What painting contractors offer rotten wood replacement, carpentry, interior and exterior house painting, pressure washing, deck staining, deck refinishing, gutters and down spouts, stucco repair, siding installation, re-staining of front doors, sheet rock repair, and wallpaper removal?

What painting contractors offer rotten wood replacement, carpentry, interior and exterior house painting, pressure washing, deck staining, deck refinishing, gutters and down spouts, stucco repair, siding installation, re-staining of front doors, sheet rock repair, and wallpaper removal?  Kenneth Axt Painting Contractors offers all of these services.

We offer free color consultation to help you pick your colors.

As far as interior painting we have specialized painters that do interior painting.

We use Sherwin-Williams highest quality paints. Duration, Emerald, Cashmere, Super Paint, Deckscapes, and Loxon XP Elastomeric for stucco. All of their top-of-the-line products.

Kenneth Axt Painting Contractors offer free exterior color consultation, skilled painters, and Sherwin-Williams highest quality paints.

As far as carpentry, we replace all rotten wood siding with permanent products for example PVC, Hardy and hardy trim. These materials are impervious to rot.

tray_with_ladderWhat do our clients say about us?

The entire staff was very professional, courteous, and friendly. I would highly recommend Kenneth Axt Painting Contractors to any of my family and friends.

We got estimates from three other companies that all came with strong recommendations. Kenneth Axt Painting Contractors stood out from the others in their attention to detail and professionalism.

The crew did an excellent job. This is the second time we have used your business and could not be more pleased with both jobs. The crews were very hard-working and clean the site each day, even though they would be coming back in the morning. Marcie, the color consultant, was extremely helpful in my final color selections. The job started when promised. Working with Kenneth Axt Painting Contractors was a wonderful experience.

What a wonderful company! Office staff always return calls ASAP. Kenneth and David were at my house for hours doing the carpentry and painting estimate! I felt like they really knew my house  by the time they did the work! Your company is the best I’ve ever worked with. Every phase of the job was done well.

You have achieved your goal of being the best. Of course you were the best when you were here before. We like the daily inspection and your neat painters. This is our third house painting with you. Everyone was great and my house is beautiful.

It is such a pleasure to engage was a service provider who provides “best in class” service. That is not always the norm. Thanks so much for a job well done!

What we really appreciate about Kenneth Axt Painting Contractors is they are efficient, prompt, and do quality work.

Carpentry or painting projects? Want top professional, cost-effective, excellent workmanship?  

Find out why Kenneth Axt Painting Contractors has been one of Roswell, Alpharetta Home Reports “Best Pick”. We did and highly recommend Kenneth’s company. They did a great job, keeping us fully informed of the progress at all times.

Very professional. Exceeded my expectations. We could not be happier.

Thank you for outstanding work on our home. You were the best company that we have done business with, and we appreciate your special effort for us.

Kenneth Axt Painting Contractors has been your professional painter of fine homes for over 40 years with the experience that makes the difference.

We take pride in providing a professional painting experience from the time you call our office for an estimate to the finished job.  Kenneth and his brother, David, design detailed estimates which are left with you the same day.

Our focus is residential painting. We have found that we connect best with quality oriented clients.

We provide free of charge, the services of our color consultant to assist you in choosing just the right color to achieve best curb appeal.  You can count on us using the highest quality of materials on your project. Our commitment to you is to provide you a very thorough and detailed estimate that results in a finished product that is done correctly.

At Kenneth Axt Painting Contractors, we stress fairness and honesty with our clients.

Values and benefits for you!

Free color consultation by Marcie, our color consultant.

Free estimates given by David Axt & Kenneth Axt.

Free thorough inspection and estimate of your carpentry needs.

Free inspection and estimate of your painting needs.

We are fully insured for your safety. Workers compensation and general liability.

Friendly, helpful office staff to assist you.

Available to answer your questions.

Exceptional caulking preparation.

We use only the highest quality Sherwin-Williams products.

We provide you with peace of mind service. 

There is no deposit or upfront money.

A 10 Year Warranty is available.

On-site inspections as job progresses.

We specialize in carpentry repairs and painting.

Gutters and downspouts.

Expert carpentry repairs.

/by

What is the best time of year to paint in Atlanta?

What is considered the best season would be approximately from March 1 through December 1.

In Atlanta you can paint all year round.  Even through the winter the majority of the days are mild enough to paint.

During the summer it is best to avoid 95 degrees and above.  Painting contractors will generally start, on hot days, in the morning on the sunny side of the house.  Then by afternoon as the temperature increases they will work the shady side of the hose.  It is best not to work in the direct sun because it reduces productivity and is, of course, uncomfortable, and the paint will tack up quickly when brushing.

Can you paint in the winter in Atlanta?

Yes, there are many mild days through the winter months.  Usually painting contractors will pick weather windows from 10am to 3pm.  This allows the temperature in the morning to warm the surface and allow the paint to dry before the evening dew comes.

Generally they would start on the sunny side of the house in the morning and then follow the sun throughout the day and finish on the sunny side in the afternoon.

A good guideline is to start when the temperature reaches 40 degrees and to stop painting when it begins in the afternoon to drop below 40 degrees.

If you paint too late in the day and the evening dew settles on horizontal surfaces before the paint is dry, you will lose the gloss of the paint.  The next morning after drying, the surfaces can be repainted.

There are several Sherwin-Williams top-of-the-line paints that allow you to paint at 35 degrees.

Can you paint during pollen season?

You can actually paint straight through the pollen season.  The heavy pollen season is generally from April 1 through May 15

You have probably never seen pollen in a painted surface.  Pollen through this season has many days of very light pollen and a number of days when there is heavy pollen.  Even on the heaviest pollen days the acrylic paint dries so quickly that there is no effect from the pollen falling.

The pollen will lay on the surface but not impregnate the paint.  The simple solution is to just rinse lightly with a garden hose at the end of the day or to wait for the first rain to rinse it off.

The exceptions to painting in heavy pollen would be when coating decks with oil base stain and doors that are varnished with an oil varnish.  Also wrought iron railings done with oil base paint.

/by

Is PVC a good material to replace rotten wood on a house?

PVC is an excellent material to use to replace rotten wood.  It is impervious to weather and it accepts paint very well and does not shrink or swell.

Is Hardy Plank siding long-lasting?

Hardy Plank siding is an excellent product and last for years and years.  Hardy Trim is also made and is used extensively for wood replacement.  Again, another excellent product.  Hardy Siding and Hardy Trim is a cementitious-based product that weathers very well.  The use of these materials and other permanent materials is state of the art carpentry.  It is a disservice to a client to use wood products which are subject to rotting again.  Yes the material costs a bit more but the alternative is constantly replacing rotted wood.

Is brushing my house better than spraying?

Spraying of siding produces an almost perfect finish.  It is similar to the difference between spraying a car or brushing your car as far as the finished look.  Most siding is perfect for spraying.  The exceptions are siding that has texture or has small pores in the wood.  These surfaces can be sprayed but must be back brushed to work the paint into the small pores and the texture.  Stucco is perfect for spraying except it must be back rolled to get the paint into the texture.  Trim is best sprayed and back brushed so that any small cracks are filled with paint.  Spraying a smooth surface or a surface with no porosity or texture will last just as long as a brushed surface.  A spray gun is not able to force the paint into small pores and into heavy texture, there is a static tension on the surface of the paint that must be broken mechanically with a brush.  It is like the meniscus on a glass of water.  Another advantage of spraying is it takes approximately 30% more paint because the coating is thicker than a brush coating.  A spray coating is about 1.1 mills thick as opposed to a brush coating which is about .7 mills thick.  It actually takes two brush coats of paint to perform for the same number of years that a good spray coating on the appropriate siding or surface does.

Cedar siding, stucco, most wood siding require the spray coating to be back brushed while it is wet.  This method of spraying and back brushing or back rolling is excellent because the spray gun will apply more paint and a brush or roller and will also get the paint worked into the texture.  It is also a faster process than just brushing or just rolling and therefore will save you money.  The general guideline is a surface can be sprayed if there are no cracks, pores or texture.

Please call or email us if we can help with any questions.

Phone 770-928-8700

Email: kennethaxtpainting@gmail.com

/by

How do I find a good painting contractor?

Let me offer you some guidance on what you should be looking for. You should be looking for an experienced contractor that has learned from his mistakes.

There are three things to look for:

First is the level of expertise. Does he know how to do the job professionally?

Secondly, is he telling me the truth or is he more interested in money than doing a good job?

Third, and this is where your instincts come in, Do I feel safe with him, do I like him?

At Kenneth Axt Painting Contractors, we have over 40 years of experience specializing in residential repaints and carpentry.

For the last consecutive 16 years Home Reports research has selected us as a “Best Pick” painting contractor.

We run the company on principles. These are old school principals most of us learned in kindergarten and they are; telling the truth to people. Being fair in all situations. Going the extra mile and putting the needs of other people first. Really, just simple kindness and friendliness.

I believe that as you peruse our website you’ll come away with the conclusion that we are honest, fair and use those guiding principles.

Actually our primary goal is not to make money. It’s actually a secondary goal. We found that if you focus on the principles the money just seems to follow.

We are a family run business and we’ve put our name on it.

We are specialists in residential painting and carpentry. The estimates that we give our actually more of an inspection than a quick painting quote.

We are looking for three things while we give the estimate. One, is to solve the existing problems.  Secondly, to correct future problems and thirdly to identify all the carpentry issues.

What is the very best paint to use for painting a house?

We use almost exclusively the top-of-the-line paints by Sherwin-Williams. As far as materials it is important to use the very best paint, the very best primer, and the very best caulk. You don’t want to have a weak link in the chain.

We also offer a free color consultation by our decorator so that you get great curb appeal.

Lastly we back up our work with a 10 year warranty.

We feel that you can feel good about using us and recommending us to your friends knowing that they will be very safe in our care.

/by

How often should I have my house pressure washed?

This depends on whether the house has mildew beginning to grow.

If the quality of the paint is good you may not need to pressure wash until the next paint job.

If the house mildews in the fourth or fifth year it’s because the paint is breaking down. If you wash the house at this point it will only last about one year before the mildew begins to return. It’s probably a good time to think about painting again.

If your house has had good paint which contains a quality mildewcide you should be able to go eight or ten years depending on the sun and shading of the house.

It is best not to wash your house every year. The reason to wash a house is if it becomes dirty or has accumulated mildew. It’s a rare occurrence to have a significant accumulation of dirt unless there is new construction nearby. So mildew accumulation is generally the only reason to wash a house.

Traditionally you pressure wash your house using bleach. Sometimes you choose an additive that is designed to mix with bleach to help clean the surfaces. This process is slightly corrosive. It will break down minutely the paint film, and accelerate any potential rust almost immediately ( nail heads and galvanized gutters and other, ferrous metal surfaces.)

How should I maintain my house in between paint jobs?

You should rinse the sofits and areas that do not get washed by rain with a garden hose each spring. This will help dissolve salts that crystallize as humid surfaces evaporate.

Dissolving the salts helps reduce dirt buildup.

You might elect to paint the gutters which after 4 to 5 years, they  usually have black streaks as result of debris accumulating in the gutters and run over after a heavy rain  (the factory finish is usually wearing thin).  Sometimes these stains are from mineral stains from water that’s sitting on top of the gutter edge or from inside the gutter.

Maintenance painting of certain areas of the house might be needed. For example first floor window sills, porch handrails, stair cases and fascia boards that are exposed more to weather than other parts of the home.

/by

How is a carpentry inspection done?

How do you inspect for carpentry?

A good and thorough carpentry estimate and inspection requires two things attention to detail and to take the time to do it correctly.

A good carpentry inspection is done by physically touching all the areas of the house.

We check the soffits, fascia boards, the fascia corners, the corner boards, the window trim, window sash, doors, door frames, pediments, shutters, band boards, porch ceilings, porch rail systems, spindles, columns, siding, chimney cap,  frames, louvered vents, etc.

We make a detailed list of the particular pieces that need to be replaced and the location on the house of these pieces.

It is important to catch all the carpentry before the house is painted otherwise you will be doing carpentry and painting again the following year.

The reason for the physical inspection is that you actually have to touch a piece of trim of siding to actually see if it solid. Sometimes you can touch a brick molding of the window that looks solid and sound but is soft and rotten and hollow inside. These areas cannot be detected with a visual inspection.

Wood that is used in homes over the past 25 years is wide grain pine. Because the grain is so wide and porous this wood has a tendency to absorb moisture readily and rot quickly.

Older homes were built with a tight grain pine and were much less susceptible to the absorption of moisture and therefore did not rot quickly, if at all.

The difference between wide grain pine and tight grain pine is that the newer pine was planted and harvested therefore it grew with lots of space around the tree which allowed for quick growth. The sun and the rain accelerated growth because it was not crowded by other trees. The older pine grew in its natural state with other trees crowding it and therefore grew very slowly and the grain was very tight. When you cut a tree down and you look at the stump and count the rings you will notice on the old pine that the rings are very tight and on the new trees the rings are very wide and porous.

A detailed physical carpentry estimate takes approximately an hour to an hour and a half to complete correctly.

We feel it is a dis-service to our clients to overlook and miss carpentry items that will cause them a problem down the road.

/by

How do you pressure wash a house?  

You need to have a pressure washer that has 3500 to 4000 psi. and 50 feet of pressure washing hose. A long wand attached to the end of the pressure washing gun is helpful, and an assortment of tips. A 5 gallon bucket, eye goggles to protect your eyes and a hat is also helpful.

How do you soft wash a house?

The difference between pressure washing a house and doing a “soft wash” is that when pressure washing you will use pressure up close on the siding or surfaces that are being cleaned.  Soft washing a house on the other hand, is a gentle rinsing procedure that uses low pressure on the surfaces.

When pressure washing the house the pressure of the water, up close to the surface, may force water up underneath siding or through windows or doors.

Soft washing helps eliminate the concerns about excessive water pressure getting into the house.

Pressure washing the house is usually done off of ladders. Soft washing the house is done from the ground and does not require ladders. When soft washing the house we only use two tips.  One is a wide bleaching tip that has a fan width of 4 to 5 feet and also a bleaching tip that produces a stream that reaches about 30 feet high.  When you add an extension pole to the end of the pressure washing gun and also the height of the person doing the pressure washing you gently can reach a 40 foot height relatively easily. Also if you pull and release the trigger quickly you can shoote the stream another five or 10 feet higher.

How do I prepare my house for pressure washing?

The first thing to do is remove porch furniture or cover the furniture with plastic to protect it from bleach. Next, remove potted flowers away from the house. Then release all the screen clips from the inside of the house and remove the screens. It’s a good idea to pencil the numbers of the screens,  counting from left to right on the front,  and counting left to right on the right side, back and left side of the house this enables you to place the screens back on the appropriate windows.  If you have a front door that is a stained door it is a good idea to cover it and tape it with blue tape and plastic so that no bleach and water get on the surface. All other doors of the house should be taped at the door jamb and at the sill . If the varnish is sound it generally will not affect the door, but if it’s weathered the bleach will lighten the wood in these weathered areas.

It’s usually good to wash one side of the house at a time.  The bleach acts very quickly, usually 10 minutes or less. The first step is to use the pressure washer with the large bleaching tip to rinse the shrubbery it is near the house. The next up is to begin the bleach running through the injector of the pressure washer and start at the bottom and begin to bleach the house with this large pressure washing tip. Work your way up to the house to the overhangs.  Allow the bleach to run out of the line and clear water starts to flow and begin the rinsing process. Start at the top and flood the surface from the overhangs all away down with clear water. When you’re finished rinsing the whole side go back one more time and do just the windows with a final rinse. The final step is to rinse the shrubbery a last time with clear water. Proceed to the next side of the house and repeat the process.

If you have a deck that is stained you need to rinse the whole deck with bleach and water so that it cleans evenly.  Then rinse the whole deck with clear water.

Again this is all soft wash process and no significant pressure has been used on the house.

There are surfaces that sometimes need to have some pressure in order to remove dirt or chalky paint. Be careful when using pressure around the doors and the windows so the water is not forced into the house.

For more information or answers to your painting questions, please email us at kennethaxtpainting@gmail.com

/by

How do I caulk the exterior of my house?

The places on the exterior of the house that need careful caulking would be the fascia board joints of the overhang. Particularly at the corners where they are mitered together. Also any butt joints and joints at the peak of diagonal fascia boards.  The next place would be the soffits or the plywood underneath the overhang at the joints where they meet the fascia and the siding. The caulk around all windows and doors on all sides should be checked for cracks and missing caulk.  The bases of columns, the top of shutters, joints of the rail systems, and the panels of bay windows.

It’s important to caulk the door sill and around the frame of the door at the sill to prevent water intrusion.

Above windows that are set into a brick wall there is a lintel or a metal beam above the window to hold up the brick. These should be caulked where the lintel meets the wood casement or frame of the window. Do not caulk the front edge of the lintel at the brick as this must be allowed to weep any moisture from the brick. Also, where the siding meets corner boards and corner board joints.  Another critical place is where the siding butts together in the middle of the wall. These siding joints can be caulked successfully if the gap is wide enough for the caulk to get into the crack. If the siding joint is so tight that the caulk only bridges the gap it may split again. Sometimes the old caulk in the siding joint is cracked and you need to cut the old caulk out with a razor knife. This allows for the caulk to get in and fill the gap correctly. 

Basically any crack on the exterior of the house should be filled. Exceptions to this would be underneath the bottom edge of siding and the front edge of the lintels as discussed above.

How do I cut a caulk tube? 

You want to cut the tube tip at approximately a 45° angle. Then take a long nail and insert it through the tip of the tube to break the seal. The hole should be about 3/16 of an inch for most caulking joints.

Caulking on the exterior siding joints at the corner board if done carefully, does not need to be smoothed with a finger. Most other areas were caulk is necessary should be lightly smoothed with your finger. If the hole in the tube is too large you will find yourself removing an excessive amount of caulk. Cut the next tube smaller and you will have less removal of excess caulk.

Do I have to remove all the old caulk on the exterior of my house before I apply new caulk?

The basic guideline is if the caulk is just split and is still functional and is difficult to remove do not remove the old caulk .Simply caulk the split that has occurred. The goal is to keep water out of the joint. If the caulk can be removed easily and will strip out by just pulling it then remove that section of caulk.

What’s the best caulk to use on the exterior of my house?

Use a high-quality acrylic caulk for most applications. Sherwin-Williams have two products we consider to be excellent. Storm Blaster and Proflex caulk are among the longest lasting. You can get Proflex in either white or clear. The clear caulk is great around brick and stone. These caulks have great longevity and remain flexible throughout their lifetime.

How do I caulk trim inside my house?

Use a caulk tube tip that has been cut at a 45° angle with a small hole about the size of a BB. After applying 3 to 5 feet use a wet rag to wipe off all the excess leaving the crack filled and no excess caulk showing.

How do I seal the inside of my leaking gutters?

You can use Proflex caulk inside your gutters to seal the end caps and the miter joints.

/by

How can I tell when my house needs painting?

Does my house need painting?

The indicators will be mildew starting to appear on the painted surfaces.  If you have the house pressure washed and cleaned and the mildew comes back in six months, you are probably ready to be repainted.

Once the coating has weathered for a number of years the mildew resistance is diminished.  A new coating of quality paint with a good mildew ide will help it to last longer before mildew appears again.  Mildew will eventually grow on any surface but the reoccurrence can be lengthened by using the high-quality paint with a mildewcide additive.

Another indicator is when you begin to see a number of areas of rotten wood.  This would indicate that there is caulk that is cracked or split and the water intrusion is beginning.

Also, when the first floor window sills begin to peel.  The reason the first floor window sills will peel first is that they are not shielded by the overhangs as well as the second floor windows from weathering from rain and the sun.

Of course, color fade and paint that is chalking are obvious indicators.  Usually color fade is first noticeable on the front shutters.

How often should I paint my house?

How long should my paint job last?

Most homeowners have a tendency to let the house go too long before repainting.  This usually causes more expense in preparation and in more carpentry required for rotten wood than normal.

Generally with lower quality paint you would expect about five years out of your painting.  With high-quality paint you should expect eight years or more.  It is not uncommon for a quality paint job to last up to ten years or longer.  Depending on how the home is positioned in relation to the sun.

The indicators that you should repaint are when you begin to observe heavier mildew buildup, a number of rotten wood areas, when the first floor window sills begin to peel, color fading, chalking paint and numerous areas of split caulk.

How do you paint a house to last longer?

The key to longevity in painting a house has a number of factors.  The house should be pressure washed to remove any mildew and residual dirt so the mildew doesn’t grown under the new coating as this usually results in peeling paint.  The prep work, of course, is important.  That means that peeling paint areas are scraped or sanded to remove the loose and peeling paint.  This means the edges of the peeling paint need to be scraped back tight toward the existing solid paint so that no loose edges remain.  Caulking is critical to prevent intrusion of water that causes rotting and swelling.  Another factor is the quality of the paint.  Use the highest quality paint always.  The failure of most premature painting jobs is the neglect to use the highest quality materials across the board.  This means not only the highest quality paint but also the highest quality caulk, the highest quality putty, glazing and the highest quality primers.

There are also specific paints to be used for sundry items around the house.  These would be metal roofs that require a special metal paint that last twice as long as house paint. (Due to direct exposure horizontally to the sun and rain.)  Also, iron rails require a high quality rust primer and a finish coat of high gloss oil base metal paint.  Chimney caps which are faded require  

If anyone of these items is lower quality it causes the weak link in the chain and affects the overall longevity of the painting.

What painting company has a reputation for the longest lasting house painting?

Kenneth Axt Painting Contractors have a reputation for the longest lasting house painting jobs.  They have a 10 Year Warranty and Maintenance Plan that allows their clients homes great longevity.

What is the longest lasting house paint?

We recommend Sherwin-Williams Duration Satin for great longevity.  The satin finish last longer than flat finishes.  Using gloss paint will cause eye catching discrepancies in the quality of the wood surfaces.  Duration Satin is used on trim and siding.

Most leading paint manufacturers have a top-of-the-line paint that is safe to use.  The reason we recommend Sherwin-Williams is that we have observed their products for over 40 years and can attest to the longevity as we go back and repaint our clients homes.  Sherwin-Williams is the largest paint company in the world and has state-of-the-art research and development laboratories.  It brings great peace of mind to know they produce high-quality paint.

/by

Pressure Washing FAQs

Does pressure washing a house with bleach hurt my flowers and shrubs?

Generally if the shrubs are rinsed with clear water before and after bleaching there is no damage to trees or shrubs.  Flowers will be nipped and turn brown. This generally does not kill the flower but just the delicate petals. Shrubbery is rarely affected by bleaching except for current new growth.

Should I use bleach when pressure washing a house?

Sodium hypo chlorite is the basic ingredient of bleach. It is necessary to kill mildew. When used as a ratio of 1 to 15 or 1 to 12  bleach will kill all the mildew and algae on the house.

What are those dark stains on my asphalt roof?

My roof looks like it has mildew.

Actually the dark stains on asphalt shingle on your roof is not mildew, it is a “blue-green algae” and requires another cleaning product to remove it.

It is generally a job left for professionals because it needs to be done from the roof using hook ladders over the peak. The chemical used is an “asphalt roof cleaner”.

This cleaner mixed with water is very effective but also slippery when stepped on. The solution is applied with either a pump up bottle or with a pressure washer at very low pressure. It is then rinsed from the crown of the roof gently down toward the gutters applying minimal pressure. Basically it’s a gentle rinse like a heavy rain. Caution should be taken not to use pressure because it may result in removing some of the grains of the asphalt shingle. This of course reduces the life of your roof. The process gives you a nearly new looking roof again.

/by