Colour Ideas For The Stairway

Unionville

Interior and Exterior Painting in Unionvillle.

Ecopainting has been painting for the residents of Unionville and Markham since the early eighties. A lot has changed in 30 years, not the least of which is the demographics of this suburban “village”. As in most of the GTA there has been a lot of residential development here, notably north of the 16th line and south of Highway 7.

Without sounding too anachronistic, the Unionville we were painting years ago, was much different than the Unionville of today. When you painted the interior of a home, you were asked to paint the exterior and eventually the entire neighbourhood. All you needed was good old fashioned customer service and some good work.

We know some of these neighbourhood intimately. Around the Bridal Trail subdivision at Carlton and Kennedy we still have some customers since the nineties. Customers were loyal then and losing even one of them was a big deal. Ecopainting made it a point to stay “Top Of Mind” year after year. Norm, Debbie, Helen, Suzanne, Diane, they were all neighbours and you could say hello to all of them within a quick drive.

This is what Diane Koch said after painting her Unionville home:
“Wow! What a transformation! Working with Karon and George has been a pleasurable experience. Their professionalism, beginning with the detailed proposal to the neat and tidy work areas, are factors that will ensure our recommending Ecopainting to family and friends. Their expertise in making recommendations to several areas was fully appreciated. We look forward to seeing them again”

Almira Furniture is a well known furniture store in Unionville. Painting the store was a labour of love for more than 12 years.  Many small paint jobs later, we completely transformed the interior of the store and every  inch of wall and trim has been painted.

Painting for Almira Furniture in Unionville was a badge of accomplishment that we kept for a long time. The owners and employees of the store hired Ecopainting for their own homes and painted for their clients throughout the GTA.

We bought the paint locally and we wouldn’t have it any other way. The place to buy paint in town was Hunter’s Discount Paint. RONA Lansing around the corner was the closest you could get to a big box store.  Rona had the reputation of a local lumberyard and did very well with the locals.

Hunter’s is not around anymore but Chee, one of their employees opened up two Benjamin Moore stores in Markham. With Chee’s experience and his connections, MARKHAM COLOURS & DECOR became one of the best paint stores in the GTA.

Unionville is 33 km northeast of downtown Toronto & 4 km east of Richmond Hill. Main Street is a picturesque downtown street. During the summer, Main Street is crowded by thousands of locals walking up and down the street in European style.
Beautiful outdoor cafes and cute storefronts come to life especially during the Jazz Festival. There are literally tens of thousands visiting the Festival. We often suggest our painters take a walk on Main street after work. Even if just for a cold drink at “Jake’s” or for ice cream, the experience is worth it. We may even say hello to a customer or two.

Complete Painting Services available in Unionville by Ecopainting

Call Ecopainting at 416 733-7767 to paint your home or business and experience the old school service of Unionville.

We offer the following services (editted 20/02/2017):

• Exterior painting
• Restoration painting of Century homes
• Interior painting – Quick repaint for staging and resale is available
• Complete redecorating of entire homes (painting ceilings, walls, woodwork).
• Work for interior designers and colour consultants. Design professionals love the service we provide to their clients. We also love and appreciate the convenience of a paint job as instructed by a design professional.  
• Wallpaper removal and wall repairs. According to some people in the industry, wallpaper is making a modest comeback. Unfortunately most of the wallpaper currently in homes is outdated and needs to be removed. Ecopainting is experienced in removing wallpaper and we use a special, safe, non toxic solution. You don’t really have to be stuck with ugly wallpaper. Our professionals can remove it without any hustle. We can even restore the walls to a perfect condition, ready for redecorating.
• Commercial work in offices, retail stores and restaurants.
  

“I love it. It all comes together now: the yellow gold walls, the fabric and new furniture colour, the wood floors. Thank you, for all of your help, and I hope to see you again when we paint the kitchen – next year!”

Susan W. Repeat client in Markham – Unionville.

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Located In Scarborough

Scarborough’s Local Painting Company, now Officially.

Ecopainting used to be located in Scarborough at 2100 Ellesmere Rd. This was the Aldgate building at the corner of Markham Road and Ellesmere. We loved that office – especially the shared hallways, the sparkling clean washrooms and elevators. Aldgate was a good landlord for us. They allowed alterations within our space without any hesitation and kept the building clean and maintained. When it was time to renew our lease, it was also a time for change for Ecopainting. We decided that it was time for Ecopainting to own a commercial space. You know, to be like the little painting company that grew.

It was early in 2012 when we started looking. Commercial real estate in downtown Toronto was getting to be very expensive. The next best thing for us was to find something outside the downtown area but close to the 401. We paint throughout the GTA and proximity to a major highway would make our daily commute much easier.  Since the majority of our employees lived east of the city, we looked for a place in  the east of Scarborough

What did we find?

A Commercial Space with Potential

We found what we thought at the time was affordable space, on Morningside Avenue, just north of the 401. This had potential written all over it and we decided to purchase it. 1345 Morningside Avenue Unit 20 would be our new location.

When we bought it, it was a place of worship. It had wall to wall red carpet, a wooden podium, and a few other things that we needed to change. We broke some walls, removed the carpet and gathered all our leftover paints. With a Titan 440 sprayer, the place got a makeover and our Scarborough painters got a spray training opportunity as a result!

Within two days and freshly painted, the place looked extra nice and clean! We took time to decide how we wanted our work space to be, and what would work for a painting contractor. We wanted the office area at the front, a kitchenette with cupboards and a washroom. The back area was to be part shop, part storage.

Another advantage of having our own location, was being able to manage the construction waste coming back from the job sites. We contracted a waste disposal company that had good environmental policies. We decided on having weekly pickup of construction waste and recycling. The recycling bin is now getting filled with recyclable materials that the crews collect at the job sites. We recycle anything from cardboard, to drinking containers, even coffee cups. Paint cans with paint in them get taken to a drop off depot in Scarborough, usually a RONA store.

Ecopainting Spreading Roots in the Community

The GTA is a huge area to work in and at times traveling west can be a challenge. We opened a second location in Mississauga* in 2015. The role of this smaller location is to service our western crews. In the meantime, we have some big plans for our main home in Scarborough.

We intend to conduct training programs for our painters, and there’s an exclusive training wall for that purpose. Ecopainting is a socially conscious company with principles that extend beyond our narrow profit margins. For this reason, our doors are open to the community, especially the locals in Scarborough. In the future, Ecopainting will be inviting local individuals and organizations to use our location as a local resource. There will also be educational gatherings and sessions where our painters will share their trade knowledge with the community.

Our office is only minutes away from the Rouge Valley, Scarborough’s own jewel of nature. We are planning for our environmental mandate to go beyond our field responsibilities. We think Ecopainting should be an active participant in local environmental activities. Our company (and painters) should be leaders and advocates of protecting our environment.

We are proud of our growth, our new offices and we are certainly open for business. We are also open to the great community in Scarborough. If there is any way we can help, give us a call at 416 733-7767.

*Update: One year we decided that the Mississauga location was not necessary as most of our painters lived in the east part of the city.

This post was originally published on March 13 2015 and was last updated on February 11 2017.

Located In Scarborough posted first on your-t1-blog-url

Scarborough Paint Store

Our Favourite Scarborough Paint Store

Ecopainting is located in Scarborough and is well established in the local business community. As a result, we support local groups and of course business and vendors. Our favourite Scarborough paint store is Boyd’s Decorating Centre. They are currently located at 590 Ellesmere Road, north west intersection of Birchmount and Ellesmere Road.

We have been using Benjamin Moore paints since the early nineties. Ecopainting was one of the original members of the Painting and Decorating Services (PDS) of Benjamin Moore. This program is not available any more but through our participation, we got to know some local Toronto designers and colour consultants. We also got to understand how important an independent paint dealer is to painting contractors.

The Benjamin Moore dealers are the main reason Toronto painting contractors prefer the brand. The product knowledge, service and trade support you get from a local dealer is second to none.

The Local Paint Store – Boyd’s

A big box store will never be able to replace what a local store means to a community. Ecopainting as a Scarborough based business, has a policy of supporting local vendors and we avoid patronizing big box stores if we can help it.

Boyd’s has been servicing the Scarborough market for over 40 years and their experience is second to none. Over the years the store was in different locations, reflecting the change of demographics and the growth of Scarborough. The first location I remember was the Huntingwood store on Brimley Road. That was a good residential area and a highly sought out market for Scarborough painters. We used to have a few repeat customers in the area and we still service some of them. I remember shopping for paint at Boyd’s on numerous occasions. I remember Judy well, and how she used to provide me valuable product advice every time I needed it.

The store later moved in the Parkway Mall, where they operated for many years. The biggest advantage of that location was that it was open late and you could buy paint during shopping mall hours. Especially when working late at commercial painting projects in Scarborough. Their current location on Ellesmere Road is by far the most convenient for our painters to buy Benjamin Moore paint from. The store is much bigger, and brighter, thanks to many large windows. Contractors love the convenience of a well-stocked store and of course the always available parking.

Julia, one of our painters, visited Boyd’s and learned about their long history. She had an opportunity to interview Paul Boyd, who is part owner of Boyd’s Decorating Centre. Paul graciously agreed to provide Ecopainting this amazing and heartfelt review. The transcript of the interview is provided after the video.

How long have you known Ecopainting?

Ecopainting, I am gonna say I ‘ve known them since 2007. Judy goes back much further knowing them. But for us, we find both Karon and George very professional. In saying that, there is a real human element to the two of them. They are personable, other than selling them paint, we have come to know some of their personal lives and what they like and dislike. For us at Boyds, for the staff, Shelley and I, this is part of selling paint. It’s getting to know our customer, we have almost become the fifties barbershop, they will come in, tell us about their weekend, some will share their problems.

What Do You like about Ecopainting? 

They buy paint from me, I love that! Besides that and their business, they are great people once again. Like a lot of our customers, they will share some stories, we got to know these people. It’s not just about standing on this side of the counter and selling paint. They are real people, they are professional, they hire people like yourself. They pay their bills, and as a distributor of paints, when they run a business that professional, then you got to assume that’s how their paint jobs turn out.

They know what they want, they are educated, they are right up on all the eco products. So anyone that would hire these people, it comes with the knowledge …or they come with the knowledge they truly know what they are doing.

Thank you Paul, this type of endorsement is very valuable to us, especially coming from a respected business in the Scarborough Community. We look forward to many years of the same amazing service we have been receiving.

This post was originally published on May 24 2015 and was last updated on February 2 2017.

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Scarborough Commercial Painting

Commercial Painting Service by local Scarborough Contractor.

Ecopainting is located in the North East part of Scarborough. We recently purchased our own commercial condo in an up and coming industrial part of the city. Being only a short drive north of the 401 on Morningside Avenue, our company premises have become a busy hub for our painters and crews. We paint throughout the GTA but it’s always convenient when the job sites are in close proximity.

Scarborough used to have a strong industrial presence when companies such as General Motors and GE among others, represented its manufacturing base. Due to the de-industrialization of the economy, the manufacturing sector experienced a net loss of 1,758 jobs between 2002 and 2012. In contrast, the retail and service sectors together experienced a growth of over 3,000 jobs.

Commercial Services in Scarborough by Ecopainting

Being a commercial painting contractor in Scarborough has its advantages. Ecopainting regularly gets the opportunity to work with local clients who are either major employers in the area or established corporate citizens. Our professional Scarborough painters have painted:

• Commercial and industrial plants such as G&K Services
• Office Space and buildings
• Food processing facilities
• Health institutions like Bellwood Health Services
• Outpatient health facilities for the Rouge Valley Health System
• Retail establishments in the Scarborough Town Centre
• Condominium and apartment buildings
• Schools and educational facilities
• Public Transit Stations, such as the Go Transit Stations
  

Commercial customers have specific expectations from a Painting contractor. Most importantly, they would like the least disruption to their production processes. Retailers like contractors to be considerate of their customers. In care facilities, the number one priority is the comfort of patients and residents.

Ecopainting has a working understanding of these distinct requirements and works closely with facility managers to make their projects as hassle-free as possible.

Two Commercial Painting Projects in Scarborough (one is retail and the other industrial)

Lululemon Store (Scarborough Town Centre). This was one of their busiest locations and being in a mall it stayed open late. To avoid interference with their retail operations, all painting was to take place after closing time. A big and experienced crew was assigned to work overnight. We did all prep work and repairs immediately so they could dry quickly. The specialty primers had one hour dry and recoat properties. The customer specified the colours and they were bright and vibrant. Bright colours often require the application of multiple coats to achieve 100% hiding of the previous colour. To reduce the number of needed coats, we decided to use high quality fast drying paints. Specifically the product line was Benjamin Moore’s Aura. Aura dries very fast and allows for possible recoating in one hour. This paint also happens to be one of the most durable in the market. It employees Benjamin Moore’s proprietary Colour Lock technology and allows for years of durability and colour retention.

The other problem we wanted to avoid was the offensive smell that most paints emit. The store opens every morning and freshly painted walls come with the expected paint smell. Not this time, Aura paint came to the rescue again. This revolutionary product has low VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) and uses waterbourne colourants. Despite the strong colours like orange and purple, the smell of paint in the morning was minimal. We painted at this facility twice within a year, and both times we completed the work in one night.

Durapaint Industries. This company is located in the north east, industrial part of Scarborough. Durapaint is a supplier of pre-coated metal parts and equipment for the building industry. They have a large 60,000 square feet modern facility.  Inside their premises they have an enormous spray facility. The painting “assembly line” is 35,000 square feet in size and utilizes some of the most modern ventilation technologies. When they were building it, they engaged the services of the Ecopainting crews to paint some of the structural parts. These were very tall metal structures and we used aerial lift equipment to reach them. This time we used coatings from Devoe’s industrial paints. Later, we went back to paint some of their metal exterior structures including their state of the art paint filtering system. 

According to Statistics Canada 2011, Scarborough has a population of 625,698. That is larger than the city of Halifax, the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, or the combined areas of Kitchener, Cambridge and Waterloo.

Ecopainting is experiencing growth throughout the GTA. As a Scarborough based company, we are here to help, please call 416 733-7767 to know more about our painting services.

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North York Exterior Painting

Exterior Painting of North York House – Natalie’s story.

North York is a beautiful area to explore if you are in one of its neighbourhoods. There are a number of well designed, luxurious homes worthy of being featured in a magazine. Ecopainting gets a number of exterior painting jobs in North York every summer. The residents take pride in their homes and keep the exteriors well maintained. We have done work for a large number of homes in the area. The newer, bigger homes keep our exterior crews busy for a long period of time. Whereas, the older homes are smaller in size but may require more attention to detail.

Irrespective of the size of your house, Ecopainting succeeds at a successful, hassle-free paint job each time. A while ago, we painted a home in the Bathurst & Lawrence area. Our client was particularly impressed with the Painting Crew and the Job Manager.

While requesting a customer testimonial is a part of our closing procedure, there are instances when clients go out of their way to provide us with a descriptive version of their experience with us. It is these notes that we treasure and display on our website. Words of encouragement are hard to come by but Natalie from North York had a lot to say!

Here is an excerpt from the email Natalie wrote to us after Ecopainting painted her North York home:

“We have done numerous renovations on our North York home since we bought it in 2006. We knew that it was a house that needed and would continue to need a lot of love. “She (Rachel, a Job Manager)” has not let us down! Over the years, we have had a number of crews come to our home and it has usually felt very intrusive and we have usually felt out of control in the whole process. Ecopainting has been the exception. The first time Rachel phoned at 7:45 to let us know that they would not be starting at 9 a.m. with an explanation as to why, I was completely shocked! It was so respectful and allowed both my husband and I to feel in control of our schedules – which is extremely important when you work from home. In all our years and projects dealing with contractors this had never happened.

Rachel is not only a fantastic young woman who loves both people and her work, but she happens to be an excellent painter. Her background in Fine Arts means that she takes painting seriously – even house painting! The job she did managing the crew and the quality of work she did, in the time frame it took, was worth every penny we paid. We have never had so many requests for input and feedback about the work they were doing. Feedback was not only listened to but appreciated and acted upon immediately. This really is not the norm!

We have a few more complex projects coming up and we will definitely use Ecopainting again”

Warmly,

Natalie

Ecopainting  dedicated crews of painters and job managers who are deeply committed to their roles. It is often difficult to quantify or review the experience you have had with a ‘service’. That’s where we go the extra mile and make your exterior painting experience memorable.

If you are in North York or need painters anywhere in the GTA – don’t wait for summer! Schedule your exterior painting job today – call us on 416-733-7767 for an estimate.

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Painting for a Markham Customer.

This blog is about painting in Markham, at Susan’s and  Michael’s home. We will talk about their customer experience through Susan’s comments and her testimonials. We will get to meet Harley and his sidekick Rio (their pet parrots). Harley and Rio are the central characters every time we visit or talk about this lovely home.

A little bit about Customer Service

Customer service is not about the contractors and the paint job. It is about the customer and what they think about having you inside their home. Walls and doors can look spectacular with paint, but it’s still a paint job. Service is about producing a real and pleasant customer experience. These days the consumer has different ways of sharing their experiences. Online reviews is one place to see customer comments. The problem with online reviews is that people now distrust them as being fake. Ecopainting keeps records of all handwritten and signed customer testimonials.

Let’s meet Harley, the pet parrot

Susan and Michael live in the Unionville area of Markham. They live with their pets Harley and Rio. The moment you walk in you can’t miss who is at the epicenter of this home is, it’s Harley. His presence was evident since the first estimate  & continued right through our paint jobs later.

Karon our estimator said about Harley. “Harley didn’t like the landscapers outside because they were loud. He didn’t mind the painters working inside the house, you would think we enjoyed the company. He would look at you, swaying from side to side…like he was dancing! While painting in the family room, you would hear a frequent “hello” from the kitchen next door. If you were having a conversation, you might hear “really?” when Harley was listening. It actually sounded like a legitimate question!”

First we painted the main living areas in shades of creams and greens and yellows. We used Natura eggshell and Aura Bath & Spa paints from Benjamin Moore. A few weeks later, the new hardwood floors complimented the colours beautifully.

Susan’s comments: “Karon, I remember you asking me whether I liked the family room colour. My reply was that I’d wait and see after we installed the wood. That was when it would all come together. Well, the wood has is in (and the furniture recovered). I thought I’d share these pics with you and turn the tables: what do you think? I love it. The yellow gold walls, the fabric and new furniture colour, the wood floors. It all comes together now. Thank you for all your help. I hope to see you again when we redo the kitchen!”

We went back to Markham to paint the new kitchen and Susan was again delighted:

“Wonderful – What a difference professionals make to a reno project. From suggesting complimentary colours for the whole house to delivery of proposed results.  The whole effect is one of warmth, unity, and elegance. Complete thanks to Karon and her team!”

When it was time to paint the exterior, there was no doubt who the contractor would be. Earning the trust of a few good customers can keep a painting company busy with repeat work and word of mouth alone. In April 2011 we painted the windows doors and door frames. Lennox and Rachel are the painters pictured here.

In 2014 back painting the home again

It was 2014 and time to paint for one of our favourite customers again. They upgraded their windows and the front door. This time we primed and prepped the new wood and applied two coats of Para Paints semi-gloss. The crew was Aziz and Alex but the results the quality of work and service was the same. Alex got to meet Harley and his sidekick parrot for the first time. Susan was not present during the work but she was equally impressed:

“Hi Karon, I’m sorry I missed you during the ‘painting season’. I suffer from the pains of working downtown and the traffic. Michael kept me well informed and I’m grateful you could conclude before Christmas. I just wanted to tell you that I love (love!) the colours you and I chose for our house a few years back. Even the living room looks great. Your choice it was (I was hesitant) and you were right. It’s perfect. As usual, your painters did a great job. Better than Michael and I could do on those windowsills – many thanks. He made such a fuss when they were here and you know how noisy he can be first hand!”

Update: In 2015 we completed another project for Michael and Susan. We cleaned and restained their backyard deck. This job deserves a full project description of it’s own. I hope to write a blog (with many pictures) about painting and staining decks in the GTA.
In January of 2017, Alex went back for yet another paint job. She painted their interior oak railing in bright white.  

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