Product Evaluation
Koontz - I had a nice visit this weekend with an old friend who lives in Northern California now. A place I'm told that actually gets snow! She mentioned that the exterior of her house is stained cedar and it requires re-staining every five years. In an effort to minimize maintenance, she'd like to paint the exterior, because as she remembers, a good paint job can last as long as twenty years.
Welcome to the Twenty-first century in California. A good paint job on the exterior of a house, especially one exposed to serious elements; be they wet or dry, no longer has the life-span our parent's homes' enjoyed. Paint formulas have changed due to research and environmental concerns and the longevity, so far, is not what it use to be. The same is true for wood stains and interior paints.
I'm all for "green" building and I don't have a problem with the changes to effect less toxic materials. One hopes it's better for the land, the builder and the inhabitants. But clients need to be aware that the changes have occurred and that means there's a little more work involved in maintaining your home. There's also a bit more responbibility laid on the client to make informed choices regarding materials.
In my trade publications there's always a product that is new to me, and they often make great claims as to their durability. To my mind, many of these products haven't been around long enough to back up their claims and I am frankly leary of experimenting with them on my clients. On the other hand, I'm dying to use some of these materials, and if the client really has done their homework and believes this is the product for them-I'm happy to try them out!
The bottom line of all of this is to remind clients that good research and a bit of knowledge on their part will go along way towards acheiving the results they desire.
Welcome to the Twenty-first century in California. A good paint job on the exterior of a house, especially one exposed to serious elements; be they wet or dry, no longer has the life-span our parent's homes' enjoyed. Paint formulas have changed due to research and environmental concerns and the longevity, so far, is not what it use to be. The same is true for wood stains and interior paints.
I'm all for "green" building and I don't have a problem with the changes to effect less toxic materials. One hopes it's better for the land, the builder and the inhabitants. But clients need to be aware that the changes have occurred and that means there's a little more work involved in maintaining your home. There's also a bit more responbibility laid on the client to make informed choices regarding materials.
In my trade publications there's always a product that is new to me, and they often make great claims as to their durability. To my mind, many of these products haven't been around long enough to back up their claims and I am frankly leary of experimenting with them on my clients. On the other hand, I'm dying to use some of these materials, and if the client really has done their homework and believes this is the product for them-I'm happy to try them out!
The bottom line of all of this is to remind clients that good research and a bit of knowledge on their part will go along way towards acheiving the results they desire.
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