How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your house in Asheville needs to be refreshed, a fresh coat of paint is an easy, inexpensive option to improve its appearance. So if your home exterior is looking worn down or if you’re just ready for a change, consider repainting the exterior of your home yourself or enlist a local painter to do it for you.

Painting a house is a huge project, but it isn’t an unreasonable job for some homeowners. You have to do your research to understand how to prep the surface by scheduling residential pressure washing, as well as which brushes and paints to use.

You can compromise with a professional painter by completing all the prep work yourself, but then letting their team come in and do the actual painting with their best tools, safety equipment and selected paint.

Whichever option is right for you, you’ll still want to know exactly how to prepare your home for painting. Here are the most important things to remember.

6 House Painting Preparation Tips

1. Decide which parts of the home to paint, collect the ladders and other necessary safety equipment. If you are planning to complete the painting yourself, you’ll thank yourself later. Having a clear plan will make the actual painting go a lot faster once you begin. Collecting your tools ahead of time ensures that once you begin painting, you shouldn’t have to stop and search for all of the 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 best part of painting your home is choosing the color or color combo. You’ll also want to choose the right paint finishes for each part of the home. 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 require more of a flat, or matte, finish, versus semi-gloss for the trim. You’ll want synthetic fiber brushes for latex paint. Rollers and sprayers are also efficient options.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it is time to begin prepping the exterior of your home for its brand new paint! Put time into power washing your home (or hiring a local pressure washing service) to wash off any cracked or peeling paint. The extreme pressure water is the most effective way to remove peeling paint, and it also cleans the exterior of your home. Some sections of paint may peel right off as soon as you spray them. That’s a 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 plastic or metal straight edge, being diligent not to dig into the wood surface. Then sand 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 need to be cleaned and have the edges sanded so the new coat of paint goes on smooth.
5. Prime. Do not 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 coat, and a smoother exterior with minimal imperfections throughout. 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 is able to look at the forecast and determine the most opportune day for painting a home. That’s why they’re experts! 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 lead to the best adhesion.

Why Painting Your Home is a Good Idea

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

Paint will help prevent pests from eating or boring into your home’s exterior. It also stops wear and tear from inclement weather. Good quality paint stops wood from rotting and dirt cannot adhere to paint the way it does to wood.

Peeling paint is an obvious indication that it needs to be replaced. If your paint is peeling, you need to go ahead and have it repainted to protect the wood surface.

Worn paint takes a toll on your home’s exterior. If you’re worried about curb appeal, painting your home is one of the best 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, or if it is the opposite and you want it to stand out, a different paint color can totally change its vibe.

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in Asheville

After prepping is done, you can turn the project off to a professional painter in Asheville (if you hadn’t already chosen that from the beginning!). Hiring a painter is cost effective. It also ensures that the results will exceed your expectations with minimal effort from you.

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

• A professional painter will know the best way to complete the job, meaning the paint will look a lot better and the project will move a lot quicker.
• 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 a lot longer than if you painted yourself.
• A professional painter will already have the safety equipment needed to paint anything above ground level.

Based on your DIY skills and desires, you can trust your painter to complete all the pre-painting preparation, too. Most companies are fully prepared to handle each part of the project, from eliminating old paint and pressure washing the exterior to applying the paint.