How to Paint a House - Get Your Quote

House painting can be a very good thing to improve the value and liveability of your home. This is especially true when it comes to improving a comfortable and stress-free atmosphere. The colors of your home can make a difference in many meaningful ways. Painting a house is a big job. It will require a good deal of effort. Here are some tips to help you do properly.

These are the 2 ways to accomplish house painting:

Do it yourself
Hire professional painters

There are pros and cons to each approach. First, and for many people the most important difference is the cost. Professional painters are much more expensive than doing it yourself. Second, professional painters already know how to do all the painting and they have all the right tools and equipment to handle the job efficiently. Third, pros will almost certainly do the job quicker than you could do it yourself, so if you’re in a hurry, that might be the better way to go. Finally, professional painters will do the job better than you probably can so it will end up looking better than a DIY job. It’s up to you to decide which approach will work best for your project.

Painting Your Exterior Walls

If you wish to paint your home’s exterior, you will need to follow these steps if you want to do it yourself:

Clean the Walls

Before you begin, you will need to clean your walls. You should do this from top to bottom using a pressure washer or warm soapy water and a scrub brush, if you can;t get access to a pressure washer. Use a ladder or extension poles to reach the highest walls.

Repair Any Surface Damage

It doesn’t matter whether the outside of your house is wood, metal, vinyl siding, or stucco, before painting you must search for any possible damage. It’s also crucial to give yourself enough time to fix or fill any cracks or holes using a spackling compound and a spackle knife. Let it dry, and sand it with a medium-grit sanding block before you paint. IN some cases you may need to replace the wood or whatever is there if it has been damaged beyond repair. You may wish to call in a carpenter to help with this.

You Must Remove Previous or Loose Paint

Also, before you begin, you must determine if there is any loose paint or chipped paint on the walls of your house. You accomplish this by walking around your house’s perimeter and looking for it. These areas will need to be fixed before you paint over them.

Remove the loose pain with a scraper or a sanding block. It’s important to remember that this is a critical procedure. If you just paint over the loose paint then the new paint is likely to chip off, too and you’ll have to fix it and paint it again.

Caulking

You already have caulking around the doors and windows. Inspect all this to see if it has come loose or separated from the wall or trim. You can fill in gaps around your windows and doors. Use an exterior caulk to fix this issue.

Use Primer

A primer will help cover any old color from the existing paint as well as any minor damage, spackling, caulking, or repair work that you have previously done. It’s important to know that there are many different types of primers you can use. Make sure the one you use is compatible with the paint you are going to use later. Primers will also help your final coating adhere to the area you want to paint. It will also prevent the surfaces from absorbing the paint, which would mean you would have to put on additional coats..

Avoid Contaminating Your Doors, Windows, and Lights

You will want to protect your doors, windows, and lights from unnecessary paint splatter. To do this, you can use plastic sheeting and painters tape. Make sure to protect the floor and any furniture as well. You can use drop cloths or plastic sheeting for this.

Paint Your Exterior

Now that you have everything ready you can paint the exterior. It’s up to you to decide if you want to use brushes rollers or a sprayer. Generally speaking sprayers cover the area quicker, but with a thinner coat, so you will need to apply at least two coats with a sprayer. Rollers work well, but can take a lot more time and effort than a sprayer. Brushes should be used for the trim, corners and edges. It may take some practice, but you can probably get the hang of painting corners without making a mess of it with some practice. Keep a rag handy to wipe up any paint that might get in the wrong place.

Paint Your Doors and Trim

After you finish the exterior painting, use a brush to paint your doors and around the trim.

How to Paint Your House’s Interior

Follow these easy steps to paint the interior of your house.

Prep Your Walls

Much like the instructions for exterior walls, you need to clean the walls and repair any damage you find along the way. Fill all cracks, dents, holes, and surface flaws. This will ensure that you’ll get the best result in the end.

Use Primer

It is usually recommended that you use a primer before painting your walls and ceiling. The reason we do this is to make sure the surface is ready for the final colored paint. The only reason to skip this step is if you are painting the same color as the existing paint and there haven’t been any serious repairs or remodeling involved. Primer will also help your coating adhere to your wall correctly. This will effectively make it look like a pro painter job. Professionals will often advise tinting the primer towards the final color, especially when there is a drastic change in color. You can do this by combining a small amount of your topcoat paint into your primer. When you tint your primer, it will become a more effective option for covering the imperfections on surfaces.

Choose Canvas Instead of Plastic

Canvas is extremely durable compared to plastic sheeting. What’s more, it is resistant to tears. It can absorb paint drips. Plus, the canvas can be easily folded in every corner of the room you are painting. The same is not always true of plastic coverings. The main downside is that canvas drop cloths do cost more than plastic sheeting.

Choose Extension Poles

If you have a rather high ceiling, you should always opt for extension poles rather than a ladder. This is to prevent any damage caused by the ladder as well as the risk of falling. Falls from ladders cause many serious injuries every year.

Use a Paint Grid

Instead of just using a paint tray, you also use a paint roller grid. This will remove excess paint on your roller and distribute it evenly.

TIP: Where to Store Your Roller?

Keep your brushes in a refrigerator overnight. You can wrap your rollers and paint brushes in plastic. Then you will just seal it with a tight rubber band and put it in the fridge. This will keep the brush or roller from drying out and it will be ready for use the next day. Let them warm up for 30 minutes prior to using them again. Always clean your brushes and roller thoroughly between painting projects.

Our Recommendation

There are many advantages to painting your house yourself. But if this seems like a lot of work, you should seriously consider hiring professional painters such as our friends at Excellent Painters in Denver, Colorado. They will do an expert job in an efficient manner that will leave you delighted with the results.