Tag Archives: exterior

Peeling Paint on a Deck . . . Now What?

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closeup of paint peeling on a railway station at sunset

I was out of the office and working in one of our RepcoLite stores last week Friday and a contractor walked in with some questions about a deck.

Here’s the scenario:  He’s been hired to fix a deck for a homeowner.  The deck had been painted before and was now peeling.  He’d power-washed it and managed to remove about 20% – 30% of the old paint.  He was at RepcoLite to pick up some primer and some paint so he could prime the bare spots and get everything coated.
Well, that sounds easy enough, but there’s a problem and after explaining the situation to him, I decided it was perfect for a blog entry.  So, here’s what we covered at the counter:
  • OLD, FAILING PAINT CONTINUES TO PEEL:  The first concept I needed the contractor to understand is the notion that once the paint starts to fail and peel, it will continue until it’s mostly gone.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t typically do this all at once.  So, even though the contractor had done a good job and had power-washed the deck, the problem was that much of the old paint remained.  The reason this is a problem is because…
  • NEW PAINT/PRIMER WILL NOT MAKE OLD PAINT STICK BETTER:  Putting new paint overtop of old paint–old paint that has started to peel–will not bond that paint to the surface.  The new paint WILL bond to the old paint . . . but if the old paint is starting to fail, it will eventually peel and take the new paint off as well.  This is bad news because…
  •  ALL THE WORK YOU DO CAN BE WASTED:  If you go through all the work of power washing, priming and painting a deck that is covered with old paint that has started to peel, the chances are the spots where you primed and painted BARE WOOD will hold up alright for a couple years.  However, equally as likely is the chance that the old paint that you couldn’t remove will peel soon, taking the new paint with it.  In the end, you (or your customer) will be left with the same situation they just thought they rectified.
Well, we covered those problems and I could tell it sunk in and made sense to the contractor I was helping.  He then asked the obvious question:  WHAT DO I DO TO FIX IT, THEN?
That’s a bigger concept, but to briefly sum it up:
  • POWER WASH!  A good place to start is where my contractor DID start:  a good power washing.  Much of the time, the pressure from the wash will blast off much of the loose and flaking paint.  
  • SAND/STRIP THE DECK!  If the power washer doesn’t completely remove the paint–or at least remove 80% – 90% of it, you may want to consider stripping the deck with chemical strippers or possibly renting a sander and sanding the paint off.
  • FLIP THE BOARDS OR INSTALL NEW!  This is a hard-core solution to the problem, but would typically fix the issue.  Some decks are in good enough condition that flipping the boards to the uncoated side gives a new surface to work on.  Other decks might be better suited simply being replaced.
  • BITE THE BULLET AND DEAL WITH THE FAILURE!  Another option–though not terribly appealing–would be the option of simply accepting the failure.  This means you weigh all the options and decide that for your situation, you’re better off just cleaning the deck as well as you can and then priming and painting and accepting the fact that next summer you’ll probably have to do it again.
In the end, I write all of this for two reasons:  first, to give you some tips if you’re dealing with a deck that’s been painted in the past.  It’s important to understand the limitations and the struggles you’ll have trying to make it look good.  Sometimes at least knowing those issues up front will help!  Secondly, I mention this mainly for this reason:  To help you realize that paint on a deck is NOT THE WAY TO GO.  It sounds good, it looks like a good option, it’s appealing to many people . . . but the problems quickly arise and then, dealing with them can be extremely time-consuming and expensive!  Paint’s great for many surfaces.  A Michigan deck, however, isn’t one of them!

Save Money: Buy Quality Paint!

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dollars-426023_1920Spring has finally (hopefully) sprung and with it, so has the exterior painting season.  Homeowners all throughout West Michigan are already starting to take a look around their properties, trying to decide what jobs need to be tackled and which ones can wait until next year.

Well, with the economic situation being what it is, chances are most of us who are looking to do some exterior painting are also looking for ways to cut back on the expense.  And typically, when it comes to painting, the most obvious place to cut expenses is by buying a cheaper paint.  After all, if you buy 3 gallons of paint at RepcoLite for $40 a gallon, but can buy some paint at the hardware store down the street for $20 a gallon, you’ll save at least $60 on the project, right?

Not exactly.  In fact, chances are, you won’t be saving any money at all and, in fact, will likely be spending more in the long run.

According to a Press Release by the Paint Quality Institute, field tests show that “while ordinary exterior paint lasts about 4 years, top quality 100% acrylic latex paint can last 10 years or more when applied to a properly prepared surface”.  What this means, is that while the initial cost of the paint is HIGHER, the overall cost of the paint will be much, much less.

For example, taking our situation where a homeowner purchases 3 gallons of ORDINARY paint to do some work on their home, we can see that the cost is $60.  Add another $15 or so in for supplies and then, don’t forget to take into account your time.  With all of that, you’ve got at least $75 in materials and some time invested.  Now, according to the field tests conducting by the Paint Quality Institute, that ORDINARY paint is likely to give you 4 years of quality service.  So, doing the math, the cost breaks down to about $18.95 a year.

Now, if you’d do that same job with QUALITY 100% ACRYLIC paint like RepcoLite’s Endura (formerly UltraShield), you’ll pay $37 per gallon.  With 3 gallons needed, you’ll spend $111 on paint.  Add to that the $15 in supplies and your time and you’ll have a total cost of about $126.

endura_520At first glance, that looks like a $50 savings by going to the cheaper paint.  However, if the Endura lasts–as the field tests show it will–at least 10 years before it needs to be redone, you find that the average cost per year breaks down to about $12.60, which actually makes it cheaper in the long run than buying the cheaper paint.

Add to that savings the fact that your time isn’t cheap and that with the ORDINARY paint, you’ll have to do the project at least twice before you’ve reached that 10 year point that QUALITY paint will get you.

The savings get even greater if you decide to hire a contractor to do the work because labor costs don’t vary based on the paint.  If you have your painter use a cheap paint, it’s not going to affect your LABOR costs.  If he uses a QUALITY paint, your LABOR costs will not change.  The only thing that changes is your PAINT costs.  And if that paint lasts you 2 1/2 times as long as an ORDINARY paint, you’re going to be money ahead in the long run.

In the end, remember that saving money is about looking at the big picture.  Saving money today, only to spend more money down the road doesn’t really do you any good.  You’re net result is still a loss.  So don’t let yourself get suckered by a low sticker price.  Saving money is about more than just saving a few bucks today.  Buy with the big picture in mind and you’ll be congratulating yourself for your smart decision 4 years from now!

Tips for Selling Your Home, Part 2

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bigstock-Home-For-Sale-Real-Estate-Sign-11943983_smallerOK, last time, I mentioned something I called The Great Disassociation and how it’s such an important concept when it comes to selling a home.  See, when we live in our homes for any length of time, what typically happens is that we become blinded to the condition of the home.  They’re our homes.  We see them everyday.  And as a result, little things kind of slip by us.

For example, I have a wall in my bedroom–and this is embarrassing to admit–that had a nail hole in it.  I had tried to hang a picture and I put it in a spot I didn’t like.  So, I pulled the nail out, moved the picture and then spackled the nail hole.  Impressive, right?  Well, not so much.  See, that’s as far as I got.

In fact, while that happened over 2 years ago, I just noticed the other day that there’s still a big white spackled spot in the center of the wall that has NEVER BEEN PAINTED!  I’ve left that undone for over two years and I never really even noticed it.  It became the new normal and it never jumped out at me as something to think about doing.  (I told you it was embarrassing).

Another example is this:  my basement has a musty odor in the Spring and Fall.  If I run a dehumidifier, it goes away and smells fine.  However, what usually happens is that we get used to the smell.  We walk into our back entry after a day out and it smells like our back entry.  I don’t even think about it.  But every now and then my mom will stop over.  She’ll walk in and say something like “I should get you our dehumidifier–that way you could clear out that musty smell.”  She doesn’t mean anything negative–she’s just offering her help.  Problem is, she’s offering her help with a problem I didn’t even realize existed.  And it’s because I live there.  I get used to it.  I don’t see it as an area of concern.

That’s what I’m getting at–how we live with certain aspects of our home for so long that we don’t even see them as trouble-zones.  And while we’re living in our homes, that’s not such a big issue.  But when we’re trying to sell our homes, it becomes enormous.  After all, I may not notice the spackle spot on the bedroom wall . . . but new buyers will.  I may not notice the musty basement stink . . . but new potential buyers will.  And who knows . . . those things might be enough of a turnoff to steer those folks away from my home.

So that’s why the Great Disassociation is so important.  It’s all about disassociating yourself from your own home–about forgetting that it’s yours–about looking at it with new eyes–with the eyes of potential new buyers.  Doing this is going to help you spotlight some of the areas that are going to need your attention–areas that should be repaired or attended to before you put your home on the market.

So, to do your best to eliminate these little turnoffs, you first need to find them.  And to find them, you need to look at your house as if it was somebody elses.

Now, that’s not easy to do . . . so here’s what I recommend.  Drive away some night and go out for dinner with your family.  Maybe, if you’re brave, invite an honest and good friend of yours along.  After dinner . . . and here comes the hard part . . . drive up to your home and do your best to pretend that it’s not yours.

That’s right.  Don’t pull into the driveway–because it’s not your house.  Don’t pull into the garage–it’s not yours.  Don’t get the mail out of the mailbox, don’t pick up the newspaper off the sidewalk . . . treat this house as if it’s one you just drove by, saw the “For Sale” sign, and stopped for a look.

Park on the road–where everybody else would park–and get out of your car.  Look at everything–what’s the mailbox look like?  Is it rusting away on the post?  Will you have to replace it if you buy the home?  Will you need to stain the post?

Check out the roof–that’s always one of the first things I look at–what condition are the shingles in?  Does it look like you’ll be replacing it in the next couple years should you make the purchase?

What about the trees in the yard?  Do they look healthy or are they full of dead branches?  And what about the yard?  Is it green and growing or brown and dead?  Is the grass cut or completely growing out of control?

As you walk up the driveway, pay attention to the cracks or the weeds that are growing there.    What about the landscaping in the front?  Is that out of control?  Are the bushes growing like mad or have they been trimmed nicely?  Are there weeds choking out everything else?

Check out the front steps–are they covered with newspapers?  Are they littered with flower pots full of dead plants?  Are they full of cracks?  Is the welcome mat a mess?

What about the front door?  What shape is it in?  Is it rusting?  Is it peeling?  Is it faded and boring?  Could it use a new color, a new paint job?  Are there spiderwebs everywhere?  Dead leaves?

You get the idea.  Do that . . . analyze your home that way . . . and take notes.  Look at it as if you might be purchasing it.  What jumps out as you as a neat feature?  Would it be better if you did x, y or z to enhance it?  What jumps out at you as a big turnoff?  Is there anything that you instantly would have to fix if you bought the home?

After you’ve gone around the outside of the home, it’s time to head inside and do the same thing.  Analyze everything and keep yourself in the mindset that this isn’t your house.  Keep telling yourself that everything you see that’s not perfect is going to have to be repaired by YOU (the new buyer).

Do this walkaround (and through) your home separate from your spouse–and then meet up later and compare notes.  What did he or she see that you missed?

And if you’ve got the guts and a thick enough skin . . . ask an honest friend or two to do the same.  And don’t chew them out when they let you know what they see either.  Ask them to give you their honest opinion of your home as viewed from the road by potential buyers.  Ask them not to sugar-coat anything.  You want the straight scoop–you want to know what they see.

After you’ve done this, take all this information and analyze it.  Some of the things are going to be too big to tackle when you’re trying to sell your home.  As nice as a loft in the garage would be, you don’t need to build one to sell the home.  But, if the front door looks dirty and old and the mat is worn out and the mailbox is rusting . . . well, those are all little fixes that will go a long way towards your goal:  getting people in your house so they can see what’s inside and hopefully fall in love with it.  Think about it.  And give it a try.

Tips for Selling Your Home, Part 1

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house2OK, last time we talked about how important it is for your home to give a great first impression when you’re trying to sell it.  You need to make sure the outside of the home is appealing from the road.  You cannot rely on the quality of the interior.  You can’t bank on the fact that the inside of the home is finished so amazingly that people will be flocking in to pile their offers up at your feet.  Oh, you may be right–about the interior being amazing–but the hard truth is that if the package isn’t appealing . . . chances are nobody’s going to peer inside long enough to see what’s in there.

So, the first step in moving your house and getting that SOLD sign in the front yard is to fine tune the package. Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done.

And really, surprisingly, it’s not the work that’s the hard part–it’s not the painting and cleaning and organizing and weeding that’s difficult. Actually, the difficult aspect is distancing yourself enough from the home to actually SEE the painting, cleaning, organizing and weeding that needs to be done.

Oh, you might disagree with that . . . but hold on . . . it’s true–it’s just a fact of human nature. For example . . . and this is horribly embarassing to admit–but, in the pursuit of open, honest discussion, I’ll throw it all on the line. For example, in my home, a year or so ago, I started painting my kitchen cabinets. It was a complicated process and I did it in sections–this chunk of cabinets, then that one, and so on, as I worked my way around the kitchen.

Well, everything went well until I hit late fall last year and the weather turned. I was doing this outside and I decided not to continue until the weather improved in the spring. I had, at that point, half of the kitchen done with the new dark color. The other half was still white.

Well, I just realized the other day that my kitchen is still not completed. And I mean, I just realized it. I’m so used to seeing it the way it is, that it never dawned on me until I was playing with the kids in the kitchen and I laid down on the floor to pretend to be dead. (I was the monster and they had killed me). Well, while I was lying there, I looked around the kitchen noticing how different it looked from this perspective. I was seeing it from a whole new angle.

And that’s when I saw the cabinets and realized how one half of the room was unfinished. Looking at it from a new angle made my mind process what it was seeing completely. When I see things from my usual perspective, I think my brain just glosses over what it’s used to seeing–the cabinets have been unfinished for months . . . so my brain doesn’t pay them any extra attention. However, when I saw them from a new angle, my brain noticed the difference.

I don’t know the psychological or scientific explanation for what happened–but I know that by looking at something–my kitchen–from a new point of view . . . I saw things I literally hadn’t seen for months: I realized I had work to do–that I still had to finish those cabinets.

Well, the same is true with your home. And that’s why I said earlier that seeing the work you need to do is sometimes harder than actually doing it. See, your brain is used to seeing what it sees when you pull up to your home. When you walk in the front door or the back door . . . your brain largely tunes out what it’s seeing–it’s used to it–it’s always there. You don’t notice it.

Haven’t you ever been at somebody’s house that is extremely messy. Haven’t you sat there and looked around at the mess and just felt an overwhelming depression settle in on your soul? Has anybody else felt that or am I a freak? Anyway, I’ve felt that and I’ve been blown away by the fact that the people living there have no concept of the mess. It’s not a mess to them–it’s normal.

Well, that’s what happens with our homes–we become accustomed to certain things and we can’t see them for what they may be: turnoffs to new potential buyers.

But hold on . . . don’t let that get you down. Because there’s good news–there’s a solution to this: you just need to do what I did in my kitchen: you need to look at your home from another perspective. You need to find a way to disassociate yourself from your home. To find a way to forget that you live there. You need to find a way to see it as a place you might buy.

You need to get critical and you need to take notes. It’s not easy, but it can be done. And doing this is going to open your eyes to a world of things that need to be fixed–things I guarantee will surprise you.

It’s called the Great Disassociation and we’ll dig into how you do it in another post.

What’s Your Home Saying to Potential Buyers?

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There’s a house down the road from me that’s for sale (the one in the photo is not it!).  Has been for a long time now.  We walk past it 2 or 3 times a week on our way to a baseball field where we play epic games that usually end in gloating (on the winner’s side) and crying (on the loser’s).

Anyway, we do that 2 or 3 times a week and every time I walk past that house–whether I’m on the way to the field with 2 happy boys, or on the way home with one really happy boy and one really sad one–I take a look.  And every time I look at it, I think the same thought:  “that house sure has a lot of potential.”

And it does.  It’s a big stone house–looks like something out of a fairy tale.  It’s got a lot of character.  It’s near the baseball field (so we could go have our battles EVERY night–hooray!).  It looks to be a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath home.  (Which is enticing because my home is currently a 3 bedroom, 1 bath home.  And with 5 kids, a wife and myself . . . well, that’s easily 2 bathrooms too few).

So every time I walk past the house, I stop and think about the potential.  But every time I stop . . . I start back up and continue on my way home, pushing any thought of buying that house out of my mind.

Oh, it’s not the price.  In fact, the price started at the top of our price range (still within it, but at the very top) and it’s dropped $30,000 or $40,000 in price since the beginning of the year.  No, it’s not the price.  We could afford it if we wanted it.  And it’s not really the location.  It’s right down the road from our other home and it’s right next to our major evening entertainment–the ball field.  It’s definitely not the size of the home:  all that extra space and the extra bath and a half would be almost perceived as a gift from heaven.

No.  It’s none of those things that keep us away.  None of those things that get our legs moving again after we’ve stopped to “window shop.”

No, what gets us moving again is what’s probably kept everybody else moving as well:  the house gives a bad first impression.

I’ve never seen much of the inside–not up close anyway–but I’ve got a feeling I know what I’m going to find.  See, the outside of a home is a window to the interior.  A poorly maintained exterior is a warning many home buyers heed.

We walk up to this house and look at the beautiful aspects:  the stone walls, the 4 bedrooms . . . the 2.5 baths.  But despite all that, I can’t get past the poorly maintained front door.  The overgrown landscaping.  The rotting and flaking fences.  The windows that are filthy.  The blinds that hang crooked and bent.

The one room you can see from the driveway shows that either there was water damage or the family before had a dog.  A vicious, baseboard-attacking dog who took out his puppyhood rage on the floor trim of that poor little room.

All in all, despite the nice aspects of the house, the obviously visible negative stuff just turns me off.  I’m afraid that something that looks that bad on the outside is only going to be worse inside.  And so, every night that we stop . . . we look for a few minutes and continue walking, shaking our heads . . . unable to muster up the interest to call the number on the sign.

Now, I know this house is owned by the bank (or something).  It’s empty and has been for a while–so I understand some of the reason for the dilapidated, unkempt look of the exterior.  I understand that whoever currently owns it doesn’t want to spend the money or time to keep up on the exterior work.  They probably figure it’s too expensive.

However, I can’t help but think that when we started looking, the house was about $179,000.  If I’m not mistaken, the current price is either $149,000 or $139,000.  It’s dropped anywhere from $30,000 to $40,000 in price and still hasn’t moved.

I’ve written about first impressions here on this blog before.  First impressions can make all the difference in the world when it comes to relationships and new jobs.  They also play a huge role when it comes to selling a house.  Create a great first impression with your home . . . and chances are, even in a down economy, you won’t be sitting on it for too long.  Let the importance of that first impression slip down on your list of “things to do” and you’re going to have a situation like the folks who own that house I walk by a couple times a week:  you’re going to be lowering your price as you try to make people see past the obvious faults.

When you get to that point:  trying to make people see past the faults and focus on the price, you’ve lost your bargaining ground.  You want people to want the house because they HAVE to have it–they see themselves living there and can’t picture themselves living somewhere else.  When that happens, price becomes a secondary determiner.  It’s still important, but it’s not the first thing we check.

When we see a house that shows well, the first thing we do is get out of our car and look around.  We imagine our kids playing on the yard.  We see ourselves snowblowing the driveway in the winter.  We picture cookouts on the grill and all the other fun things that go with life.  After that, we cautiously and nervously approach the little info box, hoping against hope that the house is within our range.

On the other hand, when people see the house I walk past every other night, I’d put money on the fact that the only thing they see or imagine is exactly what I imagine:  a lot of work.  They then probably do what we do and walk straight up to the info box and look at the price.

The big difference between the two scenarios is what happens at the info box:  in the first case, we’re looking at the price, hoping it’s within our range.  Our heart’s beating a little harder . . . were nervous, excited, hopeful. In the second scenario, none of that’s happening.  We’re simply looking to see if the price is low enough to justify any thought whatsoever into purchasing the home.

In the first scenario, if the price is even within $20,000 of your range, chances are you call the realtor–you want to look into it, to dig, to discover if there’s some way you could swing it.  You love the house, you want it.  Or at least you want to look into it further.  In the second scenario . . . if the price isn’t low enough to generate a little interest, you’re walking.  You probably stuff that little info slip back into the box with a laugh, or you bring it home and throw it out.

In the first case, the house sells itself–price is of secondary (though still important) consideration.  In the second situation, the price is everything:  if it’s not low, low, low . . . the first impression of the house doesn’t leave a potential buyer with enough interest to warrant any further consideration.

So all that to say:  if you’re trying to sell your home . . . don’t make that mistake.  First impressions matter.  In the next few posts, we’ll flesh this idea out and I’ll throw out a number of easy, low-cost fixes you can accomplish in a weekend that will help you make sure your house gets people stopping and talking.

More Job Application Screw-Ups and a Clever Tie-In to Exterior Primer

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"Peel" by Will Keightley is licensed under CC BY 2.0

“Peel” by Will Keightley is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Yesterday, I wrote about getting off on the right foot–you know, starting well.  Because really, that’s one of the most critical things in life isn’t it?  Starting well?  If you start poorly in any endeavor, chances are you’re not going to bring it around and end up with great results.  It’s just one of those rules of life:  we need to make good first impressions, we need to get off to a good start . . . we need to start on the right foot . . . or we’re not going to go very far.

And let me prove it.  See, I’m going to breeze through a few real-life lines from some job applications and you decide if these people went terribly far after making this kind of first impression.

OK, first off, here’s a lady who wrote, in the SKILLS section of her job application, that, and I quote, “My twin sister has an accounting degree.”  End quote.  Yeah. Her TWIN sister.  Not just a little sister or an older sister.  It’s her TWIN.  And we all know how twins are supernaturally or magically or whatever bonded to each other, right?  I mean really, there are those stories about twins raised in different homes with no knowledge of each other who end up marrying similar people and naming their children the exact same names.  So, having a twin sister with an accounting degree is just like having one yourself.  I mean, it’s almost a scientifically proven fact.

Or, what do you think about the first impression this guy made when he wrote in the section called “negative traits”, and I quote “I am very bad about time and don’t mind admitting it. Having to arrive at a certain hour doesn’t make sense to me. What does make sense is that I do the job. Any company that insists upon rigid time schedules will find me a nightmare.”  Yeah, I know if I were looking for help, he’d be on my “must-call” list.  Because I like his gritty honesty.  And his carefree, artist’s disposition.

Anyway, life’s all about first impressions, right?  And neither of those folks made terribly good ones.  Yeah, life’s all about starting well.  And the reason is simple:  it’s tough to finish well if you don’t start well.

And that applies to everything from job applications to dating relationships to job interviews to home improvement projects.  Starting well can make all the difference in the long-run.

Now yesterday, we talked about specific stain-blocking primers that should be used in some cases.  How certain jobs you might tackle might need one of these specialty primers to ensure long-lasting results–like we said, it’s all about starting well.  Start well and you won’t struggle with your project.  Start poorly and you’ll have a mess.

Today we’re going to talk about another scenario when primers make good sense:  exterior wood surfaces.  Now, if these are stainable woods . . . that’s another topic for another day.  What I’m talking about here are the exterior woods that you would typically paint.

And right now, as I mentioned yesterday, there’s ad on TV that claims you can basically quit using primers as long as you buy this apparently new and amazing paint product.  However, there are a couple things to note here.  First off, it’s not a new product or new technology–it’s been around for years–it’s just good marketing that’s making it seem new and exciting.  Secondly, remember that those ads are 30 second spots.  You can’t say everything you should say in a 30 second spot.  Sure, there are times when primers can be skipped–and I’ve got products at RepcoLite that you can use just like that apparently new and amazing paint we see on TV.  However, there are times when you can’t skip them–or at least you shouldn’t–not if you want to get your project started on the right foot.

And one of those times when primers really pay for themselves in the long run is when you’re painting bare exterior wood.  A high quality latex paint over top of bare wood–with no primer–may lay on nicely and look great.  But the problem is that it really can’t penetrate into the wood–it’s latex and that’s just not how latex products work.  It’ll sit on the surface.  Before long, the moisture that penetrates the wood from rain or even dampness in the air, will start to cause that paint to chip and peel.  And once that starts, you’ll have a mess.

But, if you prime that wood with a high-quality oil based product, you’ll have much less failure. Primers are specifically MADE for these situations.  They have characteristics that are DIFFERENT from paint–think about that for a minute.  Primers are fundamentally different in make up from paint for a reason–they have a different job to do.  Primers act as an intermediary between the wood and the topcoat.  Primers will seal, hide and bind wood fibers to make the surface more uniform.  And this allows the paint to adhere better.  A quality primer will also improve your paint’s ability to resist surface moisture.  As a result, you’ll have less peeling, less mess, longer lasting results and a better, happier ending.

So take a lesson from those folks we talked about earlier.  Remember to get off on the right foot–no matter what it is you’re doing:  meeting someone new, interviewing for a job, or painting your exterior trim.  Get off on the right foot and you’ll end up happy at the finish line.