How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your house in Concord has to be updated, a new coat of paint is a quick, inexpensive option to improve its appearance. So if your home is starting to look shabby or if you are just ready for something different, consider painting the outside of your house yourself or pay a professional painter to do the job for you.

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

You can even partner with a professional painter by doing all of the prep work by yourself, but then letting their team come over and do the actual painting with their best tools, safety equipment and selected paint.

Whichever choice is right for you, you’ll still need to know exactly how to prepare your home for painting. Here are the most important things to remember.

6 House Painting Preparation Tips

1. Decide which parts of the home to paint, collect the ladders and other necessary safety equipment. If you’re preparing to complete the painting yourself, you’ll thank yourself later. Having a clear plan will make the actual painting project go a lot faster as soon as you get started. Collecting your materials ahead of time ensures that when you start painting, you shouldn’t have to stop and look for all of the supplies, meaning that you’ll have to maintain a wet edge the whole time you are painting.
2. Choose paint and brushes. The best part of painting your home’s exterior is deciding the color or color combo. You’ll also need 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 need to us synthetic fiber brushes for latex paint. Rollers and sprayers are efficient options if possible.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it’s time to start prepping the exterior of the house for its beautiful new paint! Invest time into pressure washing your house (or hiring a local pressure washing service) to loosen any cracked or peeling paint. The high pressure is the recommended way to eliminate peeling paint, and it also cleans the outside of your house. Some sections of paint should peel right off as you spray over them. That’s a sure sign that the paint was deteriorating and needed to be replaced!
4. Remove peeling paint. Now that the old paint has been loosened, scrape it off the house with a metal or plastic straight edge, being careful not to dig deep into the wood surface. Then sand surfaces for a smooth finish. It isn’t necessary to sand each 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 smooth.
5. Prime. Do not skip priming! Primer is an important step because it conceals any previous paint (especially with dark colors), results in even color for your new coat, and a smoother exterior with minimal imperfections throughout. Let the primer dry based on the directions so that the original layer of paint doesn’t blend into it or leave behind a rough patch.
6. Plan to paint on the best day. A professional painter can look at the forecast and determine the most opportune day for applying exterior paint. That’s why they’re experts! If you plan to do the painting yourself, wait for a day that is somewhere between 75 and 85 degrees, and with little humidity. This will lead to the best adhesion.

Why Painting Your Home is a Good Idea

Not only will a brand new paint job make your house look several years newer, it also adds a layer of protection for the overall exterior of your house.

Paint can help prevent pests from eating or clawing into your home’s exterior. It also reduces wear and tear from the elements. Good quality paint prevents wood from rotting and dirt won’t stick to paint the same way it does to bare wood.

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

Deteriorating paint really takes a toll on your home’s appearance. If you’re concerned about curb appeal, painting your house is one of the easiest things you can do.

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

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in Concord

After the prepping is finished, you have the option to hand the project over to a professional painter in Concord (if you hadn’t already decided that from the start!). Hiring a painter is cost effective. It also ensures that the results will exceed your expectations with little effort on your part.

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

• A professional painter knows the most efficient way to complete the job, which means the paint will look much better and the project will be done a lot quicker.
• Pros don’t typically make a mess. Their results will be much neater, without excess paint splattered or spilled around home.
• Due to their skill and knowledge, your new paint will last longer than if you painted yourself.
• A professional painter will have the safety equipment needed to paint areas above ground level.

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