Paint is elemental. It is, in essence, a creamy blend of many of the earth’s elements: minerals, resins, oils, clays. Yes, paint can be and historically has been manufactured with heavy chemicals and toxic compounds, such as lead. But, fortunately, there is now paint on the market that is made in a manner that is truly non-toxic!
The fact is, we cannot live without paint. It’s like skin. No building could really stand for any duration without it.
In the early training of our painters, we teach them about the ingredients of paint on every product we use, and we require that they read the technical datasheets, as well as the manufacturers’ instructions. You might think that paint is a benign liquid that comes in a can and can be simply slapped on, but it’s not that simple.
I love this description of paint by the National Park Service in their “Preservation Brief 28: Painting Historic Interiors” document. It speaks to the amateur engineer in me, as well as the crunchy woo-woo type who loves crystals (also me):
“Paint is a dispersion of small solid particles, usually crystalline, in a liquid medium. Applied to a surface, this liquid has the special quality of becoming a solid, protective film when it dries. Paint also enhances the appearance of surfaces. A late Victorian writer observed that the coming of a painter to a house was cause for celebration. Indeed, these statements not only indicate the chemical and physical complexity of paint, but also its emotional impact.”
The Park Service document goes on to say, “Until the mid-20th century, almost all paints used in America could be divided according to the type of binder each had. Chemists sought to improve paints, especially when the two World Wars made traditional paint components scarce and expensive. Modern paints are far more complex chemically and physically than early paints. More ingredients have been added to the simple three-part system of pigment, binder, and vehicle.
Fillers or extenders such as clay and chalk were put in to make oil paints flow better and to make them cheaper as well. Mildewcides and fungicides were prevalent and popular until their environmental hazards were seen to outweigh their benefits. New formulations which retard the growth of the mildew and fungi are being used. As noted, lead was eliminated after 1950. Most recently, volatile organic solvents in oil paint and thinners have been categorized as environmentally hazardous.”
Did you know that painters used to be called “Mechanics”? Or at least, that is something I read somewhere once, and our Project Superintendent Steve Rubenstein and I like to say, Mechanic as a title for painter really speaks to us: This idea that painting is an art and a science, that it requires specialized tools and knowledge, and that trade knowledge is far more vast than what is portrayed on the fast-forwarded frames of HGTV.
vintage paint ad Historically, the use of paint as protection and decoration has been recorded all the way back to the first century! Like many great innovations in the development of civilization and science, the first place on record where paint was used to decorate and protect building structures was in China: Ancient craftsmen applied hand-ground pigments, such as ochre, to wet plastered interior walls.
A structure cannot maintain integrity without paint. And a surface must be prepared, and paint properly applied, for the overall job to last for the long term.
This is something I would love for both laypeople and contractors to understand. Often, painters are regarded as providing decoration, less important than builders, plumbers, electricians, etc., and not appreciated for the highly detailed, mechanical, methodical process it is. Paint is integral to a project, and not just because it makes things pretty (although we certainly love making things pretty, too).
I am so passionate about the craft of painting because it really is an art and a science. If I talk about how proud I am of our processes, and our team, I’ll sound like I’m bragging. Maybe I am! I feel very strongly that hiring a skilled craftsperson, or a team of skilled craftspeople, is important because what we do, what we know, can make the difference in not only how a project looks, but also the longevity of it. Everything I do in my life has to align with my personal values.
Thus, running a company that has the mission of painting buildings well to beautify and protect them, which then helps maintain and support communities, and the people who live within them, while also giving good-paying jobs to skilled craftspeople that helps them support themselves and their families, while also being conscious of both using and protecting the gifts of our earth’s resources — that’s me, and Arana, in a nutshell.
As painting contractors, we at Arana are very attuned to the needs of the homeowners we serve, and the desire that many people have these days to be more “green” when it comes to certain products, processes, and material choices. One example is the increasing appeal and popularity of solar. In our position, we look at solar from a purely logistical perspective. In the order of operations, if you are thinking of adding solar to your roof, you would do that before hiring us to do an all-over exterior paint job, and after any repairs or roof replacement that your roof might need.
But, when the state of California recently announced that all cars must be electric-powered by 2035, we became intensely interested in the subject! In general, we agree that “green” is good. And overall, solar is good. However, we noticed that the recent announcement brought into focus for us certain questions like: Is the transition to solar truly as green as it intends to be? What is the intent vs. the impact of changing over to green technologies? And who actually gets to take advantage of green technologies and practices?
If there is a transition from gas powered cars to electric, by association, it seems clear that there needs to be a transition to alternative power sources, like solar, to further reduce reliance on fossil fuels. From our perspective, it is interesting to consider that a push for electric cars and solar to support that would also place more “power” in individuals’ reach, decentralizing energy production and control.
That then points to the question of equitable access to energy. The recent heatwave further highlighted serious concerns about the reliability of the grid overall when in the same breath, while stating the intention for all of us to go all electric, the state then asked residents to refrain from charging their electric cars at home so as not to strain the grid!
So, in 2035 California, if you have an electric car AND solar, you might be okay? If not, you might be staying home that day from work?
Having had personal experience with solar over the past two years in a rural area prone to grid disruption, Ernesto and I have our own opinions on whether the solar industry needs more time to mature before it can be a dependable and affordable source of energy for all. In addition, there are the potential social and environmental impacts relating to the mining of lithium required for batteries, which also leads to inconsistent supply; plus many more skilled contractors and reliable parts suppliers and manufacturers are going to be needed to support the increasing demand.
(See our blog article “Bay Areas Schools Train Next Gen Tradespeople“ for further discussion regarding the challenges of increasing the base of available and competent contractors.)
For an in-depth look at the ins-and-outs of solar, and to explore some of the complex questions that arise around this topic such as equitable access and long-range viability, we interviewed our colleague, Ben Giustino, a licensed general contractor and solar installation expert with A1 Sun (a1suninc.com). Ben has 15 years of experience working in solar power and energy storage, working alongside his parents since the founding of the Company in 2007.
The family’s interest in solar power traces back to Ben’s father, Larry Giustino’s childhood. Larry manufactured a photovoltaic cell through a Bell Telephone Lab school program in San Diego in elementary school at age 11 — and his experience continued through designing solar and thermal systems in the 1970s and 80s, and on to the 2000s. Ben and his family’s passion for and knowledge of the solar industry make them an ideal resource for our customers and we are excited to share this interview with you.
What is your process for advising a homeowner on how big/what capacity system they will need? What are the pros and cons?
An average 2,000 square foot home uses around 6,600kWh/year. If you have a South-facing roof, free of shading, that would be a roughly 4kW solar array. However every home is unique. In other words, two identical houses could have completely different consumption rates based on occupancy and how that individual (or family) uses electricity. We size systems for homes based on consumption, roof space, and budget.
The cost of installing solar essentially is you prepaying for all of the electricity your new system will produce over its whole usable lifetime. Solar is expensive up front. You want to make sure you have a design that works for you. You also want to make sure you get a good installer that will be there to service the system.
How do factors such as pitch of roof, presence of trees, direction it faces, determine if someone can use solar power?
For a good installation, you have to take into consideration anything that is important to the homeowner, plus site challenges or constraints. In certain situations, solar is not a good idea. The main reason you wouldn’t want to install solar is if there is no access to sun. The more sun on your roof, the better the power production and the cost-effectiveness of solar. As long as you have sun, solar makes sense at any scale. With access to sun, you can produce enough power to operate a single cell phone, to a single residence, to an apartment complex, to an entire city.
In order to have access to power at night, you will need to pair solar with storage and/or other forms of generation.
People should be aware that an old roof that needs to be replaced, old electrical that needs to be upgraded, a difficult site, a steep roof, lots of shading, etc., all affect how expensive it is to install a system and/or how quickly a system pays back.
One thing I would advise is to never think you should install solar on a roof that needs to be replaced. You really want to install a system and then maintain it for as long as you can. The longer your system operates, the less expensive it is to produce each kWh of energy. Let me repeat that for the people in the back, The longer your system is in operation, the less expensive each kWh of produced energy gets.
A cool thing to look for will be vehicle to home or vehicle to grid. This is where not only can you use the solar to charge your car, you can also use the car to power your home or offset peak demand on the grid in the evening. This is possible, but still just in its infancy. It will be a few years before code, vehicles, and technology are aligned. Currently, it’s awesome just to be able to charge your car from solar.
How does becoming energy-independent work? Self-supply electricity at home, with a battery?
Since this is a newsletter focused on homeowners, and residential solar and storage is what I do, I’ll stick with homes as the scale to focus on. But really, since solar is scalable, what I’m saying about homes can be scaled up as big as you want to go (*with some serious details to take into account) or down to powering a calculator.
So there are essentially three ways to generate and/or store electricity in a home. These can be mixed and matched:
A. Solar that is grid tied with no battery
This is the majority of solar systems you see in your neighborhood today. During the day you produce power. You export the energy you don’t use on site to the grid. Those kWh are banked at the rate exported by the utility, who sells it to your neighbors. Then at night, you consume power, which the utility adds to your bill. At the end of the year the utility gives you a yearly “True Up” bill where they either bill you for net usage or give you a credit for over consumption (at wholesale). This explanation is an oversimplification of NEM which are the interconnection rules for generation facilities.
Grid-tied-no-battery is actually the most cost effective way to have solar on your home. It is also the most environmentally friendly way to have solar, because it uses less components, meaning it takes up less raw materials, less carbon emissions from shipping from the manufacturer, etc.
B. Solar with battery which is also grid tied
All of the NEM rules still apply with imports and exports of kWh, but what happens when you have batteries is that you store your energy and use it on site, rather than exporting and importing from the utility.
This has some financial return, but it does not currently improve ROI because of the cost of the batteries. The real reason to have batteries is if you need power when the grid goes down.
Currently the reasons I would advise batteries is if:
You rely on a medical device that needs access to power during a blackout
Loss of power would lead to financial losses, such as with a home-based business, which would offset the cost to install
If you just really want batteries
If the current cost to install batteries is insignificant to you
If you are prepping for complete collapse of the grid — in which case, make sure you prep other things like food, water, bow and arrows for the zombies…
OK, joking about the zombies. But, if you can’t say yes to any of the rest of those bullet points, my suggestion would be to wait on batteries.
As technologies continue to evolve in the industry, batteries will get better than what we have now; there will be more options that will be more capable, and hopefully cheaper, in the future.
You can always retrofit an existing grid tied solar array with batteries later.
Taking your system off grid is possible with batteries, however, you either want to slim down what you are trying to back-up or supersize your solar and battery — and get ready to fight PG&E. It is theoretically legal in California to leave the grid entirely; however current building code requirements include connection, meaning that homeowners are unlikely to get cleared for it.
C. Generator
You can also leave the grid by relying on a generator — by itself, or paired with battery back-up and solar. Currently powering a generator means relying on gas or diesel, but as time goes on, who knows? The downside of generators is that they are noisy, need refueling, need maintenance to operate, and typically are only used in outages.
What else do you want our readers to know about switching to solar?
Being able to produce and store your own electricity allows you to be potentially more self reliant. Right now it makes sense to get solar because you get good interconnection rules, it creates an eventually carbon negative generation source, and it helps to push California/USA/the world’s generation towards renewable electricity generation.
Now or later, you can add storage. Lithium based batteries are finally at scale, meaning they are relatively affordable with less maintenance required (as compared to Lead Acid batteries). They also allow you to store your cleanly generated power and use it on site. Batteries also can be used to help reduce peak evening demand on the grid, as your system will likely be exporting power to your neighbors in the evening.
However, batteries will get better. I’m hopeful for more environmentally-friendly batteries. My personal favorite (which is a viable option now) is Saltwater batteries. In theory, they are great for stationary applications, pose no fire danger, rely on plentiful ingredients, are relatively benign, and are reusable/recyclable. However, they are limited in how much energy they can store and deliver, compared to other battery types, are larger in size, and cost is still fairly prohibitive. We will see, as time goes on, how this technology evolves.
How does individual homes switching to solar impact the larger community? The environment?
Solar in general is beautiful. Producing Electricity from the sun. Solar on homes is practical. You are making something you need right on site where you need it. Storage makes sense because then you can store energy for when you need it. Solar and Energy Storage as an industry also creates good-paying local careers world-wide, and hopefully more domestic manufacturing jobs, as the industry grows.
The more solar that is installed, the greener the energy mix on the grid is during the day. While solar does take natural resources to create, the longer it is in use, the more CO2 emissions it offsets. In reality, solar panels can last for 50+ years. I’ve seen panels from the 70s still in use on an off-grid home in Northern California. If you charge your car from your solar, you reduce the footprint of having a car, which is still not insignificant, but every bit of reduction is good.
How do we (as responsible members of our local communities) make solar generated power more available to those who cannot afford to put a system on their roof? To renters?
There are many options here. The biggest pathway to making solar more accessible would be to have the apartment complexes or communities join together to install one shared system, with renters or lower-income homeowners having the option to buy into that system.
The larger the system, the lower the cost-per-watt to install, the more people that start-up cost is divided between, the cheaper your electricity gets. In the industry, this is known as “Community Solar.” Community Solar, also called “Shared Solar,” is essentially a private enterprise, multi-owner-collective, or government entity building a micro-grid — and PG&E does not like that.
To learn more about this issue of unequal access and possible solutions, visit:
Currently, Yes. And at rates that make it practical to make the investment and have it payback in a reasonable amount of time.
Is solar getting cheaper as the industry evolves?
Yes and no. Over the past 15 years, solar has gotten less expensive to install. Panels are less expensive, equipment is better, and companies can generally do it better and/or faster. But the utilities companies don’t like Solar. Solar impacts their profit margins. Thus, they work to make it more difficult/expensive to install with added bureaucracy, rules, fees, etc.. Utility companies are actively trying to undermine the financial value of producing your own power.
So, while solar has gotten cheaper, utility companies are actively doing what they can to reestablish monopoly. NEM 3.0 (a revised “Net Energy Metership” policy) is their all-out attack on distributed renewables, a.k.a. rooftop solar, and this proposal is currently being debated by the California Public Utilities Commission.
If you want to get involved with advocating for your right to have and benefit from solar, visit: solarrights.org
Does a solar system have to be replaced/updated every 10 or 20 years?
Depending on how well-sized, designed, installed, and maintained it is, a modern solar system can operate well beyond the 25 years the modules and inverters are warranted for. Systems can also be updated over time with more panels, batteries, car chargers, home automation, etc.
The only part of the system that will need to be replaced over decades of use should be the inverters. Given the quality of current materials on the market, and if your system is well-installed, you should be able to use the panels and hardware/wiring/etc. for the next 50 years, or at least, in my mind, that is the hope.
All photos in this article provided by A-1 Sun, except for the featured/top image.
Got Home? We’ve Got an Exterior Paint Process For It
The Bay Area sings in a chorus of varied genres of architecture. From Eichlers and Craftsman Bungalows to ornate Victorians, robust Colonials, and magical Storybook houses, each genre is unique. What makes a style remarkable is in part how it features a specific set of materials. Arana views any home we are invited to work with as a treasure. We combine artistry with craftsman utility to not only beautify but also to protect the home for the long term.
While many houses in the Bay Area are around 70-to-100 years old or more, that timeline is nothing compared to the thousands of years that castles built in Europe have stood. Coming in somewhere between that kind of longevity and what is available to us if we are thoughtful and caring with the tools and materials available to us today, we present this article describing how we handle the types of exteriors that make up the majority of homes of The Peoples of the Bay Area: Stucco, Shingle, Siding, and Brick.
STUCCO: This home exterior material is a personal favorite of mine because it is infinitely easy to maintain — which makes it more environmentally friendly as well, in our opinion. We see in the industry a rise in the use of “sustainable” products, but if these are not also long-lasting, and must be replaced 2-to-3 times more often, then to us, that product may not in fact good for the environment. Stucco (as long as it is applied to a home NOT built on a hill near an earthquake fault) can go 10-to-20 years without needing new paint. As long as there are no cracks left unsealed, you don’t have to do much to it. Open cracks can let water in and that allows rot to develop underneath. The downside of stucco is that a whole wall of your home might be rotting away inside the stucco and you might not know about it.
Our process for maintaining, restoring, and beautifying stucco: We scrape and sand any peeling paint. For any cracks, we open them up, check for water damage underneath, and re-patch them. We spot prime and only if necessary, fully prime the whole house. If your house has a pre-colored stucco that is being painted for the first time, we can expect that a lot of primer will be needed, as unpainted stucco gets “thirsty,” drying out as it ages.
Let’s talk about elastomeric (“terpolymer” paint) on stucco: While we understand that it has some desirable qualities, as it is useful for waterproofing or bridging small cracks, it is only effective under the right conditions. If your stucco is in bad shape, and/or if you already have years of paint build-up, elastomeric is not the right choice. It cannot replace necessary repairs and upkeep. And please do not rely on elastomeric to solve all of your waterproofing problems! Elastomeric is best used on new stucco. If used on previously painted stucco, it is important not to over-apply it; results may vary depending on the texture of the stucco. Our advice is to research very carefully before you choose this product.
SHINGLES: Cedar shingles are not the most common material, but you will see them on homes across the Bay Area. Cedar is an amazing and versatile wood product, but it can become susceptible to breakdown in a shingle format. Varying approaches may be taken on how to treat them.
New shingles: Some homeowners choose to let the shingles stay raw and cure in the sun, causing them to turn gray. While this is a viable approach, we recommend at least that you have a clear sealer with a UV protectant applied to will help to protect the shingles from sun damage over the long term. This coating should be reapplied about every 5 years.
Cedar shingles that have been coated with a semi-transparent stain product: Over time, stained shingles develop tannin spots and will go grey or even totally black. To maintain a specific color and appearance we recommend using a wood brightener product that can be sprayed on and then gently scrubbed into the shingles with a stiff-bristle nylon or utility brush. Scrubbing enables the product to penetrate and remove the tannin stains as well as other types of mildew and grime.
The shingles should then be rinsed with a pressure washer (professionals-only, please). Once the shingles are nice and clean, we apply our favorite stain product: Messmers. Whether clear or one of their stock colors, we highly recommend Messmers as it results in a beautiful and long-lasting finish. NOTE: It is best to hold off on repainting the painted-wood elements around the shingles until after this process is completed, as any accidental contact from the wood-brightener product can mar a newly painted surface.
Cedar shingles that have been coated with a semi-solid or solid stain product: These types of stain products can partially or fully obscure the grain pattern of the wood. These products are used to achieve a color rather than enabling a proper marriage between color and wood grain. Any stain will fade over time, but with these types of products, you may also see peeling, flaking, or scratches — that become unsightly more than anything. Again, cedar is a hardy wood that will not rot, but in a shingle format, it does tend to break down slowly over time. A good general pressure wash of semi- or solid-stained shingles and a reapplication of the stain product in a one- or two-coat process should suffice, depending on the original product used and the condition of the wood.
Painted Shingles: Yes, this is a thing and we consider it almost a last resort, or if you simply must have a fully painted shingle home. If you don’t already have painted shingles, don’t do it. The amount of maintenance painting shingles can create is unpredictable, with each shingle potentially becoming a peeling-paint mess. To prepare and repaint this type of home, we would use the same process for painted shingles as for siding (see below). Another option is to replace your cedar shingles with HardieShingle® siding which is a fiber-cement product that is gaining in popularity.
SIDING: There are different varieties of siding your home can be built with. The original redwood of the SF Bay Area, cedar, pine or Douglas fir, or vinyl, or HardiePlank® Lap Siding which is a fiber-cement product that we are seeing on newly-constructed homes. HardiePlank is a pre-colored product that can later be painted when you are ready for a change.
Our process for painted siding, as with any painted surface: Scrape and sand any loose or peeling material. On wood surfaces, rot may need to be repaired or replaced. Repairs on damage to wood siding can only be done on areas that are no bigger than 4” x 4”. For these, we scrape out the rotted wood, apply a liquid that kills the dry rot organism, and then apply a two-part resin product that fills in the gap. We then apply a full coat of primer to those repairs and to the whole exterior of the home as needed. Next, we go over the entire surface area to inspect and caulk open gaps, in order to create a paintable surface.
BRICK: Brick homes are rarer in earthquake-prone California, but they are here, and we do work on them. Oftentimes bricks can absorb dirt and accumulate mold and mildew which can make them look drab. We recommend a careful pressure wash and scrub to brighten the bricks. Like any concrete or stone product, brick can erode over time and lose its shape. We recommend a clear sealer to prevent this. One that we use is Drylock. If you are going to go DIY with this product, please be sure to get it in a flat finish because shiny is no bueno on bricks!
Spring is upon us and summer is right around the corner! The exterior painting season is underway and picking up steam!
Many of you are considering doing a full exterior paint job this season. There are many ways to improve the curb appeal of your home. As a painting contractor, we typically focus on cleaning and repainting your home exterior, however, we’ll mention a few other tips as well.
Above all, the three key ideas are meticulous preparation, cleanliness and eye-catching detail.
Here’s some ideas you’ll find useful in determining which San Francisco Bay area painting contractor to work with:
Exciting Entry: Making the entry door stand out can really make the whole house more inviting and appealing. Paint it a bold color that coordinates with the other details of your home. Also, installing new hardware, such as a sophisticated knob or a kick-plate, can also create an improved aesthetic.
Emphasize Details with Color: Emphasize the architecture of your house by painting the trim a different color from the rest of the home. Outline windows, paint fascia and other moldings. For a subtle look, just choose a different shade of the body color, or go bold with a contrasting color.
Arana includes a color consultation with a professional color consultant with every full exterior painting project. Contact us for details.
Cool and Clean: Make sure your siding, fascia and gutters are clean. Remove mildew with a fungicidal wash and use a power washer to remove residue and contaminants. Gutters do best with a hand-wash.
Desirable Driveway: Kill any weeds growing in the cracks, and repair the cracks if possible. A concrete stain could really look classy if the driveway is suitable for it.
Look at the Lighting: An upgrade to your outdoor light fixture can create a positive impression, and installing extra lighting in your garden or along the driveway always makes the place cozier.
Elegant Extras: Decorative fence panels, arbor arches, porch columns and other classy touches can add instant curb appeal to your property without taking too much time or money.
Gorgeous Garden: Either work with a professional landscape designer or create a container garden with potted plants and hanging plants around your entryway. Window boxes can be a quaint touch as well!
More Maintenance: Before adding new features or colors, make sure that what you already have is in good shape. Trim the shrubs, mulch the garden, use an edger on the lawn, clean up yard debris and put away the garden hose. Repair any broken or torn window screens and replace any rotten or damaged wood.
When your San Francisco Bay area home needs expert attention, Arana Craftsman Painters is a trusted name for exterior and interior painting. We can work with you and your budget to create an eye-catching and tasteful curb-appeal plan for your home.
Arana provides residential painting services to Oakland, Berkeley, San Francisco and Alameda County, San Francisco County, Marin County and the entire San Francisco Bay area.
