How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your house in Philadelphia needs to be refreshed, a fresh coat of exterior paint is an easy, affordable option to improve its appearance. So if your home exterior is looking shabby or if you’re just ready for something different, consider painting the exterior of your house yourself or enlist a local painter to do the job for you.

Painting a house is a huge job, 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 to use.

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

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

6 House Painting Preparation Tips

1. Choose which parts of the home to paint, collect the ladders and all other safety equipment. If you’re preparing to do the painting by yourself, you’ll be glad you did. Having a clear plan will make the actual painting go much faster once you begin. Collecting your materials ahead of time ensures that when you start painting, you shouldn’t have to stop and look for needed supplies, meaning you’ll be able to maintain a wet brush edge the entire time you are painting.
2. Choose good paint and brushes. The best part of painting your house is deciding the color or color combination. You will also want to pick the right paint finishes for all parts of the house. Latex is better than oil-based paint for home exteriors. It is less messy and easier to clean. 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 time-saving options.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it’s time to start prepping the surface of the house for its beautiful new paint! Invest time into pressure washing your house (or hiring a local pressure washing service) to loosen any cracked or peeling paint. The extreme pressure water is the recommended way to remove peeling paint, and it cleans the exterior of your house. Some 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 old paint has been loosened, scrape it off with a plastic or metal straight edge, being diligent not to dig deep into the wood. Then sand surfaces for a smooth finish. It isn’t necessary to sand each surface down to the bare wood. Any sections where the paint is still adhered need to be tended to and have the edges sanded so the new coat of paint goes on smoothly.
5. Prime. Do not skip priming! Primer is a very important part of preparation because it conceals any prior paint (especially important with dark colors), results in even color for your new paint, and a smoother surface with less imperfections. Let the primer dry based on the directions so that the original layer of paint won’t mix with it or leave behind a rough patch on the surface.
6. Plan to paint on the best day. A professional painter is able to look at the forecast and find the most opportune day for applying exterior paint. That’s why they’re experts! If you want to do the painting yourself, wait for a day that is somewhere between 75 and 85 degrees, and with low humidity. This will result in the best adhesion.

Why Painting Your Home is a Good Idea

Not only will a brand new paint job make your house look years newer, it also creates a layer of protection to the overall exterior of your house.

Paint will help prevent pests 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 doesn’t adhere to paint the same 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 go ahead and have it repainted to protect the wood surface.

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 simplest things you can do.

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

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in Philadelphia

After the prepping is finished, you have the option to hand the job off to a professional painter in Philadelphia (if you hadn’t already chosen that from the beginning!). Hiring a painter is affordable. It also ensures that the results will exceed expectations with little 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 much better and the project will move a lot quicker.
• Companies don’t make a big mess. Their results will be neater, with no excess paint splattered or spilled on your home.
• Due to their skill and experience, your new exterior paint will probably last longer than if you painted by yourself.
• A professional painter will already have the safety equipment needed to paint anything higher than ground level.

Based on your DIY skills and interests, you can trust your painter to do all the pre-painting preparation, too. Most companies are fully prepared to handle each part of the job, from removing old paint and pressure washing the exterior to actually applying the new paint.