In the middle of the summer, the Sonoran desert’s evening temperatures can still hover around 100º Fahrenheit. It’s a dry heat with an oven effect that’s uncomfortable for human beings and paint formulas alike. Most paint manufacturers will recommend temperatures not exceed 90º for good adhesion. Jeff Pinosky, owner of Classic Shades…

Like a good football defense, stain is all about penetration. Whereas paint adheres to a surface, stains penetrate and protect the substrate material—which can be an advantage, particularly in exterior surfaces such as wood siding, shingles, outdoor structures, and furniture that are subjected to harsh conditions. Tim Carter, best known as a…

Apartment residents remain concerned with a broad range of customer satisfaction issues but, far and away, the immediate opportunity to improve customer service and resident satisfaction levels is by addressing dissatisfaction with on-site staff responses to resident concerns.” So says Joseph Batdorf, president of Houston-based J Turner Research, a company that specializes…

Apparently, there are those who don’t embrace the old adage: “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” The list of players that support this dialogue has become intimately familiar to us in recent years: Facebook, Twitter, Google+ Local, Yelp, Angie’s List … and that’s really only…

Carl Crowder has seen a lot of early paint failures in his day. The Colorado Springs-based paint Pro has more than three decades of experience in the business, and says far too many jobs don’t last very long due to shoddy prep work. Early failures create an image problem for the paint…

There are web sites, online ads, forums, and social media platforms. But you’d be hard-pressed to find one that’s as effective at driving the right customers to the right professional as Houzz. Launched in 2009, Houzz is now the leading platform for home remodeling and design, connecting more than 20 million unique…