How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your house in Baltimore needs to be refreshed, a fresh coat of paint is a quick, affordable way to improve its appearance. So if your house is looking worn down or if you’re just ready for a change, consider painting the outside of your house yourself or pay a professional painter to do it for you.

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

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

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

6 House Painting Preparation Tips

1. Decide which parts to paint, collect the ladders and other necessary safety equipment. If you are preparing to do the painting yourself, you’ll be glad you did. Having a clear plan will help to make the painting project go much faster once you begin. Organizing your equipment beforehand guarantees that when you begin painting, you won’t have to stop and search 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 choosing the color or color combo. You will also want to pick the right paint finishes for all parts of the house. Latex is a lot better than oil-based paint for home exteriors. It is a lot less messy and much easier to clean up. The flat surfaces need more of a flat, or matte, finish, versus semi-gloss for the trim. You’ll want to us synthetic fiber brushes for latex paint. Rollers and sprayers are efficient options.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it is time to begin prepping the exterior of your house for its brand new paint! Put time into pressure 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 simultaneously cleans the outside of your house. Some of the areas of paint will peel off as you spray over 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, scrape it off the house with a plastic or metal straight edge, being careful not to dig deep into the wood. Then sand bumpy 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 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 a very important part of preparation because it covers up any previous paint (especially with dark colors), results in even color for your new coat, and a smooth exterior with less imperfections throughout. Let the primer dry according to the directions so that the first layer of paint doesn’t blend into 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 forecast and determine 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 can a new paint job make your house look several years newer, it also provides a layer of protection for the overall structure of your house.

Paint will help prevent pests from eating or clawing into your home’s exterior. It also stops wear and tear from inclement weather. High quality paint stops wood from rotting and dirt doesn’t stick to paint the same way it does to wood.

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

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

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

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in Baltimore

After the prepping is finished, you might want to turn the job over to a professional painter in Baltimore (if you hadn’t already decided that from the beginning!). Hiring a painter is affordable. It also guarantees that the results will exceed your expectations with less effort on your part.

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

• A professional painter knows the most efficient way to do the job, which means the paint will look much better and the project will be a lot faster.
• 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 probably last a lot longer than if you painted yourself.
• A professional painter will have the safety equipment necessary to paint anything above ground level.

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