A Winter Spare the Air Alert has been issued for Tuesday, December 20, and Wednesday, December 21, in the Bay Area.

Wood burning is banned both indoors and outdoors on Tuesday, December 20, and Wednesday, December 21, for the full 48 hours.

Air quality in the Bay Area is forecast to be unhealthy. It is illegal for Bay Area residents to burn wood or other solid fuels in fireplaces, wood stoves and inserts, pellet stoves, outdoor fire-pits, or other wood-burning devices.  This wood-burning ban will be in effect for Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, southern Sonoma and southwestern Solano Counties. (Visit www.sparetheair.org/Stay-Informed/Todays-Air-Quality/Reporting-Zones.aspx to see if your city is located within the Air District.)

Winter air pollution is mainly caused by particulates or soot pollution from wood smoke. Smoke from wood-burning fires is linked to illnesses such as asthma, bronchitis and lung disease, and is especially harmful for children and the elderly.

For more information about the Wood Burning Rule, or to check before you burn, visit www.sparetheair.org or call 1-877-4NO-BURN. 

You can also call 1-800-430-1515 and register to receive automatic phone calls when a Winter Spare the Air Alert has been called.

To see the current air quality forecast visit www.sparetheair.org.

Download our FREE Spare the Air iPhone/Android application for alert notifications, local air quality forecasts, podcasts and several tools to help reduce air pollution.

Thank you for doing your part to Spare the Air!

Recently Finish Cabinet Project in Petaluma, See the before, during and after photos

Tip from our color consultant, Julie Crawford,

Trying to pick a color for the exterior of your home and not quite sure where to start???  Take at look at your roof color and that should point you in the general direction.  Neighboring houses on each side and landscape can also help you to narrow it down.  The color of window framing can play an important role in trim choice as well as your base color.  For an unexpected pop of color try something fun on your front door and remember, red is not the only choice!  Most of all be sure to get colors and test them in different exposures, the color you thought was dark may soften greatly in the full sun.  

Julie Crawford Design.

Finished exterior project in Napa

Finished Exterior Project in Napa, See more photos of this project and other projects in our portfolio at:

http://larsonbrospainting.com/lbp-porfolio/

Sherwin Williams Color Visualizer

Our Friends over at Sherwin WIlliams recently told us about a new tool they have available. Use this tool to look at different pictures of your home with new colors, and get ideas! Then, let us know and we will paint them!

https://www.sherwin-williams.com/visualizer/?WT.ac=%2Fhomeowners%2Fcolor%2Ffind-and-explore-colors%2F+LN1+%2Fvisualizer%2F#/active

Tip from our Color Consultant, Julie Crawford

Tips for color.

"Found a color you just love but when you test it out it seems too dark or too light? Try increasing the formula by 50%, or decreasing for a lighter, softer version. The 50% will slightly adjust the depth of the color, without actually changing it. It's the perfect way to achieve your color your way!"

 -Julie Crawford Design

Finished Commercial Apartment Project for Napa Valley Community Housing

Finished pictures of the Pecan Ct Apartments project we finished for Napa Valley Community Housing

See more pictures for this project and other projects on our portfolio at:

http://larsonbrospainting.com/lbp-porfolio/

How to Choose the Right Sheen

We spend a lot of time picking the right color, but choosing the right sheen is just as important.  Here's a couple of suggestions for choosing the right sheen for your project:

The Most Common Sheens:

Flat

 Recommended for interior level 5 smooth wall and slightly imperfect smooth wall.  Also good for ceilings or inconsistent areas.  Because there is no sheen, the light won’t reflect off of the inconsistencies or patches and so it will hide them much better than any sheen.

Low Sheen 

 Is the most common exterior sheen.  It sits between flat and eggshell and offers a little more protection than flat, but does have a noticeable sheen. 

Eggshell 

Generally used on interiors and available in all interior products.  It works well for bathrooms and kitchens. 

Semi-Gloss 

High sheen, generally used on trim, doors and cabinets and occasionally in kitchens and bathrooms, especially if there is little to no ventilation.

General Tips to keep in mind

• ·       More sheen = more UV protection on exteriors, and the more sheen you use on an interior, the longer it will stay scrubbable.
• ·       Less sheen = better hiding.  Using a flat shows a lot less imperfections over the surface.
• ·       More Sheen = Longer color retention.  Because sheen gives more UV protection, the colors will fade less.
• ·       Make sure to use Semi-Gloss on areas that get handled more (i.e. Doors, baseboards, cabinets, etc…)

5 Ways to make sure your Exterior Paint job Lasts as long as possible:

Your home is a lot like your car, if you don’t keep it clean then the paint may fail much faster than intended. Here’s a few tips to make sure your painting investment lasts as long as possible!

1) Pressure wash Once a year (Or every other year).

Have the house pressure washed once a year to clean off dirt building on the siding and trim. The longer the dirt stands there, the more harm it can do to the paint job.

2) Treat mildew.

Most exterior paints have a mildewcide built right into the product, so if you recently had your home painted then it shouldn’t be an issue. As the paint ages, it’s good to keep an eye on the it (Especially on the shaded sides of your home) to make sure that you treat mildew before it starts to eat away at the paintcoating. Make sure to check the labels: don’t use any cleaners that contain amonia. (Caution: Bleach may fade the exterior colors, so use with caution and.)

3) Check Caulking and spackle.

The old saying goes: “Caulking and spackle won’t hold the house together.” Keep up on the exterior caulking and take a quick look around the house once a year to see if any of the caulking or spackle has cracked. Caulking is elastic, but it can only stretch so far, and if your house is settling, it will probably crack the caulking in some areas. By keeping on top of the caulking on your home, you can prevent expensive projects that require dry rot replacement and prevenet water damage. If your looking for a good caulking to use, we suggest using DAP Powerpoint 230, or “Big Stretch” caulking.

4) Touch ups.

Once a year, have touch ups done over areas that get more sun, and over the places that tend to settle more. If you do make any additions, or add new wood anywhere, make sure that it’s primed and painted right away to seal it from moisture. There should not be any bare wood on your home. If you add in a deck or railing, seal it right away (Well, not right away, with new wood, you generally want to wait a few weeks for the wood to off gas before staining), but once it has sat for the lumber providers specified time frame, seal it. If you want to keep the bare wood look, use a “natural stain”. This won’t add any color to the wood.

Extra Note for homes:  If you own an older home, go easy with the pressure washer to make sure you don't disturb the older layers of paint and you may want to check the house 2 times a year for any issues or movement because older homes tend to have more maintenance.

Finished Exterior Project in Petaluma

After a lot of scraping and sanding, and a full coat of primer the house looks great!

After

Before

3 Painting Projects to get done Before the Holidays

Halloween’s over and the Holidays are coming up fast.  What should you do to make your home ready for guests and the new year?

1                                                              Click here to go to our website

    1)      Paint baseboards.  Baseboards sit at ground level, so they get kicked, splashed and all of the dirt from around the floors tends to accumulate on them.  You can try first to clean them off with a damp cloth, or a very weak cleaning product.  If they don’t clean up then it is time to paint!  

    2)       Is it time to Paint the doors? Doors get the most use out of anything in your home and coincidentally usually also have the most wear on them.  Again, try and clean them and if that doesn’t work (Most scuffs and scrapes won’t come out with a cleaning) then it’s time to paint!

    3)      Are the cabinets outdated or is the paint wearing out?  When you go out for a family trip this holiday, this might be the best time to get the work done

Larson Bros in the Sonoma Index Tribune - "Movers and Shakers"

       The Owners of Larson Bros Painting were recently featured in the Sonoma Index Tribune.  You can take a look and read the full article here:

See the Full article here "Movers and Shakers"

Larson Bros in the Napa Register - "Small Business Owner Paints the Town"

        The CEO of Larson Bros Painting, Jesse Larson, was featured in the Napa Register this year.  Take a look and learn a little more about him.

Click Here to see the full article in the Napa Register