How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your house in Knoxville has to be updated, a new coat of exterior paint is a quick, inexpensive option to improve its curb appeal. So if your home is looking worn down or if you are just ready for something different, consider repainting the exterior of your house yourself or pay a professional painter to do the job for you.

Painting a house is a big job, but it isn’t an unreasonable job for most homeowners. You just need to do your research to know how to prep the exterior 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 doing all of the prep work on your own, but then letting their crew come in and do the actual painting with their tools, safety equipment and selected paint.

Whichever direction is right for you, you will 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. Decide which parts to paint, gather the ladders and other necessary safety equipment. If you are preparing to complete the painting yourself, you’ll be glad you did. Having a clear plan will make the actual painting go much faster once you get started. Collecting your tools ahead of time guarantees that once you begin painting, you won’t have to stop and look for all of the supplies, meaning you’ll have to maintain a wet brush edge the whole time you are painting.
2. Choose the right paint and brushes. The best part of painting your house is choosing the color or color combination. You’ll also want to choose the right paint finishes for each part of the house. Latex is better than oil-based paint for home exteriors. It’s 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 synthetic fiber brushes for latex paint. Rollers and sprayers are also efficient options if possible.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it’s time to begin prepping the surface of your house for its beautiful new paint! Invest time into power washing your house (or hiring a local pressure washing service) to remove any cracked or peeling paint. The extreme pressure water is the recommended way to eliminate peeling paint, and it simultaneously cleans the exterior of your house. Some of the areas of paint should peel off as soon as you spray over them. That’s a sign that the paint was deteriorating and had to be replaced!
4. Remove peeling paint. Now that the original paint has been loosened, scrape it off with a plastic or metal straight edge, being careful not to dig deep into the wood. Then sand surfaces for a smooth finish. It isn’t necessary to sand every surface all the way down to the bare wood. Any areas where the paint is still adhered just need to be tended to and have the edges sanded so the new paint goes on the home smooth.
5. Prime. Don’t skip priming! Primer is an important part of preparation because it conceals any previous paint (especially with dark colors), results in even color for your new paint, and a smoother surface with less imperfections throughout. Let the primer dry according to the directions so that the first layer of paint won’t mix with it or result in a rough patch.
6. Plan to paint in good weather. A professional painter is able to look at the forecast and determine the most opportune day for painting a house. That’s why they’re experts! If you want to do the painting on your own, wait for a day that is somewhere between 75 and 85 degrees, with low humidity. This will result in the best adhesion.

Why Painting Your Home is a Good Idea

Not only will a new paint job make your house look several years newer, it also provides a layer of protection for the overall exterior of your house.

Paint can help prevent insects from eating or clawing into your home’s exterior. It also prevents wear and tear from the elements. High quality paint prevents wood from rotting and dirt doesn’t adhere to paint the way it does to bare wood.

Peeling paint is an obvious clue that it is time to be replaced. If paint is peeling on your home, you need to have it repainted to protect the wood surface.

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

Painting is also a good idea if your house doesn’t seem to “fit in” in the neighborhood (but you want it to). If your home’s exterior color makes it stand out too much, or if the opposite is true and you want it to stand out, a different color can totally update its look.

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in Knoxville

After the prepping is complete, you might want to hand the work over to a professional painter in Knoxville (if you hadn’t already decided that from the beginning!). Hiring a painter is cost effective. It also guarantees that the results will exceed expectations with minimal effort on your part.

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 a lot better and the project will be a lot quicker.
• Companies don’t typically make a big mess. Their results will be neater, without extra paint splattered or spilled on your home.
• Due to their skill and knowledge, your new exterior paint will probably last longer than if you painted yourself.
• A professional painter will have the safety equipment required to paint anything above ground level.

Based 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 take care of every part of the job, from eliminating old paint and pressure washing the exterior to applying the paint.