Painting a Multi-Building Co-op in Queens

Fresh coats of paint set the stage for a classy kind of co-op lifestyle in Queens. This largest of the Big Apple boroughs geographically boasts an uber diverse population hovering around 2.4 million. Home to both JFK and LaGuardia airports, the sky space is one of the busiest in the country. Those with a window seat cannot see inside buildings as they ascend or descend in a jet airplane, but if they could, their eyes and smiles would widen gazing at one of Paintworks & Decorating’s recent jobs.

We tackled everything from stairwells, stair spindles and hand rails to doors and door frames in a multi-building co-op property. The advantage of being a shareholder resident is having a say in everything including maintenance, and it was obvious from the get-go that these co-op dwellers take seriously having professionally painted spaces. The buildings in this complex are connected, and our work in the common spaces and lobbies lends continuity to the property. We at Paintworks were especially honored to arrive on site with our paints, rollers, brushes, buckets, ladders and all the stuff that jobs like this requires. In an orderly fashion, we proceeded, giving particular attention to stair spindles and hand rails, keeping paint where paint belongs and then skim coating walls for a smooth finish. And that’s also what we wish for everyone in those airplanes over Queens, a smooth finish as in a safe landing.

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Co-op Interior Painting Manhattan

This client called us days before closing on a home in the historic west village area of Manhattan. We love that he chose to go with a light gray for trim and against the off white walls. It’s a nice contrast that is unique. We were able to get co-op approval extremely fast and paint before he moved in.

Finished Master bedroom

Other side of Master bedroom with bold colored doors

The prep stage - Level 4 plastering on walls and ceilings

Jackson Heights Skim Coating and Interior Painting

Jackson Heights is home to many historic residential buildings that are wonderfully built and preserved details. Unfortunately as time goes on and apartments constantly change hands these once fine and beautiful details become lost. Plaster starts to fail, the walls become warped and wonky. Door frames covered in 10+ coats of paint hide the once detailed frame. Good news is that all of this can be fixed. This new homeowner wanted the apartment returned to its original glory and we were happy to help. As professional plasterers and door frame strippers in Queens we immediately knew how to remedy the situation after walking the space. With our Jackson Heights skim coating team in place we began the 4 day process of giving all walls and ceilings of the apartment a Level 4 treatment. Level 4 is 3-4 layers of compound applied to the surfaces to give a smooth look and feel, replacing any current texture. The bottom picture shows a bedroom during the 2nd day of plastering. While the plaster was drying we began the process of stripping all the door frames. Removing years of paint from door frames is an intensive process that takes expertise and patience. Once the paint was removed from the door frames we re-plastered around the frames to make everything look new again. With the plaster dried we sanded all walls and ceilings with fine sandpaper to ensure proper smoothness. We then primed all surfaces to ready them for the finish coats. Using 2 coats of Benjamin Moore Aura we painted the entire apartment. We loved the accent walls and door colors the client chose. Painting the furnace cover a different color from the wall is unique and worked out well. Painting historic Queens Co-ops can be a challenge but it is always worth it. We are thankful for this very involved project and the way the finished place looks.