How to Prepare Your Home for Painting

If your home in Somerville needs to be updated, a fresh coat of paint is an easy, affordable way to improve its appearance. So if your home is looking shabby or if you’re simply ready for something different, consider painting the outside of your home yourself or pay a professional painter to do it for you.

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

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

Whichever choice is best for you, you will still need to know how to prepare your home for painting. Here are the most important things to consider.

6 House Painting Preparation Tips

1. Decide which parts of the home to paint, collect the ladders and other safety equipment. If you are planning to complete the painting yourself, you’ll thank yourself later. Having a clear plan will help to make the actual painting go much faster once you get started. Organizing your tools ahead of time ensures that once you begin painting, you won’t have to stop and look for needed 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 will also need to choose the right paint finishes for all parts of the home. Latex is better than oil-based paint for home exteriors. It is less messy and easier to clean up. The flat surfaces need more of a flat, or matte, finish, versus semi-gloss for the trim. You’ll need synthetic fiber brushes for latex paint. Rollers and sprayers are also efficient options.
3. Pressure wash. Finally, it’s time to begin prepping the surface of the home for its beautiful new paint! Invest time into power washing your home (or hiring a local pressure washing service) to wash off any cracked or peeling paint. The high pressure is the most effective way to eliminate old paint, and it also cleans the outside of your home. Some of the areas of paint may 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 old paint has been loosened, scrape it off the house with a plastic or metal straight edge, being diligent not to dig deep into the wood surface. Then sand bumpy surfaces for a smooth finish. It isn’t important to sand every surface down to the bare wood. Any sections where the paint is still adhered 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 paint colors), results in an even color for your new paint, and a smoother surface with minimal imperfections throughout. Let the primer dry based on the directions so that the first layer of paint won’t mix with it or produce a rough patch.
6. Plan to paint in good weather. A professional painter can look at the forecast and determine the most opportune day for applying exterior paint. That’s why they’re experts! If you plan to do the painting on your own, wait for a day that is somewhere between 75 and 85 degrees, with low humidity. This will lead to 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 provides a layer of protection to the overall exterior of your home.

Paint can help prevent insects from eating or clawing into your home’s exterior. It also reduces 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 sign that it needs to be replaced. If your paint is peeling on your home, you need to go ahead and have it repainted to protect the wood surface.

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

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

Hiring a Local Professional Painter in Somerville

After prepping is finished, you have the option to hand the job off to a professional painter in Somerville (if you hadn’t already decided that from the beginning!). Hiring a painter is affordable. It also ensures that the results will exceed your 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 best way to complete the job, meaning the paint will look a lot better and the project will go a lot faster.
• Companies don’t make a mess. Their results will be neater, without excess paint splattered or spilled on your home.
• Because of their skill and experience, your new paint will likely last longer than if you did the job yourself.
• A professional painter will already have the safety equipment needed to paint surfaces higher than ground level.

Based on your DIY capabilities and desires, you can trust your painter to complete all the pre-painting preparation, too. Most services are fully prepared to handle every part of the project, from eliminating old paint and pressure washing the exterior to applying the new paint.