are about 7 feet above grade).  I pulled off some of the drywall and it is saturated with water.  I inspected the stucco exterior and it appears normal.  Any thoughts as to what the problem might be?”

ProTect Painters of Oviedo ~ Winter Springs’ answer:  This homeowner is suffering from water intrusion due to lack of paint, proper sealing of the typical cracks in masonry/stucco, and windows which may have not been caulked properly. 

In 2004, the Orlando Sentinel, Channel 2 News and others reported thousands of properties leaked through the walls during hurricanes even though the buildings had no obvious breaches. Wind-driven rain passed through thinly applied paint, as well as the porous, stucco-like material covering the cinder-block walls.  In most cases, the builder’s response is water intrusion is not warrantable.  It is the property owner’s responsibility to provide maintenance including protecting and painting the home or business.

If your home was built within the last 3-7 years or has not been recently sealed and repainted properly, you are at risk.  Call ProTect Painters of Oviedo ~ Winter Springs today at 407-542-6031 for a free evaluation and recommendation for protecting your property.  They say “water finds a home.”  Don’t let it be your home.  Repainting your home or business may cost you a little now, but can help avoid or reduce future costly repairs.

Home & Hurricane Expo – June 5, 2010

ProTect Painters of Oviedo ~ Winter Springs will also be at the Oviedo ~ Winter Springs Regional Chamber of Commerce 2^nd Annual Home & Hurricane Expo.  Come on out and we will show you what water intrusion looks like.  Tom Terry from Channel 9 will be there to give you an update on the forecast, representatives from the Seminole County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and local businesses that can answer your storm related questions.

Cost:  Free!  Yes, free admission, free food and drinks as well

Event Date/Time: June 5, 2010 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Location: 1511 E. S.R. 434 – Oviedo ~ Winter Springs Chamber Office Grounds (Exit West, SR 434, off Greenway/Rt.417 and look for the big tent on your left)