How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your house in Birmingham needs to be refreshed, a fresh coat of paint is a fast, affordable way to improve its curb appeal. So if your home is looking worn down or if you are just ready for something different, consider painting the exterior of your home yourself or enlist a professional painter to do the job for you.

Painting a house is a huge job, but it isn’t an unreasonable job for some homeowners. You have to do your research to understand how to prep the surface by scheduling residential pressure washing, as well as which brushes and paints you need to use.

You can meet in the middle with a painter by doing all the prep work on your own, but then letting their crew come in and do the painting with their best tools, safety equipment and selected paint.

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

6 House Painting Preparation Tips

1. Choose which parts of the home to paint, collect the ladders and all other safety equipment. If you’re planning to do the painting yourself, you’ll thank yourself later. Having a clear plan will help to make the painting go much faster as soon as you get started. Organizing your tools beforehand guarantees that when you start painting, you shouldn’t have to stop and search for all of the supplies, meaning that you’ll be able to maintain a wet edge the entire time you are painting.
2. Choose the right paint and brushes. The fun part of painting your home’s exterior is choosing the color or color combo. You will also want to pick the right paint finishes for each part of the home. Latex is a lot better than oil-based paint for home exteriors. It’s a lot less messy and much easier to clean up. The flat surfaces need more of a flat, or matte, finish, versus semi-gloss for the trim. You’ll want to us synthetic fiber brushes for latex paint. Rollers and sprayers are time-saving options.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it is time to start prepping the surface of your home for its beautiful new paint! Put time into power washing your home (or hiring a local pressure washing service) to wash off any cracked or peeling paint. The high pressure is the most effective way to eliminate old paint, and it also cleans the exterior of your home. Some sections of paint may peel off as soon as you spray over them. That’s a sign that the paint was aging and had to be replaced!
4. Remove peeling paint. Now that the old paint has been loosened, scrape it off the house with a plastic or metal straight edge, being diligent not to dig deep into the wood. 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 need to be cleaned and have the edges sanded so the new coat of paint goes on smoothly.
5. Prime. Do not skip the primer! Primer is an important step because it conceals any prior paint (especially important with dark paint colors), results in even color for your new coat, and a smooth surface with less imperfections throughout. Let the primer dry according to the directions so that the original layer of paint won’t blend into it or produce 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 applying exterior paint. That’s why they’re professionals! If you plan to do the painting yourself, wait for a day that is between 75 and 85 degrees, and with very low humidity. This will result in the best adhesion.

Why Painting Your Home is a Good Idea

Not only does a new paint job make your house look several years newer, it also creates a layer of protection to the overall structure of your home.

Paint will help prevent insects from eating or clawing into your home’s exterior. It also prevents wear and tear from inclement weather. High quality paint stops wood from rotting and dirt cannot stick to paint the way it does to wood.

Peeling paint is an obvious indication that it needs to be replaced. If paint is peeling, you really need to go ahead and have it repainted to protect the wood beneath.

Aging paint really takes a toll on your home’s appearance. If you’re worried about curb appeal, painting your home is one of the best things you can do.

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

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in Birmingham

After prepping is over, you have the option to hand the job over to a professional painter in Birmingham (if you hadn’t already decided that from the start!). Hiring a painter is affordable. It also guarantees that the results will exceed expectations with less effort from you.

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 a lot better and the project will move a lot faster.
• Pros don’t make a big mess. Their results will be much neater, without extra paint splattered or spilled around home.
• Because of their skill and knowledge, your new paint will probably last a lot longer than if you did the job yourself.
• A professional painter will already have the safety equipment necessary to paint anything above ground level.

Depending on your DIY skills and interests, you can trust your painter to do all the pre-painting preparation, too. Most services are prepared to take care of each part of the job, from eliminating old paint and pressure washing the exterior to applying the paint.