The process of painting a house exterior involves several steps, including choosing the right paint color, pressure-washing walls, repairing damaged surfaces, removing loose paint, caulking trim, filling and repairing, and applying primer. To prepare for the painting process, it is essential to clean all exterior surfaces, remove loose paint, and let everything dry for 24 hours.
The first step in the house-painting process is to choose an appropriate paint color. This can be determined by choosing a color family for the siding and other portions of the facade. It is also important to plan for the weather, as rain can affect the outcome of the painting process.
To properly paint the exterior of your home, follow these steps: pressure-wash walls, repair damaged surfaces, remove loose paint, caulk trim, prime stain, protect doors, lights, and windows, and paint trim and doors last. Before starting the painting process, check the weather forecast and set the ladder up on flat ground.
After the painting process, ensure that the crew arrives, repairs any damage or problem areas, power-washes the exterior, caulks all seams, and applies protective coverings. Before starting the painting process, plan the paint design, fix large issues, purchase paint, remove unpainted items, scrape paint, clean the house, and caulk the edges. By following these steps, you can give your house a new look and enhance its curb appeal.
📹 Watch This Before You Paint Your House’s Exterior – Spencer Colgan
In this video, I suggest to you that you use a bonding agent on the exterior of the house that you are painting.
Do I need to pressure wash my house before painting?
Pressure washing is crucial before painting a house to ensure a thorough bond between the exterior materials and the new paint. If the surface is dirty, it can cause cracks and peels over time, requiring costly and inconvenient redone jobs. Exterior paint in Ohio lasts from five to twenty years, depending on the substrate. Wood siding lasts for five years, while aluminum and vinyl last up to twenty.
Regular soft washing protects the paint and helps it last longer. Power washing is not recommended for freshly painted houses, as it can cause bubbles, cracks, or peels. Instead, soft washing is the safest, easiest, and most effective way to keep the house clean.
Is it better to roll or spray exterior house paint?
Textbook Painting typically uses rolling for most jobs due to its higher quality finish and thicker paint application. This method provides better coverage and is easier to be precise, eliminating the risk of overspray. Spraying is also used for speed and cost savings, as it allows for faster work and production of large areas. The cost of fewer labor hours is lower, which is passed on to homeowners. An estimate typically includes a price for sprayed and an option for rolling, with most homeowners opting for the roll price due to the higher quality of the job.
How to prepare outdoor steps for painting?
Step 1 involves removing loose material or paint from the step, such as mortar or debris. Once the surface is sound, apply an exterior filler to any holes or cracks and let it dry. Painting doorsteps is essential, as not all surfaces should be painted. Wood or concrete doorsteps can be effectively painted using an appropriate exterior floor paint that can withstand low to medium traffic. Painting doorsteps can achieve any desired look using different paint finishes and colors, make first impressions, and rectify tired-looking doorsteps quickly. It is a small, easy DIY job that anyone can do.
How to paint an exterior house step by step?
- Pressure-wash walls to remove dirt and dust buildup.
- Repair damaged surfaces, remove loose paint, caulk trim, prime stains, protect doors, windows, and lights, then paint the exterior and trim and doors.
What order should I paint the exterior of my house?
The order of painting a house’s exterior should be from top down, starting with the soffits, fascia, and trim. Paint the walls top down, then refresh the windows if needed. Finish with the front door. Douglas Kent, technical and research director at the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, provides design expertise in your inbox, including inspiring decorating ideas, celebrity homes, gardening advice, and shopping round-ups.
What is the fastest way to paint the exterior of a house?
The rental of paint sprayers represents an efficient method for the application of primer in a uniform and expeditious manner. It is of the utmost importance to back-brush when using a sprayer to work the primer into the wood. This should be done while using a roller as well, with back-brushing occurring as the work progresses.
What kind of paint should I use on outdoor steps?
When painting a wooden staircase, durability is a crucial factor to consider. Semi-gloss paint is a popular choice due to its durability and ability to withstand heavy foot traffic. Eggshell or matt finishes are also popular due to their ability to withstand wear and tear. No specialist floor paint is needed for a durable and visually appealing staircase. To prepare the staircase for painting, clean it from top to bottom, hoovering first and wiping down with sugar soap to bond the paint to the wood. This will help ensure a strong bond between the paint and the wood.
How many coats of paint should you put on exterior house?
It is standard practice to apply two coats of exterior paint to a surface that has been adequately prepared and primed, particularly when painting a dark color over a lighter one. In the event that a lighter color is being applied over a darker one, the necessity for additional coats may be greater than two. To facilitate a seamless transition, it is advisable to utilise a tinted primer.
Can I paint over old exterior paint?
Before painting over old exterior paint, it’s crucial to assess the condition and type of the existing paint. If the paint is in good condition and adheres properly, a prime may not be necessary. However, if the paint is peeling, chalking, or flaking, it’s best to prime it before applying a new coat. Primer creates a smooth surface, promotes better adhesion between the old and new paint layers, and can block stains, especially if the old paint has water or rust stains.
What time of year is best to paint exterior of house?
The optimal time for exterior home painting is during periods of dry, moderate weather, which typically occur in spring and fall. The optimal temperature range for painting is between 40 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
How to prepare the exterior of a house to paint?
To provide the best exterior painting preparation for your clients, follow these basic steps: remove contaminants, wash the home, make any needed repairs and remove peeling paint, and prime the walls. Lead paint has been outlawed since 1978, but many homes still have it on their walls. If you suspect lead, don’t try to scrape or sand it off, and don’t do any washing. A certified contractor must handle the removal of the paint before starting. Test the paint before proceeding with any further exterior painting prep.
A common contaminant, especially in humid areas, is mold or mildew. Look for black, green, or brown stains that may have a fuzzy appearance. If you’re unsure whether a stain is mold or mildew, apply common bleach. If it bleaches away, you’ve killed some mold or mildew. Use bleach or another EPA-registered microbiocide or fungicide to remove mold and mildew. Look for cleaners and degreasers that do double duty, removing not only mold and mildew but also grime, grease, and oil.
📹 How to Paint a House | DIY Exterior Painting Tips
Painting the exterior of your house is a big job, but if done right, it’ll give a major boost to your curb appeal & add tremendous …
Here’s a tip they left out, with all the peeling paint they had you must use a bonding primer on the peeling areas such as Peel Stop, Peel Bond, etc. It is a clear bonding primer that actually seals the edges of the peel spot to diminish future peeling. It actually works like glue. Once I found this product I would never paint a house that had peeling paint without it It will decrease your future peeling by as much as 95%. I’m surprised a Lowe’s article left this out since they sell it. But, I’ve known pro painters that still don’t use it and spend a lot of time doing customer service work going back to a house that keeps peeling sometimes with in months.
I am doing my house at this moment and it really can be a daunting job but made it look very doable if you just take your time and do not get frustrated. I last painted this house in 2007 when my father died along with my mother who was in her late 70’s at the time and I was in my 50’s. Now I am 71 and doing it alone this time. Thank you for all your input, your article is helpful.
Great article Monica, I learned a lot considering I’ve painted a house three times. The first was my dad’s house when I was 17 and had just graduated from high school. My own house I’ve painted twice before. It is a stucco house. It’s been a good 20 or more years since I painted it last (we’ve lived here 43 years) and even though it still looks pretty good, I’m 70 now, so I need to paint it while I’m still young. Next time it needs paint I’ll be dead. Thanks for all the good tips, I learned a few things.
I thought this was very helpful. There are always critics but I thought it was very good for the first time DYI person. If you are a pro or experienced, you probably do not need to watch this article. I am going to have my college age daughter watch this and then this will be a summer father / daughter project. Can’t wait to get started.
I am buying a house that has wooden floors that are already painted, but have some chipped areas. I am assuming I can approach repainting the floors in the same manner as this article? I like the idea of sanding the chipped areas to make a smoother surface. I’m worried if I try and sand the entire floor with a floor sander that I’d be doing more work than necessary.
Not trying to be a know it all but …you shouldn’t caulk the bottom edge of wood siding like she’s telling you to do…it’s not overlapped just for looks…those laps allow water and moisture to escape, as well as airflow into the siding to keep out mold and mildew. There is also no way that the caulking will move enough to allow the paint to stay in place when the siding expands and contracts.
@18.44 – the window glass has paint on it. Or so it appears. Wish there were close ups of the paintwork too, because a lot of scraping took place – on the weatherboards for instance. If you don’t scrape ALL of the paint off, and just some of it… then don’t you have to fill in the scraped off areas somehow, so that when you paint, the whole surface of the weatherboards is the same level (and not ‘pocked’ so to speak, where chunks of paint have been pulled off)? How do you get a smooth, ‘even’, uniform surface on the weatherbaorads if you don’t somehow fill in the areas of weatherboards where the paint has been scraped off, so that the whole weatherboard surface is ‘even’?
That is a ton ton ton of work! The result is amazing! The tips in this article are excellent! However, omg, let’s be serious, that is sooooo much prep work !!!!! I can imagine staring at the before project being completely overwhelmed. Really you need a team crew to paint this! That whole house requires paint! Yikes! Up the ladder, down the ladder a zillion times! taping, cleaning, cleanup!!!!, it’s all why I have huge respect for pro painters.
I was in the painting business for 50 years. For this rough old paint I would use 24grit zirconia 5″ disks on a Mikita 5″ sander. It will require less scraping before sanding and you won’t have high places from the old paint and low places from the new. They will blend together. The 80grit she using in the article makes a feeble attempt at this. Also, if you pressure wash after you sand, water will soak into the wood, find its way under some of the paint and you’ll be doing some more removing of old paint. For some reason a lot of youtube articles show painters using a little angle brush on wide surfaces. It’s amateurish and slows you down.
Pressure washing is somewhat overrated and if you’re not experienced pressure washing can cause additional damage if your house is not too tall I would say start off scrubbing down the side of your house with the brush some dish soap and washing it off with a hose you can always upgrade the power washing later
You scrap then pressure wash. If the homeowners want to pay the extra you sand after. Why pressure wash the house, and blow more loose pieces off and have edges again. Best way to do it is wash it first honestly and shop vac the mess later with a broom or brush to loosen flakes most homeowners are worried about time/price. Proper setup you’ll save your arm legs and more
It looks like the previous painters did not do a good job. You can see bumps on them, and it is not smooth. Looks like they just threw on globs of paint. Should have spent a little more time sanding, to try to fix the previous painter mistakes. Spray painting would have been faster. Even with prep work, it still would have been faster.
I love this article thank you. This us awesome and that pink door in the thumbnail I love it. You give such great ideas. Can you do a article on a locker room inspired gym at home? Also perhaps can you do design ideas on highschool classrooms. I don’t see much of those, I mean there’s like 2 ideas out there lol. I would love to see your ideas on this.
It is obvious on the wood siding was prepared with half measures because I can see area’s where the wood siding is missing and a lot of area’s the sanding was incomplete and not feathered out. A very poor prep job with lots of patches where it’s going to need spackling on the wood siding boards. According to the painter in this article it’s called leaving the texture for character but what about the pealing factor because I can see that a lot of area’s are going to be pealing after being exposed to the hot sun. I call this being lazy and leaving imperfections. This paint job will not last. I give it a month or two the most.
All that prep work was great, but then she chose that gloomy gray with that pinkish orange door! So much work for such terrible colors. This is supposed to be a house, not a funeral home. Dark Grey! Is Dracula going to live here? In the summer time this house will be hotter than hell! Colors matter and affect people’s moods. Read more about the influence of colors on people’s health and moods. Dark gray is very depressing. All the rest of the prep was excellent.