How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your home in Conroe has to be refreshed, a new coat of exterior paint is a quick, affordable option to improve its curb appeal. So if your home is looking worn down or if you are simply ready for a change, consider repainting the outside of your house yourself or pay a professional painter to do it for you.

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

You can even partner with a painter by doing all of the prep work by yourself, but then letting their team come to your home and do the actual painting with their best tools, safety equipment and professionally selected paint.

Whichever option is best for you, you’ll still need 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 of the home to paint, collect the ladders and other safety equipment. If you’re preparing to complete the painting by yourself, you’ll thank yourself later. Having a clear plan will help to make the actual painting project go a lot faster once you get started. Organizing your equipment beforehand guarantees that once you begin painting, you won’t have to stop and search for all of the supplies, meaning that 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’s exterior is choosing the color or color combo. You’ll also need to choose 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 easier to clean up. The flat surfaces need more of a flat, or matte, finish, versus semi-gloss. You’ll need to us synthetic fiber brushes for latex paint. Rollers and sprayers are efficient options.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it’s time to begin prepping the exterior of the house for its brand new paint! Invest time into pressure washing your house (or hiring a local pressure washing service) to loosen any cracked or peeling paint. The high pressure is the most effective way to remove peeling paint, and it simultaneously cleans the outside of your house. Some of the areas of paint will peel right off as soon 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, get more of it off with a plastic or metal straight edge, being diligent not to dig deep into the wood. Then sand bumpy surfaces for a smooth finish. It isn’t necessary to sand every surface all the way down to the bare wood. Any sections where the paint is still adhered just need to be tended to and have the edges sanded so the new paint goes on smoothly.
5. Prime. Don’t skip the primer! Primer is a very important step because it conceals any prior paint (especially important with dark paint colors), results in even color for your new paint, and a smoother exterior with less imperfections throughout. Let the primer dry based on the directions so that the original layer of paint doesn’t mix with it or create a rough patch.
6. Plan to paint in good weather. A professional painter can look at the weather forecast and find the most opportune day for painting a house. That’s why they’re experts! If you want to do the painting yourself, wait for a day that is 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 brand new paint job make your home look several years newer, it also creates a layer of protection for the overall structure of your house.

Paint helps prevent pests from eating or clawing into your home’s exterior. It also stops wear and tear from the elements. Good quality paint prevents wood from rotting and dirt won’t adhere to paint the same way it does to bare wood.

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

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

Painting is a good idea if your house doesn’t 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 paint color can change its vibe.

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in Conroe

After prepping is done, you have the option to turn the project over to a professional painter in Conroe (if you hadn’t already decided that from the start!). Hiring a painter is cost effective. It also guarantees 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 knows the most efficient way to complete the job, meaning the paint will look much better and the project will be done a lot quicker.
• Companies don’t typically make a big mess. Their results will be neater, without extra paint splattered or spilled around home.
• Due to their skill and knowledge, your new exterior paint will last a lot longer than if you did the job by yourself.
• A professional painter will already have the safety equipment required to paint areas above ground level.

Based on your DIY capabilities and interests, you can trust your painter to complete all the pre-painting preparation, too. Most companies are prepared to handle every part of the job, from eliminating old paint and cleaning the exterior to applying the new paint.