How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your house in Carrollton has to be updated, a fresh coat of paint is a quick, affordable way to improve its appearance. So if your home is looking worn down or if you’re simply ready for something different, consider painting the exterior of your house yourself or enlist a local painter to do the job for you.

Painting a house is a huge project, but it isn’t an impossible job for most homeowners. You have 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 team up with a professional painter by completing all of the prep work by yourself, but then having their crew come to your home and do the actual painting with their best tools, safety equipment and selected paint.

Whichever direction is best for you, you will still need to know exactly how to prepare your home for painting. Here are some of the most important things to consider.

6 House Painting Preparation Tips

1. Choose which parts to paint, gather the ladders and other safety equipment. If you’re preparing to do the painting by yourself, you’ll thank yourself later. Having a plan will help to make the actual painting go much faster as soon as you begin. Gathering your tools beforehand ensures that once you start painting, you won’t have to stop and search for needed supplies, meaning that you’ll have to maintain a wet brush edge the entire time you are painting.
2. Choose good paint and brushes. The best part of painting your house is deciding the color or color combination. You’ll also need to pick the right paint finishes for each part of the house. Latex is a lot better than oil-based paint for home exteriors. It’s a lot less messy and 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 also time-saving options.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it’s time to start 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 remove any cracked or peeling paint. The high pressure is the recommended way to eliminate peeling paint, and it also cleans the exterior of your house. Some of the sections of paint may peel right off as soon as you spray them. That’s a sure sign that the paint was aging and needed to be replaced!
4. Remove peeling paint. Now that the old paint has been loosened, scrape it off with a plastic or metal straight edge, being diligent not to dig into the wood surface. Then sand 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 need to be tended to and have the edges sanded so the new coat of paint goes on the home smoothly.
5. Prime. Don’t skip priming! Primer is an important step because it covers up any prior paint (especially with dark paint colors), results in an even color for your new paint, and a smoother surface with minimal imperfections throughout. Let the primer dry based on the directions so that the first layer of paint doesn’t blend into it or create a rough patch.
6. Plan to paint in good weather. A professional painter can look at the forecast and determine the most opportune day for painting a house. That’s why they’re professionals! If you want to do the painting on your own, wait for a day that is between 75 and 85 degrees, with little humidity. This will result in the best adhesion.

Why Painting Your Home is a Good Idea

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

Paint can help prevent insects from eating or boring into your home’s exterior. It also stops wear and tear from inclement weather. Good quality paint stops wood from rotting and dirt doesn’t adhere to paint the same way it does to wood.

Peeling paint is an obvious sign that it needs 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 concerned about curb appeal, painting your house is one of the simplest things you can do.

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

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in Carrollton

After prepping is done, you have the option to turn the job over to a professional painter in Carrollton (if you hadn’t already chosen that from the beginning!). 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 will know the most efficient way to do 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 big mess. Their results will be neater, with no extra paint splattered or spilled on your home.
• Due to their skill and knowledge, your new paint will likely last a lot longer than if you did the job by yourself.
• A professional painter will already have the safety equipment needed to paint anything above ground level.

Based on your DIY skills and interests, you can trust your painter to do all the pre-painting preparation, too. Most companies are prepared to take care of every part of the project, from removing old paint and pressure washing the exterior to actually applying the new paint.