How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your home in Pembroke Pines has to be updated, a new coat of paint is an easy, affordable option to improve its appearance. So if your home exterior is starting to look shabby 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 huge project, but it isn’t an unreasonable job for most homeowners. You just have to do your research to understand how to prepare the surface by scheduling residential pressure washing, as well as which brushes and paints you need to use.

You can also meet in the middle with a professional painter by completing all the prep work on your own, but then letting their crew come to your home and do the actual painting with their tools, safety equipment and professionally selected paint.

Whichever option is best for you, you will still need to know exactly 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, collect the ladders and all other necessary safety equipment. If you’re preparing to do the painting yourself, you’ll be glad you did. Having a plan will make the actual painting project go much faster as soon as you get started. Collecting your equipment beforehand guarantees that once you begin painting, you won’t have to stop and look for needed supplies, meaning that you’ll be able to maintain a wet edge the entire time you are painting.
2. Choose good paint and brushes. The fun part of painting your house is deciding the color or color combination. You’ll 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 easier to clean up. The flat surfaces require more of a flat, or matte, finish, versus semi-gloss for the trim. You’ll need to us synthetic fiber brushes for latex paint. Rollers and sprayers are time-saving 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 loosen any cracked or peeling paint. The high pressure water is the best way to remove peeling paint, and it also cleans the exterior of your home. Some of the sections of paint may peel right off as you spray over them. That’s a sure sign that the paint was deteriorating and needed 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 diligent 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 sections where the paint is still adhered just need to be tended to and have the edges sanded so the new coat of paint goes on the home smooth.
5. Prime. Do not skip priming! Primer is a very important part of preparation because it conceals any previous paint (especially important with dark paint colors), results in even color for your new paint, and a smooth exterior with minimal 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.
6. Plan to paint on the best day. A professional painter can look at the forecast and tell you the most opportune day for applying exterior paint. 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 very little humidity. This will lead to the best adhesion.

Why Painting Your Home is a Good Idea

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

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

Peeling paint is an obvious clue that it is time to be replaced. If your paint is peeling, you really need to go ahead and have it repainted in order to protect the wood beneath.

Aging paint really takes a toll on your home’s exterior. If you’re concerned 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 to “fit in” in the neighborhood (but you want it to). 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 completely change its look.

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in Pembroke Pines

After prepping is over, you have the option to hand the project over to a professional painter in Pembroke Pines (if you hadn’t already chosen that from the start!). Hiring a painter is affordable. It also guarantees 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 knows the best way to do the job, meaning the paint will look a lot better and the project will be a lot faster.
• Pros don’t make a mess. Their results will be neater, with no extra paint splattered or spilled on your home.
• Because of their skill and experience, your new paint will last longer than if you painted yourself.
• A professional painter will have the safety equipment needed to paint surfaces higher than ground level.

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