High Traffic Areas

Hallways, washrooms, kids’ rooms are not that much different than painting the rest of the house. All the masking is the same, as is the prep work. What makes it different are that some people choose to use a material that will hold up to the dally wear thty make these areas look old fast.

Dogs and cats do a heck of a lot of damage to a house. Understanding what these products look like when they are finished and telling you the homeowner what you can expect is our job as professionals. There are materials that are made just for high traffic areas but of course they come at a cost.

Yes, they will hold up much better and it true that you can clean the walls without leaving marks on them. What we don’t like about these materials is the sheen that is left behind on the walls. The more you paint shines, the more pigment and resin (the bonding agents are in the paint). All paint that has a sheen to it can and will chip or peal; that is why we always suggest to use flat on both exterior and interior walls unless you go with an oil base material.

There are not that many true flat paints anymore. It seems that everyone has gone to at least some sheen. Once again, we are from the old school of painting and flat walls with a low sheen trim looks as classy as it can get. Sheens are harder to paint and every defect in the wall will show more than if you were to use a flat finish.

Aura paint has a matte finish that is somewhere in the middle of flat and a satin finish. These kinds of paints are not designed to stick out as much as a low sheen or an eggshell finish. They do the same job as a low sheen or eggshell, but have a much classier finish to them. A laundry room is a room where it is better to use a heaver sheen like an eggshell or low luster finish, to hold up to the heat and wear that goes on in that room. Ultimately, this is all up to the homeowner. But we think its very important that you understand what it is you are buying and what it will look like when we are finished. That your decisions are as informed as possible.

Samples are cheap compared to repainting so we at fine line painting really take the time to make you the homeowner understand what it is that we are using and why. We can and will take all the time you need to understand what paint should go where and what the final finish will look like.

We look at hundreds of homes a year and you would not believe how many have the wrong paint on the wrong surfaces. We believe we can do better than that; it just takes some extra time and a few dollars and years of experience that just come with doing.