by HJ HOLTZ | Jan 13, 2026 | Exterior Painting
While winter weather might make planning an outdoor gathering inadvisable, exterior painting is still possible, thanks to our region’s generally moderate temperatures. Whole-house paintings are usually held for late winter or spring, when weather is becoming more predictable, but smaller jobs that can be executed quickly will protect your house while keeping it looking fresh. Plus, those small touch-ups will prepare the house for spring events or gatherings.
The best starting point is simply to stand at a distance from your house – across the street, if possible, or at the end of the driveway. What do you see? Is the front door easy to spot? Are shutters hanging square with intact paint? Are railings in good repair, with no flaking or chips? Do the windows show obvious wear? Is the mailbox post solid and clean? Can you see glimmers of unpainted wood showing through on painted fencing?
An H.J. Holtz & Son estimator is happy to walk through an assessment of outdoor features, because paint is one of the best barriers to moisture for any surface. When paint begins to chip and flake, the wood beneath is exposed – to rain, snow, sleet, and hail – and thus becomes more susceptible to damage. In addition to offering painting services, H.J. Holtz & Son can also provide carpentry repairs for damaged wood – no need to find a new vendor for additional services.
Depending on the job, repairs and painting may be completed on site or in the Holtz shop, using one of our spray booths. These booths allow us to apply coatings efficiently and in a controlled environment where the temperature is always ideal and debris blowing by won’t get stuck in fresh paint. Shutters and doors, especially, are painted in the spray booth.
Even if the home’s complete exterior doesn’t need a fresh coat of paint, touching up specific elements is a good maintenance strategy, signaling your care and attention. Plus, these small projects refresh the house and serve as the first hospitality to guests and visitors. Call 804-358-4109 to request a review.
by HJ HOLTZ | Nov 17, 2025 | INTERIOR PAINTING
Mark Twain is credited with saying “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” While Twain likely wasn’t thinking about home improvement projects, his advice holds. The beginning point of any change to your home is to have a conversation about what you want and need, because no work can happen until there’s a plan.
At H.J. Holtz & Son, we’d like to encourage you to consider the interior painting or interior carpentry projects that could be accomplished this winter. Here are our top 5 reasons why you should call us now:
- The sooner you contact us, the sooner you lock in dates. We want to accommodate your work window. Maybe you want to have a fresh space for your Super Bowl party – or maybe you don’t want to start until after that big game. Maybe you want a transformation to happen over spring break, when you’re out of town. Once your contract is signed, you’re on our schedule.
- Book now, and lock in 2025 labor rates. One of the things we pride ourselves on at H.J. Holtz & Son is our ability to train and retain quality craftspeople. That requires regular pay increases. We don’t know yet how our pricing will change in 2026, but like any other business facing increased costs in supplies, gas, and utilities, we doubt our prices will drop.
- If you have a signed contract with us and we can’t do the work this winter, you’ll be first in line for spring. Even with a plan in place, schedules can shift. Maybe something changes in your life, or maybe an unknown repair issue surfaces that needs to be addressed. Once we’re working with you on a project, we’re going to see it through, no matter how long that takes.
- Think about upcoming occasions. Look at your calendar for 2026. Are you planning to host any special events in your home – a graduation, bridal or baby shower, retirement party, anniversary celebration? Even if there’s nothing planned, it’s good to be ready for the unexpected, like a visit from future in-laws or a cookout to welcome a new neighbor. You want your home to look its best every day, and we do, too.
- We have craftspeople ready to work. Unlike many other home services companies, we keep our employees year-round; we don’t have seasonal layoffs. In winter months, our exterior team members are more available for interior work, which means we can handle more jobs simultaneously. When our calendar is full, that’s when we’re our most efficient.
Channel your inner Mark Twain today, and give H.J. Holtz & Son a call to start your project – 804-358-4109.
by HJ HOLTZ | Nov 3, 2025 | INTERIOR PAINTING
Not every change to a home has to shout. Sometimes, a whisper can be just as effective.
When a house gets a fresh coat of paint on its exterior or on multiple interior room walls, the outcome is dramatic and obvious. But it’s also possible to brighten a home with smaller improvements, such as painting trim, windows, railings, and fireplace surrounds.
Interior trim takes a lot of abuse. Think about your house’s entrances and all the traffic. Dings come from items being carried both inside and out, such as sports equipment, backpacks and tote bags, mail-order boxes, even strollers or mobility aids like canes and rolling walkers. Most of the time, we don’t even realize the damage we’ve caused just by putting our hands on a door frame, but dirt and oils from our skin are easily transferred to the surface, which will dull or discolor paint. Windowsills are prime locations for finger- and handprints; as flat, horizontal surfaces, they’re also magnets for dust and dirt.
If your house has more than one floor, then you have a staircase somewhere. Every staircase has a newel post, railing, and balusters, and they get banged, too. A fresh coat of paint on that essential structure will add sparkle to a space that is often overlooked. And if you want to go the extra step, consider painting the stairs themselves. Contrasting risers and treads bring visual interest without a large amount of paint.
Another relatively small interior project is to paint a fireplace surround. By its very nature, a fireplace dominates a room, whether there are flames crackling inside or not. You can easily make a statement with an eye-catching color or a crisp neutral that anchors the room.
As with any painting project, preparation is key to success. H.J. Holtz & Son painters assess every surface at the start of a job. Necessary repairs – usually handled in-house, thanks to our skilled carpenters – occur before painting begins to ensure a smooth, even finish. No matter the size of the job, H.J. Holtz & Son guarantees customer satisfaction.
by HJ HOLTZ | Oct 13, 2025 | Employees
Estimator Travis Gibson likes to learn. “I thrive for a challenge, in all aspects of life,” he says. “I’ll tackle something head-on until I perfect it.”
That attitude has served Gibson well. This month, he celebrates his 15th year with H.J. Holtz & Son.
Gibson came to the company with painting experience, having worked for his father, also a painter. With that background, he started on a paint team right away and refined his skills. “My dad was always really focused on high quality but not so much speed,” Gibson says. “When I started out [here], I wasn’t as fast as I became.”
Gibson spent roughly six years working as a painter and painting foreman. Then he was a project manager for approximately four years, seeing all types of Holtz jobs. He’s been an estimator for five years; he handles the majority of appointments now.
“I always came forward and said I was interested in the next step,” Gibson says. “The timing worked [to become an estimator] because I was interested in coming into the office, then one estimator left, and the position was available.”.
Gibson now works primarily outside of the office, meeting clients in their homes and businesses to see, first-hand, what the project entails. His experience in the field serves him – and the clients – well. “I’ve done all the work before, so I know how to set expectations and how to explain what’s going to happen, in layman’s terms,” he says. “When you can explain all that, it makes it so much easier to understand the process and pricing.”
Before moving into the estimator’s role fully, Gibson shadowed company president Rick Holtz for several months, watching the process. “Rick was a great teacher, and he’s always there if I have a question,” Gibson says. “I really appreciate his willingness to give us the tools we need to succeed.”
Gibson says he enjoys how the company prioritizes closeness and camaraderie among employees, even as it’s grown larger over the years. “It used to be a small family business, but not any more … the size of the company blows my mind,” he says.
Another constant over the years are the standards the company upholds, he says. “My favorite thing about Holtz is the quality. We’re not going to stop until we know it’s right. We want to do work that we can put our name behind.”
Congratulations, Travis!
by HJ HOLTZ | Oct 6, 2025 | INTERIOR PAINTING
For Cathy, having H.J. Holtz & Son paint kitchen cabinets and nearby walls was the crowning touch to a home renovation that began years ago.
After purchasing the home in 2017, Cathy wanted to make it her own. “I went through the house, working room by room,” she says. “The kitchen was redone by the previous owner 15 years ago, so I only really needed to paint. I took my time and thought about what I wanted to do with my cabinets.”
The kitchen isn’t the first project H.J. Holtz & Son completed for the homeowner. Over the years, Cathy has called on the company to hang wallpaper and paint many areas of the house, interior and exterior, including the front door and shutters. Cathy credits her interior designer for pointing her in Holtz’s direction. “I always use [H.J. Holtz & Son],” Cathy says. “They go above and beyond.”
The kitchen cabinets were originally an off-white. Now, they pop with Farrow & Ball Pigeon, a blue-gray. Nearby trim, ceiling and walls are done in Benjamin Moore Dove Wing in different finishes – flat on the ceiling, matte on the walls, and satin on the trim. Additional family room cabinets are Dove Wing in satin.
Cathy says the final look was supported by ideas proposed by the Holtz team. “They offered lots of suggestions that I hadn’t thought of, like which color we should use for the trim to complement the wall color,” she says. “They’re very willing to work with my designer, too.”
Cathy says the team also noticed cracking around a skylight and drywall damage elsewhere, all of which they repaired before painting. The team removed the cabinet fronts and took them to the shop for prepping and finishing in the spray room. The boxes were prepped and painted in place. The team also replaced all the cabinet hardware, to further update the look.
“The team is so professional,” Cathy says. “The focus isn’t on ‘Let’s get this job done quickly,’ but the time involved was reasonable. The painters are very polite and nice to have around.”
The finished project is just what Cathy hoped for. “It looks amazing,” she says. “Everything they said they were going to do, they did, and more. I turn to them when I want something spectacular, special. You’re not going to get that from anyone else.”
