You have likely spent years cultivating your landscape. From the vibrant hydrangeas lining your walkway to the delicate rhododendrons framing your porch, your garden is the heart of your home’s curb appeal.
This situation creates a common dilemma for homeowners in New England. You know your home needs protection from harsh winters, but finding The Exterior Painters who will respect your delicate garden can be a challenge. Will the ladders crush the hostas? Will paint chips land in the mulch?
At K&K Painting Corp, we believe you should not have to choose between a beautiful home and a healthy garden. This is why we have developed a specialized protocol designed to protect your greenery just as fiercely as we protect your siding.
The Assessment: We Look Down Before We Look Up
Most contractors arrive and immediately look at the walls. We do things differently. When you hire The Exterior Painters, our first walkthrough focuses on the ground.
We identify “high-risk” zones where your prized plants are close to the work area. We create a map of your exterior that notes:
- Delicate perennials that need breathable covers.
- Large shrubs that may need to be gently tied back.
- Potted plants that require relocation.
- Tree branches that might interfere with ladder placement.
This initial survey ensures that our crew knows exactly where to step and where to stay away. It is a level of detail that distinguishes the Best Painting Company from the average contractor.
The Cover-Up Strategy: Breathable vs. Plastic
One of the biggest mistakes amateur painters make is covering plants with heavy plastic sheeting in direct sunlight. This creates a greenhouse effect that can overheat and permanently damage your plants in a matter of hours.
The Exterior Painters use a different approach.
1. Breathable Cloths for Living Things
We use lightweight, breathable drop cloths or burlap for shrubs and flower beds. These materials catch paint drips and debris but still allow air and heat to escape. Your plants can breathe even while they are covered.
2. Strategic Plastic Use
We reserve plastic for hardscaping, like patios and walkways, where it cannot harm living tissue. If we must use plastic near plants for a specific reason, we prop it up with stakes to ensure it does not crush the foliage, and we remove it immediately after the work in that section is done.
3. Tying Back, Not Cutting Back
We will never chop down your bushes to get to a wall. Instead, we use soft twine or specialized netting to gently pull branches away from the siding. This gives us the room we need for Exterior and Interior Painting tasks without permanently altering your landscape design.
Chemical Safety: The Soft Wash Difference
Preparation often involves cleaning the surface before painting begins. Power washing is standard, but the runoff can be a concern for soil health.
The Exterior Painters prioritize eco-friendly cleaning solutions that are tough on mildew but gentle on roots. We also pre-soak the soil around your home with fresh water before applying any cleaning agents.
Why do we do this? When plant roots are already full of water, they are less likely to absorb runoff from the cleaning process. It is a simple biological principle that significantly reduces chemical stress on your garden.
Managing the “Drop Zone”
Whether we are handling residential siding or complex Stucco Painting, gravity is always a factor. Paint chips, dust, and tools have to go somewhere.
Our team establishes a clear “drop zone” protocol:
- Lead Safety: If your home was built before 1978, we follow strict EPA guidelines to contain lead dust. We use heavy-duty ground containment systems that catch every chip so nothing leaches into your soil.
- Ladder Placement: We do not guess where the ladder goes. We carefully place ladder levelers and stabilizers to span over flower beds rather than planting the feet directly into your garden soil.
- Daily Cleanup: We do not wait until the end of the week to clean up. The Exterior Painters perform a daily sweep of the perimeter to remove tape, paper, and any stray debris.
Bringing Commercial Rigor to Your Backyard
You might wonder why we are so disciplined. It comes from our background as Professional Commercial Painters.
On large commercial sites, safety and liability are paramount. We cannot afford to damage property on a corporate campus, so we bring that strict level of discipline to your private residence. We treat your backyard with the same respect we would treat a high-end commercial facility.
What You Can Do to Help
While The Exterior Painters handle the heavy lifting, a little preparation from you can make the process even smoother:
- Move the Pots: If you have hanging baskets or potted herbs near the house, move them to a garage or a safe corner of the yard.
- Trim the Thorns: If you have dense rose bushes right up against the wall, a light trim helps us avoid snagging our gear (and our team!).
- Turn Off Sprinklers: Make sure your automatic irrigation system is off during the project days so our covers stay dry.
The Final Reveal
When the job is done, we do not just pull the tarps and leave. We uncover your plants gently to avoid snapping branches. We rake out the mulch to ensure no paint chips are hiding.
The result is a home that looks brand new, surrounded by a garden that looks like we were never there. That is the promise of The Exterior Painters.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will your paint fumes kill my sensitive plants?
No. We primarily use high-quality, low-VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) paints. These water-based formulas are much safer for the environment and your plants than old-fashioned oil-based paints.
I have a trellis with climbing vines attached to the house. Do I have to cut it down?
Not necessarily. In many cases, we can carefully detach the trellis and lean it forward, or work around the vines if they are dormant. We will assess this during our initial consultation.
Do you offer this same protection for interior plants during projects?
Absolutely. Whether it is Exterior and Interior Painting, our philosophy is the same. For indoor jobs, we move or cover houseplants to protect them from dust and sanding debris.
How do you handle lead paint chips in the garden?
We take lead safety very seriously. We use heavy-duty plastic sheeting sealed to the foundation to catch all scrapings. We then vacuum and dispose of the debris according to safety regulations, ensuring your soil remains safe for planting.
Why are you called “The Exterior Painters” if you do other work?
While we excel at exteriors, we are a full-service team. The name highlights our specialty in handling the tough, weather-dependent challenges of New England homes, but we apply that same expertise to interiors and commercial projects too.
Ready to give your home a fresh look without sacrificing your garden? We proudly service these areas across New England:
Acton, Amesbury, Andover, Arlington, Ashby, Ashland, Atkinson, Ayer, Bedford, Belmont, Beverly, Billerica, Boston, Boxborough, Boxford, Brookline (MA & NH), Burlington, Cambridge, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Chelsea, Concord, Danvers, Dedham, Derry, Dover, Dracut, East Kingston, Epping, Everett, Exeter, Framingham, Fremont, Georgetown, Gloucester, Groton, Hamilton, Hampstead, Hampton, Haverhill, Hollis, Holliston, Hopkinton, Hudson (MA & NH), Ipswich, Kingston, Lawrence, Lexington, Lincoln, Littleton, Londonderry, Lowell, Lynn, Lynnfield, Malden, Manchester (MA & NH), Marblehead, Marlborough, Maynard, Medford, Melrose, Merrimack, Methuen, Middleton, Milford, Natick, Needham, Newburyport, Newton, North Andover, North Reading, Peabody, Reading, Revere, Salem, Saugus, Somerville, Stoneham, Sudbury, Tewksbury, Topsfield, Wakefield, Waltham, Watertown, Wayland, Wellesley, Wenham, Weston, Wilmington, Winchester, Woburn.
Contact K&K Painting Corp today and see why we are the top choice for homeowners who care about every detail.
