WHY YOU HIRE A LISCENCED CONTRACTOR
* Licensed contractors are bonded and insured.
* Licensed contractors carry insurance to cover their liability and their employees while on a private property.
* A property owner can file a complaint with the State of Arizona’s Registrar of Contractors. Disciplinary action can be taken against the contractor if they fail to perform corrective measures.
* Homeowners may have access, up to $30,000, to the Residential Contractor’s Recovery Fund, if a contractor is unable to correct the problem.
* Licensed contractors are responsible in supporting the local community they work and live in, by paying their income, social security, and sales taxes, as required by federal, state, and local authorities.
WHY YOU HIRE AN EXPERIENCED CONTRACTOR
Studies indicate that nine out of ten contractors go out of business within ten years. A contractor who has been in business for more than ten years will have experienced millions of dollars worth of service work under warrantee. Experienced contractors will have a proven system of managing contracts, acquiring the best team members, and following through with their commitments.
WATERPROOFING
God made stone with intense heat and pressure.
Bricks, concrete, and integral colored stucco, are not stone and are susceptible to water ingress.
A common sight after a long rain storm is saturated brick and adobe walls. As the sun hits the walls, the moisture turns to vapor, drawing more moisture along with minerals to the surface. The substrate will slowly degrade with the loss of minerals, the ingress of atmospheric gases, and the freeze/ thaw cycles of moisture. This same process occurs when water gets under painted surfaces.
The procedure for water repellency requires the wall to be saturated, in one application only. A typical gallon of quality water repellant is the same price as a gallon of quality exterior paint, but must be applied at three to four times the rate. Don’t be sold short on the product; make sure the contractors bidding on job specify, in their contract, the amount of material to be used.
PAINT COATINGS
In the Southwest, the life of a sacrificial coating is based on its thickness and ability to withstand the spectrum of energy emitting from the sun. Since paint oxidizes from exposure to these different waves of energy, the coating thickness is reduced over time, resulting in an increasing susceptibility to failure. Generally, the more coating applied, the longer the lifespan.
It is important for a contractor to specify, in the contract, how much material will be applied. This allows the owner to compare ‘apples to apples,’ when considering the project, and determine the length of interval between recoats. The typical cost of materials is twenty-five to thirty percent of the total contract price for an exterior painting project. A twelve to fifteen percent difference between competing bids, could be the difference in applying half of the amount of material.
ELASTOMERIC COATINGS
Elastomerics are considerably more elastic and thicker than conventional paint coatings. They are most effective where temperature extremes exist and where there is significant cracks and thermal expansion. It is applied at four times the rate of conventional house paint. Make sure the contractors bidding on the job specify, in their contract, the amount of material to be used.
It is very important that walls and roofs are properly prepared prior to the application of these heavy-bodied coatings. It may not be the appropriate material in some circumstances. An experienced contractor will be able to determine which product best suits a customer’s needs, and how to avoid problems which could occur in the future.
PROTECTING EXTERIOR WOOD
Dry wood is similar to a sponge, and if there is a source of water, the wood will soak up the water until it becomes saturated. If you can prevent the wood from soaking up the water you will prevent living organisms from feeding on it. This is accomplished by saturating the wood with a preservative that will repel water. Different from painting wood, applying a preservative requires more material, and is applied in one continuous coat, to achieve proper protection. Make sure the contractor bidding on the project knows the proper method for preparing the wood and the technique for applying the preservative.