Home improvement guide: advice from a Katy painter

Color choice is a big consideration. If you’re going to do an exterior color change, you have to get approval [from the homeowner's association], which can take [from] 24 to 48 hours to several weeks. Quality of paint is another factor [to consider] before getting started. Something that’s often overlooked is sheen, [known as] the shininess to the finish. Sheen makes it easier for the wall to be cleaned. Depending on the house, it can take a day or more to finish a painting project.

How do you help customers find quality paint?

We use whatever paint the homeowners would like. We will go through the purpose of the painting project and ask them questions like ‘do you plan on staying in the house long-term?’, ‘what’s your budget?’, and ‘do you have small children that might make a mess on the walls?’ to help determine what quality of paint is best.

When is it better for a painting company to paint a house rather than the homeowner?

It depends on the skill-sets of the homeowners and the tools they have. Some homeowners are extremely handy and enjoy that type of thing and have the tools to be able to do it.

What have been some painting trends you noticed?

For interiors, we’ve seen a cycle going from gray colors to more neutral colors. Now we’re going back to the grays. For exterior paints, there's better quality paint that is coming out. For instance, there’s an emerald paint by Sherwin-Williams that cleans off mildew and dust every time it rains.

5608 5th Street, Katy. 346-257-2982. certapro.com/katy-tx/