When hiring a painter for your Catskills or Hudson Valley NY home or business safety should come to mind. Ask the painting contractor about safety. Does the painting company have a safety program? Does the painting contractor perform safety meetings with there employees? Does the painter utilize a safety manual? 

Most construction work related injuries and deaths occur from falls. Falls from ladders and scaffolding. 

Kellogg's Painting Company of Leeds, NY 12451 employees are trained on how to safely use each piece of equipment that is used during the operations of painting the interior-exterior of your Catskills and Hudson Valley NY home. Our painting company has a safety program in place. We utilize a safety manual, weekly safety meetings, ladder safety classes, adhere to OSHA and asses any safety concerns of each painting project before starting the project. View our ladder safety certifications and training.

Another safety concern that is sometimes overlooked is lead paint. Older homes in the Catskills and Hudson Valley NY areas have lead paint under numerous layers of latex paint. Lead paint is not only a concern for a painting contractors employees, but it is also a concern for the family whom resides in the home that is being painted. Any painting contractor that is going to be painting six square feet or more of painted surfaces in a room for interior projects, or more than twenty square feet of painted surfaces for exterior projects where lead paint is present must be a EPA Lead Certified Firm with EPA Lead Certified Renovators and follow lead safe working practices. Read more about the Federal Lead Law and View Kellogg's Painting EPA Certified Firm and Certified Renovator Certificates.

Kellogg's Painting Company, Leeds NY 12451 is the first painting contractor to become a PDCA member in the Columbia and Greene County New York area. Our painters set the standard for house painting services in the Catskills, NY. 

The Painting and Decorating Contractors of America (PDCA) is dedicated to the success of painting and decorating contractors, founded in 1884, serving the coatings and wall covering industry. PDCA is recognized and supported by many industry manufacturers and paint suppliers. The focus of the association is the education of its members and the promotion of professionalism within the painting industry. 

PDCA offers many programs for the education of painting contractors, including industry standards, safety, management, technical areas of painting, surface preparation and more. Quality painting and decorating contractors are well educated on the different aspects of any painting project and that knowledge helps eliminate surprises. Excellence in paint application is as important with your selection of a contractor as are the skills to properly manage their business and your project. with standards, education, training, safety, and best practices essential to success.

When hiring a painting company in the Catskills and Hudson Valley, NY area that is a PDCA Member you will be hiring a painting contractor that believes in quality, exceptional customer service and a painting company that is committed to the painting industry.

When is a painting contractor in NYS suppose to charge sales and use tax? A legitimate painting company working in New York will be licensed, have a tax i.d number, have a federal employee i.d number, and have insurance. Ask your potential house painter if he can show you valid proof of all of these. If the painting company can not show you documentation that they are a legal company to work in NY, then do not hire them, as there can be problems down the road.

If you are a non profit organization then you will be tax exempt and not have to pay NYS Sales and Use Tax on your painting project. You will have to show proof to the painting contractor that you are tax exempt and he probably will want to make a copy for his records.

New York State does require that a house painter charges sales and use tax on all materials and labor that is going to be used in a painting/staining/coatings project that is not a capital improvement. Painting the interior-exterior of your N.Y home or business is considered repair, maintenance, and installation services, and these are considered taxable. Any surfaces that are pre-existing and have been coated, painted before are taxable according to NYS Tax guidelines.

A capital improvement project is not taxable. This is usually a new construction building or addition that will be painted and has never been painted before. If you have a capital improvement project you are responsible to provide the painting contractor with proper documentation. Once providing the painter with proper documentation you are not subjected to paying taxes on any interior or exterior painting/staining/coatings that will be applied to that project. If you do not provide the contractor documents the painting company will probably charge you NYS Sales and Use Tax to protect themselves. They will want to also copy your documentation for there records.

When you construct a capital improvement, you don't pay sales tax, but if a job is considered a repair, maintenance, or installation service, you pay sales tax on the total amount for materials, supplies, and labor (unless you furnish a valid exemption certificate).

New York law defines a "capital improvement" as an addition or alteration to real property that:
1. Substantially adds to the property's value or appreciably prolongs its useful life
2. Becomes part of the real property or is permanently affixed to the real property so that removal would cause material damage to the property or the article itself
3. Is intended to become a permanent installation.

Repairs and maintenance involve keeping property in a condition of fitness, efficiency, readiness and/or safety  or restoring it to that condition. Installation means setting up tangible personal property or putting it in place for use.

Always check your painting contractors documents. Make sure they are working legally and charging NYS Sales and Use Tax accordingly.

Every county in New York state has a different sales and use tax rate. Albany County, Columbia County, Green County, and Ulster County are 8%.

Sales and Use Tax, Classifications of Capital Improvements and Repairs to Real Property

Certificate of Capital Improvement

Kellogg's Painting Company provides house painters, custom staining, pressure washing services, and deck restoration contractor to homes and business in the Hudson Valley and Catskills, New York areas.

The least expensive house painter that you can find or DIY may not be the best value and safest way to have the interior of your house painted. when making the decision to paint your homes interior going with the local handyman or hiring a professional house painting contractor there are a few things that you should keep in mind.

 1) Safety comes to my mind first and that should be the most important factor for you and your family. Painting can be hazardous work, whether it’s working on a ladder or dealing with solvents and dust. Hiring a professional contractor means that you can have piece of mind. If your home or business was built before 1978, chances are it contains lead-based paint, which can cause serious health effects when it is scraped or sanded in preparation for repainting. Painters and anyone whom will be disturbing the paint are required by federal law to be an EPA Certified Firm and have a certified renovator. A lead certified painting company will take the appropriate steps to protect you, your family, and their painters from the dangers of lead.

 

2) Proper preparation and quality paint will give you a long lasting paint job. Preparing the surfaces properly makes all the difference. A Professional Painting Contractor knows the value of preparation and will do it right.The choices today are more complicated than just oil or latex base coatings and professional house painters know what works, how to use it, and will have the right tools for the job.

3) Hiring a professional painting company means you don’t have to worry about dealing with paint residues and other leftovers. Professionals will know how to handle any hazardous wastes and any other materials that are left over. They will clean up your home at the end of the project and leave your house looking as if they where never there.

4) Always verify the contractor is licensed and insured. Quality contracting firms will be only too happy to provide you with copies of their certificates of insurance. Not all states and municipalities require licensing however business registration with your state and municipality is generally a minimum requirement.

5) A reputable painting contractor will encourage the use of a written contract. This contract should clearly explain the scope of the work to be performed. It should also cover such items as surfaces to be painted, methods and extent of surface preparation, time schedules for the project, and payment procedures. Knowing the total scope of the work enables you to carefully evaluate the different bids you may receive with the proper information and keep them on a level playing field. The contract serves to protect both you and the contractor.

6) Obtain a list of references from the prospective contractor. This list should include the contact person, address, and telephone number of the previous client. Follow up on this list with a phone call. Be sure to ask whether the contractor and employees treated you professionally and with respect. If possible, try to see the work that was done.

 

7) Discuss any guarantee or warranty programs the contractor may offer. Ask about the manufacturer's warranty on the products to be used on your project. Remember you are looking for long-term durability from the paint job. The use of high quality products is as important as the selection and performance of the contractor. Verifying references will provide a return on your project investment.

 

Kellogg's Painting Company has more tips when selecting a professional house painter for your New York homes interior painting needs.

 

 

 

 

One of the newest House Painting Forum -s is now available to all homeowners, painters, painting contractors, builders, Insurance professionals, SEO, software and computer experts, coming together in one place, collaborating, in the house painting industry, for a down to earth, homeowner friendly community. Some major differences with the Painting Forum and similar forums, the owner here has more in place, benefiting all who join. Brand new to the web, the Painting Forum has high hopes giving back to the net, current, and valid information for the house painting industry, and for all of those who seek answers to questions.

Most forums of many topics, have a limit of characters in the signature. This is where targeted keywords can be hyper linked, helping that website or blog ranking higher in the search engines for that particular keyword or phrase. As a result of normally keeping a character limit to a minimum of 200-250 characters, many forums consider more than 3 text links spam. I don’t agree with this low number, as most top web sites have close to 10 keywords in html meta content, allowing most search engines know what they wish to rank for. In the Painting Forum, a 600 character limit, with a maximum of 10 keywords is acceptable, helping all those who join.

The Painting Forum allows links to blogs, contrary to many other forums.  On the same playing field as many bookmarking sites, the Painting Forum has a forum set aside, solely for others linking painting blog articles,  giving articles a special place, thereby helping the ease of inbound links and comments. Having one place of house painting related blogs acts as a directory also.

Running a house painting business, includes a lot more than just painting the interior or exterior walls and ceilings. The Painting Forum has set aside a special thread for those associated with insurance, website builders, SEO experts, software, sales, marketing, advertising,  safety equipment, and interior decorating experts. Hoping not leaving any area out, there’s more to painting a house than using a brush or roller. Adding other painting related forums as need be. If you can line up yourself with the house painting industry, we look forward seeing you there!

Helping those who have painting questions, the Painting Forum is the place to be, always sharing painting ideas.

Proudly having some of the most knowledgeable painting contractors and most famous painters of twitter, Tom with Kelloggs Painting Company of the Hudson Valley, Catskills & Albany New York areas.  There are decades of combined painting experience, always there helping those with painting questions, we all look forward building a community related to one we enjoy the most.

A big thanks to my friend Cal Phillips, owner of Eco Paint specialist, Inc., a professional Denver house painting contractor. Cal is the creator of this new painting forum and brings years of interior-exterior painting experience. Cal and I collaborate our ideas and thoughts as often as we can and we look forward to sharing them with you.

 

 

 

 

Think Paint. A good first impression helps sell your home

It can't be overstated—when it comes to buying a house, the first impression is everything. If you're selling or
 getting ready to sell in the coming months, one of the easiest and most dramatic ways to enhance that first impression is through paint.

Fresh paint makes your house look clean, bright, and inviting.
"Painting your house's exterior before you put it on the market give the biggest bang for your fix-up buck—if you use colors that conform with your neighborhood's decorating norm," says Eric Tyson and Ray Brown in their book "House Selling for Dummies (Hungry Minds Inc., 1999).
Agents agree that sellers shouldn't take curb appeal lightly, especially when so many buyers are doing their homework and looking at the exterior of houses before they even contact an agent.

"Curb appeal is crucial," said Mary Sheridan, an agent in Silver Spring, Md. "Buyers get a lot of information from the web now and I find that often they have already driven around with a list of addresses and have decided which ones they want to see, giving curb appeal a lot of weight."

If nothing else, paint at least the door, door frame, and foyer or first room the would-be buyers will see.

Paint railings, window frames, trim, and other accents to freshen up the exterior.

Homeowners and buyers place a high value on the painted appearance of a home. Include the date the paint job was completed and the quality of paint that was used.

You can easily paint wood, brick, masonry, aluminum or vynal siding.

The fixed colors—roof color, wood, masonry, and stone.
The surroundings—houses and other buildings in the neighborhood.

And if you don't to paint the whole house, consider an eye-popper like the front door.

"It is very important to have a home looking its best and that starts as soon as a buyer drives up to the home," said Paul Thury, a Connecticut Realtor. "One important tip is to paint the front door if you cannot paint the whole house. This brings a good feeling as you enter the house."
Another important tip is to get all your painting done before potential buyers view the house.

"It is important to have all the repairs and paint done before going on the market," said Julie Nelson, a real estate consultant in Austin, Texas. "You need that bam experience on day one on the market. Anything less than bam and you're just helping the other homes in the neighborhood sell first."

 

Painting your home is a great way to add curb appeal and protect your most valuable investment from the elements, while giving your property a fresh look.

 

You will want to hire the best home painting contractor in your area to keep your property looking it's best. When interviewing the potential house painting contractor, there will be signs pointing to the painters experience.

 

 

 

 

Overall, your home painting contractor should be insured, willing to work with you and fully discuss the project, put all details in writing and provide refrances.