How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your house in Durham needs to be updated, a new coat of paint is an easy, inexpensive option to improve its appearance. So if your house is looking shabby or if you’re just ready for something different, consider repainting the exterior of your house yourself or hire a professional painter to do the job for you.

Painting a house is a huge project, but it isn’t an unreasonable job for most homeowners. You just need to do your research to understand how to prep the surface by scheduling residential pressure washing, as well as which brushes and paints to use.

You can meet in the middle with a professional painter by doing all of the prep work on your own, but then having their crew come in and do the painting with their tools, safety equipment and selected paint.

Whichever direction is right for you, you will still want to know exactly how to prepare your home for painting. Here are the most important things to remember.

6 House Painting Preparation Tips

1. Choose which parts of the home to paint, gather the ladders and all other safety equipment. If you’re planning to complete the painting yourself, you’ll thank yourself later. Having a plan will help to make the painting project go a lot faster as soon as you get started. Collecting your tools beforehand guarantees that when you begin painting, you shouldn’t have to stop and look for needed supplies, meaning you’ll be able to maintain a wet edge the whole time you are painting.
2. Choose the right paint and brushes. The fun part of painting your home’s exterior is choosing the color or color combination. You will also want to choose the right paint finishes for each part of the house. Latex is better than oil-based paint for home exteriors. It’s less messy and much easier to clean up. The flat surfaces require more of a flat, or matte, finish, versus semi-gloss. You’ll want synthetic fiber brushes for latex paint. Rollers and sprayers are time-saving options.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it’s time to begin prepping the surface of the house for its brand new paint! Invest time into power washing your house (or hiring a local pressure washing service) to loosen any cracked or peeling paint. The high pressure water is the best way to eliminate old paint, and it simultaneously cleans the exterior of your house. Some areas of paint may peel off as soon as you spray over them. That’s a sign that the paint was aging and had to be replaced!
4. Remove peeling paint. Now that the old paint has been loosened, scrape it off with a metal or plastic straight edge, being diligent not to dig into the wood. Then sand bumpy surfaces for a smooth finish. It isn’t necessary to sand every surface all the way down to the bare wood. Any areas where the paint is still adhered just need to be cleaned and have the edges sanded so the new coat of paint goes on smoothly.
5. Prime. Do not skip the primer! Primer is an important step because it conceals any prior paint (especially important with dark paint colors), results in an even color for your new coat, and a smooth surface with minimal imperfections throughout. Let the primer dry according to the directions so that the original layer of paint doesn’t mix with it or create a rough patch.
6. Plan to paint on the best day. A professional painter can look at the forecast and tell you the most opportune day for applying exterior paint. That’s why they’re experts! If you plan to do the painting on your own, wait for a day that is somewhere between 75 and 85 degrees, and with low humidity. This will lead to the best adhesion.

Why Painting Your Home is a Good Idea

Not only will a new paint job make your house look years newer, it also provides a layer of protection for the overall structure of your house.

Paint will help prevent insects from eating or boring into your home’s exterior. It also prevents wear and tear from inclement weather. High quality paint prevents wood from rotting and dirt cannot stick to paint the way it does to bare wood.

Peeling paint is an obvious indication that it is time to be replaced. If your paint is peeling, you need to go ahead and have it repainted in order to protect the wood beneath.

Deteriorating paint takes a toll on your home’s exterior. If you’re worried about curb appeal, painting your house is one of the simplest things you can do.

Painting is a good idea if your house doesn’t seem to “fit in” in the neighborhood. If your home’s color makes it stand out, or if it is the opposite and you want it to stand out, a different paint color can completely change its vibe.

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in Durham

After prepping is complete, you might want to hand the work over to a professional painter in Durham (if you hadn’t already decided that from the start!). Hiring a painter is affordable. It also guarantees that the results will exceed your expectations with little effort from you.

Hiring a local painter to paint your home has several obvious benefits:

• A professional painter will know the optimal way to complete the job, which means the paint will look much better and the project will move a lot faster.
• Companies don’t typically make a big mess. Their results will be much neater, without excess paint splattered or spilled around home.
• Due to their skill and experience, your new paint will last longer than if you painted yourself.
• A professional painter will have the safety equipment necessary to paint anything higher than ground level.

Depending on your DIY abilities and interests, you can trust your painter to complete all the pre-painting preparation, too. Most pros are prepared to take care of every part of the project, from eliminating old paint and cleaning the exterior to actually applying the paint.