Rosedale Project: This featured project in Rosedale started small and ended up being one of Ecopainting’s most succesful projects. It involved way more than painting, in fact most of the labour hours went to wallpaper removal and the wall repairs afterwards. The homeowner just moved in and initially called Ecopainting to just remove some wallpaper and paint two bedrooms. It was a last minute request but since we thought it was a small job, we were able to fit it in our schedule. As is the case with many small jobs, the scope of work kept growing daily and about a month later, it became one of our biggest projects of the year.
This lovely home was located on Castle Frank in the neighbourhood of South Rosedale. Rosedale is in close proximity to downtown Toronto and is one of the most desirable areas to live in. Despite being so close to the city, there is hardly any traffic driving through the old streets and neighbourhoods. Most homes here are Victorian and Georgian with the occasional tudor style architecture. Contractors love working in Rosedale and for very good reasons. Most homes in Rosedale are large, over 100 years old and the homeowners keep them in top repair, as expected in the area. During the summer you can see busy home painters working on tall ladders and contractors vans parked on the streets. The average Rosedale homeowner is a great customer and well educated on the “ins and outs” of hiring reputable service companies. The concept of value and great service is well rooted here.
This Ever Growing Painting Project in South Rosedale
We started with removing the wallpaper and prepping the walls in the first two bedrooms. Before long, the customer felt comfortable with the painters and added all the bedrooms, the hallway and stairway to the project. The wallpaper removal was predictable, except in one of the bedrooms, where the previous homeowner installed wallpaper on raw drywall. If you install wallpaper without any priming, future removal is almost impossible. Despite our hard work, and after using the usual tried and true removal methods, the wallpaper was almost impossible to remove. At least not without damaging the drywall. The crew primed the damaged surfaces with low odour alkyd primer and skim coated the surfaces smooth. Another primer after that brought the walls back into good condition and ready for paint.
The hallways and stairways had a grasscloth wallcovering. Grasscloth wallpaper, as the name implies, has a heavy texture and resembles a cloth made of grass looking fibers. Despite of the thickness, the surface of the wallcovering is porous enough to allow the removal solution to penetrate. The removal of the grasscloth was relatively easy, without any serious damage to the walls.
The main challenge in the stairway was not with the wallpaper but the working heights as well as prepping and painting the skylight. During the second and third week of the project, the customer increased the scope to include the main living areas and the basement.
The paint we used for the walls was Benjamin Moore’s Regal Select in eggshell finish. The doors and trim received two coats of the Advance Pearl. Advance is Benjamin Moore’s waterbourne alkyd enamel and our “go to” product for doors and trim. For the ceilings we used their top of the line waterbourne ceiling paint. This paint is dead flat in appearance and has the abillity to hide surface imperfections, perfect for the old ceilings of the house. The colour was the tried and true, clean and bright Chantilly Lace. Chantilly Lace is the perfect colour for a “just moved in”, clean and fresh start type of decor.
A positive customer experience results in a heartfelt testimonial.
“Working with Ecopainting was absolutely a wonderful experience! The work that we needed done involved wallpaper removal, from almost every room in a 4-bedroom house (including stair areas and entire basement), as well as some challenging wall repairs, and an overall freshening of paint throughout. I initially requested a quote for only 2 bedrooms as this was our first time working with Ecopainting. However it soon became clear that these guys were doing a phenomenal job and I increased the scope to include the rest of the house.
Karon and George were exceptional, providing detailed estimates, recommendations, and daily supervision of all activities. Andrea and Natalie who worked in our home every day while the project was underway (as well as all of the other folks from Ecopainting who also provided their services) were diligent, skilled craftswomen whose great work we are still admiring today. As a team, they were collectively engaged, happy to clarify requirements, and left our home cleaner and brighter than they found it. I very much look forward to working with them again.”
We love working in Rosedale. All these beautiful homes represent potential projects and new relationships with future customers. Our services include interior and exterior painting, colour consulting, wall repairs and wallpaper removal among others. Ecopainting is covered with a 5 million liability insurance policy and WSIB coverage for our painters.
Call us at (416) 733-7767 and speak to one of our representatives. We will be happy to consult with you and provide you with a detailed proposal to address your needs. References with phone numbers are available for your peace of mind.