The most unusual item painted in one of the H.J. Holtz & Son spray booths?
A ceramic goat. Residential Painting
The four-legged figure – two-and-a half-feet from hoof to ear, and two-and-a-half-feet from head to tail – calls a basement rec room home and is a favorite of the family daughter.
“We talked about putting horns on it, but decided just to paint it,” says Kelly Kutchey, Holtz & Son production manager. “We used a high-gloss white, and their daughter just loved it.”
While the company is known for meticulous attention to larger projects, a keen eye is also useful for smaller projects.
“I don’t think people think about this aspect [of our services],” Kutchey says. “There’s a real benefit of having a professional do these kinds of jobs; we’re not just going to grab an aerosol can. The prep work we do with air tools is phenomenal, and we use industrial-strength urethane paint.”
Another benefit Holtz & Son offers comes in the form of two in-house spray booths: one 15 feet by 30 feet, the other 30 feet by 45 feet. The larger booth has a dedicated HVAC system, installed in 2015, that creates a completely contained painting environment. When the booth is closed, the climate system eliminates humidity and dust, and regulates the temperature to create ideal painting conditions, which are essential for a smooth, bubble-free finish that’s pleasing to touch.
“It’s been a good investment,” Kuchey says, noting that the larger booth easily accommodates a small job alongside larger projects, such as shutters, cabinets, doors, or metal window well grates.
Other intriguing paint jobs include an antique wood bin, likely used for storing potatoes or onions; a wire metal trash can; and a fountain and pond. “The fountain had lattice woodwork all around it; that takes a little bit of time,” Kutchey says.
Holtz & Son paints pianos, too, whether upright or grand, to give a brightened, fresh finish. “[Painted pianos] look wonderful and become statement pieces,” Kutchey says. To date, three pianos have come in for updating. The most dramatic change: one piano went from brown to a cool blue. “It was a very large grand piano, and the homeowner arranged for Richmond Piano to transport it to the shop,” Kutchey says. “They rolled it in, and we sprayed it.”
Often, smaller paint jobs come from existing customers who tack on to work in progress. But not always. “We just did a little one-drawer side table that came in all by itself,” Kutchey says. “Their neighbor had something done [by us], and they loved it.”