It took less than two days and this little condo was cleaned up and ready to go. When I arrived the walls were white, but looked as though it had been some time since they were last painted. My customer provided the paint and I went to work on the walls, doors and trim. In the end it was a quick job and remarkably affordable, allowing my customer to move in to a clean and fresh-looking space.
I’ve done a lot of projects this summer, but this was one of the best. The house was in dire need of attention as the paint was literally falling off the siding and peeling away from much of the trim on the south and east sides. Moreover, shade from trees and excessive moisture had done much to encourage the growth of mildew on the north facing areas. My solution was to scrape off all the paint flakes and sand and sand. Much of the South and East sides went down to the bare wood. I then coated these sides in their entirety with ICI Gripper primer. THe rest of the house I spot-primed wherever bare wood came exposed. I also washed great portions of the house with 30 Seconds mildew and moss remover, which made short work of removing the growing stuff. I then went to work painting the house in five colours. In the end it came out looking good and was once again well protected from the coastal elements.
A funky little place by the sea, this cottage needed some sprucing up. The old paint was falling off in places and there was much scraping and sanding to do as well as priming before the paint went on.
The whole process took 6 days and now the cottage is revitalized. This one came in under budget too!
I had the occasion to stain and clear-coat a nice maple railing made by Victoria artisan and furniture maker, Kris Hansen. He did an especially nice job of putting it all together and it looked great just as it was, unstained.
Maple is tough to stain as the grain is uneven. Some parts of a piece of maple will accept MUCH more stain than other areas where the grain is tighter. I used varathane wood conditioner, but to be honest, I wasn’t that happy with it. it took longer to dry than the instructions indicated and in the end, didn’t do much to stop the porosity of the softer grain areas. Next time, I think I’ll use a thinned-out varnish instead and perhaps wipe the tighter grain so that the conditioner doesn’t close it up too much.
After that I used Danish Wood Oil as a stain and it brought out the grain nicely. Following that, I clear coated it twice with a clear urathane. All in all, it came out looking good and now, thanks to the clear coat, it is well protected too.
Hello, everyone! Thanks for taking the time to check out the blog. My name is Jeff Rode, owner and operator of Polaris Quality Painting and I thought I would provide a little information about the services Polaris can bring to you. Also, you will find here photos of some of my projects. Not all of my customers want their homes displayed on the web, however, which means photos of some of the most interesting projects are missing. However, there are lots of great examples of my work here; feel free to look through the galleries and mini articles below.
I’ve been a painter for ten years. When the time came for me to go out on my own, I wanted to start a company that focused on quality finishes that not only add beauty, but add value to the building as well. Most homeowners have made a significant investment in their home and for many, the cost of upkeep or renovation is more than they bargained for. My job includes protecting that investment in a way that adds style, colour and durability. And, because my overhead is low, I can offer my services at a price that is hard to beat. Often, I find my quotes come in 10-15% lower than other bids.
I am handy with a spray gun, which makes the work go quickly, but I’m also a big fan of the old fashioned approach to painting, especially when it comes to older and heritage homes. (see “Alpha Lodge” below) Some surfaces are better coated with a simple brush and roller; unfashionable as they might be, they are still the best tools for applying paint to uneven or weathered surfaces. I have two excellent helpers who aid me in the larger projects, guys who really care about doing their job well. This year I am putting out the call to all who would like to save money on quality painting for their Victorian or Edwardian houses – call me for a quote, you may be pleasantly surprised.
But it’s not all heritage homes and old fashioned style – I paint apartments, condos, interiors of all description, businesses, private residences, fences, concrete and driveways, stucco, boats, and anything else that might need an excellent coat of paint. I also do window reglazing, gutter cleaning, power washing, drywall and plaster repair, caulking – the list goes on.
From time to time I work with two contractors – Stillwater Carpentry and Orv Coulter Construction – and an interior designer named Sarah Donald. They are the best in their respective fields that I’ve seen in Victoria, which is why I work with them. If you are in need of a designer or a building contractor, I can recommend these folks as true professionals and great people to work with.
Painting is my life and livelihood- I take it seriously, I take pride in what I do and enjoy knowing that I’ve done somebody right in providing my services. Feel free to look through the rest of this site, the photographic record is growing all the time. And, of course, I am always available to provide you with a free quote. The number is 250 744 0894, or you can email me at jmrode@gmail.com. Thank you for your interest in Polaris Quality Painting. I am looking forward to making your house or business space shine with renewal!
Cheers, Jeff Rode
jmrode@gmail.com
This apartment had some old, funky cupboards that needed some attention. They were made of plywood and particle board, coated with an oil enamel. Though they were sturdy enough, it was apparent that the cupboards had been painted several times, though never well. The oil enamel had been applied in one spotty coat and the previous paint shone through a heavy, orange-peel like texture. Moreover, the cabinet itself had been painted while still dust and there was a lot of texture caused by trapped dirt. The picture above shows how it came out. Bye bye, gross yellow paint.
Many people think that once a surface is painted in oil, it must be recoated in oil, but this is not really true. One can paint acrylics over oil paint by scuffing the surface enough to provide a toothy surface. A thorough and methodical sanding can achieve this, but it’s tedious and time-consuming, to say nothing of the dust. My solution here was to use an oil-based primer, formulated to grip an acrylic top coat. (don’t ask me how this works, but in essence, the primer dries to a fine, toothy surface on the microscopic level, creating lots of negative space on its surface for the acrylic paint to grab hold of.) I sanded the cupboards thoroughly, then, once I’d gotten the sags and bumps out of the old finish, I gave it a good coat of the switchover primer, then left for 24 hours while the primer cured and stunk up the place. Below are some shots of the sanding and priming.
After another quick sanding, I painted the cupboards in Mills Legacy waterborne acrylic. They were soft for a few days, but hardened up to a great finish after about a week. We eliminated the old oil finish, covered up an ugly surface and imported a clean new look all for minimal expense.
Thanks for reading, Jeff.
jmrode@gmail.com
This one was not the most exciting job, and I’m sorry the pics are so lackluster. This was a standard 2-br condo that needed some refreshment. Filling and drywall repair was done with ease and the painting went fast. After two coats of durable Mills paint, the place looked fresh and new. The whole job took three days and cost about $1200. This included filling, sanding, a little bit of priming and two coats of paint. Halfway through painting the unit was sold for an astronomical sum – Ah, the good old days of three months ago!
I like doing jobs like this; condos are one of my specialties. Sure, the heritage homes and business spaces are interesting for the challenges they present, but I started as an apartment painter and have always enjoyed the straight-up nature of this kind of work. Three or four days, then the job is over and the client gets back to his or her life with a minimum of interruption. All in all, it was a low-impact job that yielded great results.
I’ve done a few projects this summer, none so interesting or challenging as the Alpha Lodge in Victoria. It was built in the 1890’s and has been fully renovated in the old style, probably a couple of times. The house contains the offices of Vintage Woodworks, and the owners, Bill Murphy and Jim Stiven have an impressive joinery behind the house where they produce a number of custom – milled wood products, including old-style counterweighted windows. This is definitely the place to go if you are fixing up your heritage home.
The house was in terrible shape when I started – the paint was literally falling off the house in great flakes and the siding and trim was terribly cracked and pitted, dessicated and bleached out by the sun. It needed some extra care. So Bill powerwashed most of the flakes off, then I went to work with my brush. It’s easy to see how the house got this way; heavy traffic on Burnside Road bathes the neighbourhood with exhaust particulate, the heavy diesel mechanic next door adds to the pollution damage. And the Southwest exposure gets full sun for most of the day, intensified by the surrounding concrete and asphalt. That’s what we get for revolving our planet around a giant nuclear explosion.
It may sound crazy, but I ended up painting 95% of the shop and house with a simple paintbrush. It was challenging, to say the least. But The condition of the siding was such that the primer and paint really needed to be pushed into the cracks and crevices to ensure the best coverage. It was a lot of work, but the result was worth the effort. And I was amazed just how much ground I could cover with only a big, speedy brush and some favorable weather. The siding went fast, then things slowed down some as I took on the trim. It took me a month all told, but I am now convinced that the brush method, supported with a little backrolling, is the best approach to painting heritage houses and old dried-out siding in general. The Alpha Lodge came out looking great!
