How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your house in Kirkland has to be updated, a new coat of exterior paint is a quick, inexpensive way to improve its curb appeal. So if your home is looking worn down or if you’re simply ready for a change, consider repainting the outside of your house yourself or enlist a local painter to do the job for you.

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

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

Whichever direction is best for you, you will still want 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. Choose which parts of the home to paint, gather the ladders and other safety equipment. If you are preparing to complete the painting by yourself, you’ll be glad you did. Having a clear plan will make the actual painting go much faster as soon as you begin. Organizing your equipment ahead of time guarantees that when you start painting, you won’t have to stop and look for needed supplies, meaning you’ll have to maintain a wet edge the entire 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 want to pick the right paint finishes for each part of the house. Latex is a lot better than oil-based paint for home exteriors. It’s a lot less messy and easier to clean. The flat surfaces need more of a flat, or matte, finish, versus semi-gloss. You’ll want 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 start prepping the exterior of your house for its brand new paint! Invest time into power washing your house (or hiring a local pressure washing service) to wash off any cracked or peeling paint. The high pressure is the recommended way to eliminate old paint, and it also cleans the outside of your house. Some areas of paint should peel right off as you spray them. That’s a sure sign that the paint was aging and had 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 careful not to dig deep into the wood. Then sand bumpy surfaces for a smooth finish. It isn’t necessary to sand every surface down to the bare wood. Any areas where the paint is still adhered need to be tended to and have the edges sanded so the new paint goes on the home smoothly.
5. Prime. Don’t skip the primer! Primer is a very important part of preparation because it conceals any previous paint (especially important with dark paint colors), results in an even color for your new coat, and a smoother exterior with minimal imperfections throughout. Let the primer dry based on the directions so that the original layer of paint won’t mix with it or result in a rough patch on the surface.
6. Plan to paint on the best day. A professional painter can look at the weather forecast and find 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, and with little 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 years newer, it also provides a layer of protection to the overall structure of your house.

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

Peeling paint is an obvious indication 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.

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

Painting is also a good idea if your house doesn’t to “fit in” in the neighborhood. If your home’s exterior 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 change its look.

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in Kirkland

After the prepping is over, you have the option to turn the project off to a professional painter in Kirkland (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 little effort from you.

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

• A professional painter knows the optimal way to complete the job, which means the paint will look much better and the project will go a lot faster.
• Pros don’t typically make a big mess. Their results will be neater, with no extra paint splattered or spilled around home.
• Due to their skill and knowledge, your new exterior paint will last a lot longer than if you painted by yourself.
• A professional painter will have the safety equipment needed to paint anything above ground level.

Depending on your DIY abilities and interests, you can trust your painter to complete all the pre-painting preparation, too. Most services are fully prepared to handle every part of the project, from removing old paint and cleaning the exterior to actually applying the new paint.