Exterior Painting
A step by Step Guide to Painting the Outside of Your Home
When you’re looking to paint your home, it’s best to invest the time in picking out the right exterior paint for your climate and structure. A home paint job is one of the most important elements to curbside appeal for a home and painting it is a commitment.
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Anyone looking to paint the exterior of their home should first clear any brush or trees nearby. Not only will this make it easier for the exterior painting you’ll engage in, but it can also assist in future pest control. For those looking to repaint an existing structure, make sure you choose exterior paint that matches the type that’s already on the house - solvent-based paint should be covered with another solvent-based paint and the same is true with water-based paints. If you’re painting an exterior for the first time, know the difference between your options. For instance, oil-based paints usually takes around 24 hours to dry and requires either paint thinner or turpentine to clean up. Water-based latex paint dries much faster and cleans up with only soap and water.
Prior to the start of your exterior painting, you should lay out a home improvement plan. This can help you choose the type and color of the paint you’ll use. There are gloss, semi-gloss, satin and flat paints - typically the more glossy an exterior paint is, the more stain-resistant it is. But gloss paint also shows imperfections more readily than flat paints.
The actual painting of your exterior will usually involve a way to apply the exterior paint to your home. While this can be done with brushes, rollers and sponge painters, you can cover a lot more area faster when using powered painters and sprayers. If you don’t intend on painting again soon, it may be more worthwhile to look into renting tools/equipment rather than buying it. Exterior painting should start with any roof work you need to be done, then the eaves. Then you can start painting the walls. Finally, finish any painting with the trim.
