Hello World! Welcome Friends! Painting the exterior of your house is not a job to be taken lightly – an exterior that has been painted properly should look great for at least 10 years. However, if the job has not been done properly you may end up with peeling or flaking paint which, other than looking dreadful and lowering your resale value, increases your risk for weather damage to your woodwork – costing you more as you replace rotten boards.
If you live in an area with extreme weather conditions like Colorado which has beautiful warm summers, and crisp, cold dry winters, you need to be even more aware of paint types and preparation work. When you’re looking at painting the exterior of your house you really want to talk to someone like Highlands Ranch Painters who know the tips and tricks to making sure that you get the best paint job – one that won’t peel off with the next snow storm. However, whether you are looking at having a go at DIY or hiring a professional painter, there are a few things to look out for.
Painting Preparation
Preparing your exterior for painting is really the most important step to a good paint job. If you’re very lucky you might get away with washing the house down with a hose and brushing with a soft broom. More likely you will need to water blast to remove more stubborn problems (being careful not to remove or damage the solid exterior). Some areas may even need to be sanded, particularly if you have peeling paint from a poorly done last exterior painting job. If you have an older house, make sure that the paint you’re sanding isn’t lead-based.
The next step is generally to paint on primer – but what sort of primer is going to be best will depend on the paint that you will be using. This is definitely something to talk to your paint supplier about if you’re doing it yourself or ask your painter if you’re hiring a professional like Sydney’s Best Painting Service.
Exterior Preparation Tips
Weather – if you can, paint in spring or summer. Paint needs to be at a certain temperate to actually dry – check your weather forecast before you paint and make sure that your night temperate isn’t going to drop too low https://weather.com/weather/tenday/l/USCO0105:1:US
Plants – particularly if you are doing the painting yourself, cover your plants! You’ll be surprised how much paint can drip and damage plants and flowers. You’ll also want to prune, trim or tie back any tree branches or plants that will get in your way when you’re painting.
Safety – again this is something important if you are doing it alone but making sure that you have access to a good ladder that can reach the heights you need to is going to be essential. Scaffolding is better, as that removes the temptation to lean just a bit further in order to avoid having to climb down and move the ladder a few feet. Check the line on the ground around your house, will you have a safe, solid, flat surface to place your ladder on right the way round? Or will you need to look at putting down a wood/brick floor to stabilize your ladder?
Getting the Right Paint
You may have thought that choosing the color you wanted to paint gave you an overwhelming number of choices – but the type of paint you use is even more important.
If you’re painting over pre-existing paint you will want to make sure that you know what sort of paint it is. Take a chip of the paint to the paint store and ask them to test it, or you could always strip the paint back to wood and start again, but that is pretty extreme.
Paint Tip
Don’t use an acrylic paint on top of an old oil-based paint, the paint doesn’t adhere as well, and you run the risk of it peeling off.
Paint Types
You will generally be choosing either an oil-based paint or an acrylic/latex based paint. Oil-based paints do tend to last longer, however an acrylic based paint is generally easier to work with to get a nice-looking finish – which is something to be aware of if this is your first time painting a house exterior.
Safety Tip
Wear protective gear no matter what type of paint you are using. You don’t want to breathe in the paint fumes (click here for allergy and safety information).
Click the links below for any posts you may have missed!
How to Unpack into a Small Kitchen
Tips for Creating a Home Office Space
Redecorate your Home on a Budget
Simple Interior Details for your Bedroom
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