How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your house in League City has to be updated, a new coat of exterior paint is an easy, affordable option to improve its appearance. So if your home exterior is starting to look worn down or if you are simply ready for a change, consider painting the outside of your house yourself or hire a professional painter to do it for you.

Painting a house is a big project, but it isn’t an impossible job for most homeowners. You just need to do your research to know how to prepare the exterior surface by scheduling residential pressure washing, as well as what type of brushes and paints to use.

You can even compromise with a professional painter by completing all the prep work yourself, but then having their team come to your home and do the actual painting with their best 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 of the home to paint, gather the ladders and all other necessary safety equipment. If you are planning to do the painting by yourself, you’ll be glad you did. Having a plan will help to make the actual painting project go a lot faster as soon as you begin. Organizing your materials beforehand guarantees that when you begin painting, you won’t have to stop and look for all of the supplies, meaning you’ll be able to maintain a wet brush edge the whole time you are painting.
2. Choose the right paint and brushes. The fun part of painting your house is choosing the color or color combo. You will also need to choose the right paint finishes for each part of the house. Latex is better than oil-based paint for home exteriors. It’s 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 if possible.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it is time to begin prepping the exterior of the house for its brand new paint! Put time into pressure washing your house (or hiring a local pressure washing service) to loosen any cracked or peeling paint. The extreme pressure water is the most effective way to eliminate old paint, and it cleans the outside of your house. Some of the sections of paint should peel off 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 original paint has been loosened, get more of it off the house with a metal or plastic straight edge, being diligent not to dig deep into the wood surface. Then sand bumpy 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 just need to be cleaned and have the edges sanded so the new coat of paint goes on smoothly.
5. Prime. Don’t skip priming! 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 smooth exterior with less imperfections. Let the primer dry according to the directions so that the original layer of paint won’t mix with it or create a rough patch on the surface.
6. Plan to paint on the best day. A professional painter is able to look at the forecast and tell you the most opportune day for painting a house. That’s why they’re professionals! If you plan to do the painting on your own, wait for a day that is between 75 and 85 degrees, with very low humidity. This will result in the best adhesion.

Why Painting Your Home is a Good Idea

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

Paint will help prevent insects from eating or clawing into your home’s exterior. It also stops wear and tear from the elements. Good quality paint prevents wood from rotting and dirt doesn’t stick to paint the same way it does to bare wood.

Peeling paint is an obvious signal that it is time to be replaced. If paint is peeling on your home, you really need to have it repainted to protect the wood beneath.

Worn paint really takes a toll on your home’s exterior. 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 completely update its vibe.

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in League City

After the prepping is over, you might want to hand the project over to a professional painter in League City (if you hadn’t already decided that from the start!). Hiring a painter is cost effective. It also guarantees that the results will exceed expectations with minimal effort from you.

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

• A professional painter knows the best 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 neater, with no excess paint splattered or spilled on your home.
• Because of their skill and knowledge, your new exterior paint will probably last longer than if you painted by yourself.
• A professional painter will already have the safety equipment required to paint anything higher than ground level.

Based on your DIY skills and desires, you can trust your painter to do all the pre-painting preparation, too. Most pros are fully prepared to take care of each part of the project, from eliminating old paint and cleaning the exterior to applying the paint.