Questions, answered

A visit where Nereida or Adamaris looks at your light and walls, brings chips and paints sample boards. Before you book it, we tell you in writing what the consult costs and whether it counts toward your paint job.

Most rooms need one wall color plus a white or deeper trim. Most exteriors need a body color, a trim color and sometimes a front door. Our color page shows what each choice means for the job.

Not on its own. A chip is two inches wide and a wall is twelve feet. That is why we paint sample boards and tape them where the color will live, then look at them in morning marine layer, midday sun and lamplight.

A bedroom is often one to two days, a few rooms three to five, and a whole house exterior a week or more. The estimate gives a day range and start times, never a promised date.

Each room or wall, the repairs counted by number, the paint line and sheen, how many coats, how many colors, cleanup, the schedule, the payment schedule and the warranty terms. If a line is missing, ask for it.

Repairs we find after the walls are open, such as hollow stucco or water damage behind trim, and colors added after you sign. We show you each one and price it in writing before we do it.

We move and cover furniture, and we cover floors and plants. Most people stay home. Tell us about pets, a baby's nap or a work-from-home day when you book, and we plan the rooms around them.

Federal EPA rules (the RRP rule) cover paid work that disturbs paint in homes and child-occupied buildings built before 1978. Tell us the year when you call. On those jobs we follow the rule's work practices, and our EPA firm number is in the footer of every page.

Walls usually get primer where needed and two coats. Ceilings are flat, walls matte or eggshell, trim and doors satin or semi-gloss. Each room's sheen is written in your color plan.

We buy it. The estimate names the paint line and sheen for each room, and we give you the product data sheet for any of them on request.

Paint needs a dry surface. On foggy coastal mornings we start later and tell you the day before. If rain is forecast we move the day and say so, and we don't paint over wet stucco.

Washing, scraping loose paint, filling small holes and cracks, caulking, masking and priming bare spots are on the estimate. Large repairs, rot and drywall work are counted and priced separately.

Floors get drop cloths or paper, furniture is moved to the room's center and covered, and plants outside are covered or moved before we wash or paint. We vacuum and wipe down at the end of each day.

The payment schedule is on the written estimate, including what is due before we order paint. You read it before you sign.

Terms, limits and exclusions are in your written warranty. Ask to read it before you sign.

Many do, for exteriors. Check your rules first. We can print your color plan with the names and sheens so you can send it to the board.

Nereida, Nacho and Adamaris. The swatch wall, the color plan and the estimate can all be written in Spanish, English or both.

Ask us for the product data sheet for any paint on your estimate. It gives the maker's ventilation and re-entry guidance, and we plan the rooms and windows around it.