How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your home in Georgetown has to be refreshed, a new coat of paint is an easy, affordable option to improve its curb appeal. So if your home is looking worn down or if you’re just ready for a change, consider repainting the exterior of your home yourself or enlist a professional painter to do the job for you.

Painting a home is a big project, but it isn’t an unreasonable job for some homeowners. You just 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 even meet in the middle with a professional painter by completing all the prep work on your own, but then having their team come in and do the painting with their best tools, safety equipment and selected paint.

Whichever option is best for you, you’ll still need to know exactly how to prepare your home for painting. Here are some of the most important things to consider.

6 House Painting Preparation Tips

1. Decide which parts of the home to paint, gather the ladders and other necessary safety equipment. If you’re planning to do the painting by yourself, you’ll be glad you did. Having a plan will help to make the painting project go much faster once you get started. Organizing your tools beforehand ensures that once you begin painting, you won’t have to stop and search for all of the supplies, meaning that you’ll have to maintain a wet brush edge the entire time you are painting.
2. Choose paint and brushes. The most fun part of painting your home is deciding the color or color combo. You will also need to choose the right paint finishes for each part of the home. 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 efficient options if possible.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it is time to begin prepping the exterior of your home for its brand new paint! Invest time into power washing your home (or hiring a local pressure washing service) to remove any cracked or peeling paint. The high pressure is the best way to remove old paint, and it simultaneously cleans the exterior of your home. Some of the areas of paint will peel right off as soon as you spray 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, get more of it off the house with a metal or plastic straight edge, being careful not to dig into the wood surface. Then sand surfaces for a smooth finish. It isn’t necessary to sand every surface down to the bare wood. Any sections 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 priming! Primer is an important step because it covers up any previous paint (especially with dark paint colors), results in an even color for your new paint, and a smoother exterior with less imperfections throughout. Let the primer dry based on the directions so that the original layer of paint doesn’t blend into it or leave behind a rough patch on the surface.
6. Plan to paint on the best day. A professional painter can look at the forecast and tell you the most opportune day for painting a home. That’s why they’re experts! 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 lead to the best adhesion.

Why Painting Your Home is a Good Idea

Not only does a brand new paint job make your home look years newer, it also provides a layer of protection for the overall exterior of your home.

Paint will help prevent insects from eating or boring 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 same way it does to bare wood.

Peeling paint is an obvious signal that it needs to be replaced. If your paint is peeling on your home, you really need to go ahead and have it repainted in order to protect the wood surface.

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

Painting is also a good idea if your home doesn’t to “fit in” in the neighborhood. If your home’s color makes it stand out too much, or if the opposite is true and you really want it to stand out, a different paint color can totally change its look.

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in Georgetown

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

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 be a lot quicker.
• Pros don’t make a mess. Their results will be much neater, without excess paint splattered or spilled on your home.
• Due to their skill and knowledge, your new paint will likely last longer than if you did the job by yourself.
• A professional painter will have the safety equipment necessary to paint areas above ground level.

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