How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your home in Richmond needs to be updated, a fresh coat of exterior paint is a quick, affordable option to improve its appearance. So if your home is looking shabby or if you’re just ready for something different, consider painting the exterior of your house yourself or hire a professional painter to do it for you.

Painting a home is a huge job, but it isn’t an impossible job for most homeowners. You just have to do your research to understand how to prep the exterior surface by scheduling residential pressure washing, as well as what type of brushes and paints you need to use.

You can even meet in the middle with a professional painter by doing all the prep work by yourself, but then letting their crew come over and do the painting with their tools, safety equipment and professionally selected paint.

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

6 House Painting Preparation Tips

1. Choose which parts to paint, collect the ladders and all other necessary safety equipment. If you’re preparing to complete the painting by yourself, you’ll be glad you did. Having a plan will help to make the painting project go a lot faster as soon as you begin. Collecting your tools beforehand guarantees that once you begin painting, you won’t have to stop and search for all of the supplies, meaning that you’ll be able to maintain a wet edge the whole time you are painting.
2. Choose good paint and brushes. The most fun part of painting your home is deciding the color or color combo. You’ll also need to pick the right paint finishes for all parts of the house. Latex is better than oil-based paint for home exteriors. It is less messy and much easier to clean. The flat surfaces need 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 if possible.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it is time to begin 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 extreme pressure is the recommended way to remove old paint, and it also cleans the exterior of your house. Some areas of paint may peel off as you spray them. That’s a sure sign that the paint was deteriorating and had to be replaced!
4. Remove peeling paint. Now that the original paint has been loosened, scrape it off the house with a metal or plastic straight edge, being diligent not to dig deep into the wood. Then sand bumpy surfaces for a smooth finish. It isn’t important to sand each surface down to the bare wood. Any areas where the paint is still adhered just need to be tended to and have the edges sanded so the new paint goes on the home smooth.
5. Prime. Don’t skip the primer! Primer is an important step because it conceals any prior paint (especially with dark colors), results in even color for your new coat, and a smoother exterior with less imperfections throughout. Let the primer dry according to the directions so that the original layer of paint doesn’t mix with it or produce a rough patch.
6. Plan to paint in good weather. A professional painter can look at the weather forecast and tell you the most opportune day for painting a house. That’s why they’re professionals! If you want to do the painting yourself, wait for a day that is 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 can a new paint job make your home look years newer, it also creates a layer of protection for the overall exterior of your house.

Paint can help prevent pests from eating or boring into your home’s exterior. It also reduces wear and tear from inclement weather. Good quality paint stops wood from rotting and dirt doesn’t 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 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 house is one of the best things you can do.

Painting is also a good idea if your house doesn’t to “fit in” in the neighborhood (but you want it to). If your home’s exterior color makes it stand out, or if the opposite is true and you really want it to stand out, a different color can update its look.

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in Richmond

After the prepping is done, you have the option to turn the job off to a professional painter in Richmond (if you hadn’t already chosen that from the start!). Hiring a painter is cost effective. It also guarantees that the results will exceed expectations with minimal effort on your part.

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

• A professional painter knows the optimal way to complete the job, meaning the paint will look a lot better and the project will move a lot quicker.
• Companies don’t make a big mess. Their results will be much neater, with no extra paint splattered or spilled on your home.
• Because of their skill and knowledge, your new exterior paint will likely last longer than if you did the job by yourself.
• A professional painter will already have the safety equipment required to paint areas above ground level.

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