An interview with "Jim Weaver of Weaver Custom Painting"

Q: How'd you get started? "I was a painter before I moved here from Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1985. My dad owned Weaver's Protective Coating in Tulsa. I've always had a really strong work ethic-growing up in Oklahoma you get that. I painted for six months here, then I got my business license in April of 1986. I asked questions. I found out who owned what in the area. I got 40 apartments I did for $250 apiece in six weeks. And that's how I got started".

Do you paint exclusively Victorians? "No. But older houses are my greatest challenge. I created (the booklet) "The Care and Feeding of a Victorian Home" in 1999 because I don't want people to paint their house wrong, even if they paint it themselves. I'm currently trying to write a book, "The Care and Feeding of a Victorian Home" that I want to sell. It's going to be pretty informative".

What's your volume? "Maybe 80% of our work is Victorians, and Victorian houses are large. We average out six or seven large houses per season. This year three were monsters. Four were fairly small. I bill 1000 dollars per week per painter. A lot of times I see the job and take my artistic wit and end up giving the customer more than I charged them for-I put that extra third color in there because I want it" "My artistic idiocy".

What's the procedure? "I scrape first, then I bleach and kill all the fungus on the house, then I wash the house. Then I use vacuum assisted palm sanders and vacuum all the dust off of the building. I prime it all, the raw wood twice. If it's deteriorated or rotten, I repair it with Smith's epoxy and Smith's Fill-It. I resand that, repairing the board filler back to smooth. Then I prime and paint"

"I want to give the customer a job that will hold up for 10 years. I'm happy to say we have some holding up after 15. But they fade out on South slopes after about 12 years-the sun kills the pigments".

What was your longest job? "Two months. That was the Historical Ford House at 17th and Grand. She stayed with the original colors she painted the house".