Camp Hill Addition: Painting Through Delays with Style

If there’s one thing we’ve learned at Just Add Paint, it’s that no two projects are ever the same. Some go off without a hitch (rare, like spotting a unicorn). Others… well, let’s just say they keep us on our toes, our ladders, and our caffeine supply line. This story falls firmly in the latter category.

Recently, we tackled an addition in Camp Hill, PA, for a repeat customer of ours. When a client comes back to us, we know two things: (1) they liked our work the first time, and (2) they trust us enough to survive whatever chaos their latest home project throws our way. And in this case? Chaos came wearing the nametag of “every other trade in the book.”

The Many Faces of Delay

Just Add Paint — When Schedules Collide: A Camp Hill Addition Painted with Patience

Additions are a team sport. There’s the framer who makes sure the new space doesn’t collapse, the plumber who brings in the pipes, the carpenter who works magic with wood, and the drywaller who… well, we’ll get to them in a minute.

The plan was simple enough: once everyone else did their part, we’d swoop in with brushes and rollers and make the place shine. But as the old saying goes, “The best-laid plans of homeowners and painters often go sideways when other trades are involved.”

This project was delayed so many times it could have qualified as a Netflix miniseries: The Delays: Season One. Months after the original start date, we finally got the green light. Our homeowner? Patient as a saint. Us? Determined not to be the straw that broke the drywall camel’s back.

So we got flexible—like yoga-instructor flexible. To stay ready, we sprinkled “mystery days” into our calendar, just in case. If she said “Tuesday,” we were there Tuesday. If she said “tomorrow,” we were out the door faster than you can say “primer coat.”

The Drywall Saga

A Camp Hill Addition Painted with Patience, BEFORE

Now, about that drywall. We don’t mind fixing minor imperfections—nail pops, seams, the usual suspects. But what greeted us here was… well, let’s call it “abstract drywall art.” Seams visible from space, patches that looked like they’d been finished blindfolded, and corners sharp enough to star in a sword fight.

We started painting, took one look, and said, “Nope.” This wasn’t a “touch-up with spackle” situation. This was a “bring in the drywall cavalry” situation.

Cue another delay. A full-time drywall crew had to return and redo the work. Not ideal, but at least our brushes got to go outside and play with some doors and shutters for a day. After all, it is prime exterior season…

On the bright side, we made good use of Day One: caulking and puttying all the trim so that once the drywall was fixed, we’d be ready to hit the ground running. Because if there’s one thing we hate more than bad drywall, it’s wasting time watching paint dry.

Painting in the Gaps

Just Add Paint Interior residential project — A Camp Hill Addition Painted with Patience, DURING PROGRESS PIC

Once the drywall dust literally settled, we rolled back in with primer. Fresh walls need a solid base, and nothing says “clean slate” like primer doing its thing. While that dried, we bounced around the rest of the house tackling random touch-ups the homeowner had been saving for us.

And let me tell you, “touch-ups” is a polite way of saying “all the little battle scars left behind by other trades.” We patched, we painted, and we made things disappear like the magicians that we are. Pro tip: 4″ x 1/2″ mini roller covers often make us look good when it comes to touch-ups.

On another visit, we circled back to handle trim painting and started on the walls in rooms we were confident wouldn’t be disturbed by the constant parade of tradespeople. As the old saying goes: “never fully finish a wall right next to where a plumber is still swinging wrenches”. Which in our case meant the bathroom.

For trim, we used Sherwin-Williams Emerald Urethane, because when you’re dealing with brand-new woodwork in a high-traffic area, you want the Cadillac of paints. Durable, washable, and tough enough to handle life with several cats.

The Final Stretch

Home addition project — A Camp Hill Addition Painted with Patience, Room With A View AFTER Just Add Paint, interior ideas

Six weeks. That’s how long it took for every contractor to finish, correct mistakes, and finally step aside so we could put the cherry on top. When the dust (and drama) finally cleared, we came back for our final coats.

The walls got dressed in Sherwin-Williams Shoji White in Cashmere Eggshell finish. If you haven’t seen this color in person, picture a crisp, soft white with just enough warmth to keep it from looking sterile. Against a bright white ceiling, it offers the perfect contrast—subtle, elegant, and timeless. It’s the kind of color that works with literally any décor: modern, farmhouse, eclectic, or even the classic “I just bought everything from HomeGoods.”

We wrapped up six hours ahead of schedule (yes, you read that right—ahead), which almost never happens in an addition project with this many moving parts. More importantly, we didn’t cause any new delays. In the world of home renovations, that’s about as close to sainthood as a painting company can get.

The Homeowner’s Reaction

Just Add Paint Remodel in Mechanicsburg — When Schedules Collide: A Camp Hill Addition Painted with Patience: The Homeowner’s Reaction

Our customer was thrilled. She’d waited patiently through months of delays, drywall disasters, and scheduling hiccups. To finally see her new space crisp, clean, and finished felt like crossing the finish line of a marathon (without the leg cramps).

For us, the win was twofold: not only did we deliver a beautiful final product, but we also proved that with enough flexibility (and a little stubborn determination), we could keep a job moving even when the schedule was as stable as a Jenga tower.

Lessons Learned (with a Wink)

Drywall is not optional décor. No matter how pretty your paint color, it won’t disguise bad drywall work. Trust us—we’ve tried.
Flexibility is a superpower. Keeping “mystery days” open in our schedule paid off. Sometimes you have to roll with the punches (and the plumbers).
Shoji White never misses. It’s crisp, it’s classy, and it plays well with ceilings. What more do you want?
Staying ahead of schedule is possible. Rare, yes. But possible. We’ve got the six-hours-ahead bragging rights to prove it.
START with the inspection light after a fresh drywall job. Yes, it seems counterintuitive since we are not professional drywall finishers, and new drywall completed by a professional should be pristine. However, we could have shaved off another hour or 2 of confusion on this project if we had broken out the big lights immediately.

The Just Add Paint Difference

Camp Hill Pa Painting Project — A Camp Hill Addition Painted with Patience, AFTER

At the end of the day, painting isn’t just about putting color on walls. It’s about managing the chaos of construction, being patient when others aren’t, and doing whatever it takes to make the final reveal worth the wait.

For this Camp Hill addition, our role was more than just “the painters.” We were the schedulers, the patch-up crew, the touch-up magicians, and, occasionally, the therapists (because, yes, sometimes a homeowner just needs to vent about drywall. And Curtis does have a degree in Psychology, and is always on call…).

And when the dust cleared (literally), what remained was a fresh, inviting space painted with precision, care, and just the right amount of humor.