Things to Consider When Painting the Exterior of Your House
Sam Lutz • March 20, 2018
There’s much more that goes into painting the exterior of your house than just picking up some exterior paint at your local hardware store. There’s quite a bit of prep work to be done in order to make your house look just the way you see it in your imagination.
Painting a house is much like a buying a fish tank. It’s a process. Much like you’re not able to walk into a pet store to buy a bunch of fish and then put them right into the tank the same day, you can’t just go to the hardware store one day, pick up some paint and get painting.
Let’s get started
The first thing you’ll want to do is take a walk around your house to check for any sort of chips, peeling, mildew or anything else you may not have noticed from your driveway. Once you’ve inspected every nook and cranny of the exterior you’re ready to go ahead and pressure wash the whole house.
Once you’ve pressure washed the entire house you can start priming. This is a key step, and one you won’t want to skip. Also, make sure you’re picking a primer with a high quality sealer to help keep everything in place.
Now we wait.
Depending on the type of primer you go with, you may have to wait a bit before you can start painting. The wait varies based on which primer or sealer you’re using.
The fun part, picking the paint
Remember, it’s your house we’re talking about here, so, you want to make sure you’re picking a great, durable exterior paint that will weather the elements. We recommend going with a paint that is 100-percent acrylic.
Choosing a color
When picking your color you’ll want to ask yourself a few questions:
- What other colors do I have on my home?
- How do I stand out (in a good way!) in my neighborhood?
- What sort of weather do we get?
The perfect paint is a perfect blend of your answers to those three questions. If you’re in Florida, the sun is intense, so you’ll want to use bright colors. If you’re in Pittsburgh, you can go with a cooler hue. Also, if you’re looking for great inspiration, there are tons of resources online.
Finally… time to paint
The easiest way to paint the exterior of your house is using a technique called spraying a back-rolling. The only catch here is, you can’t do it alone. One person does the spraying while the other person follows and rolls over the paint that was just sprayed on. One coat of this usually does the trick, but if you have the extra cash, two coats will certainly help with durability.
Pssst… You’re not done yet
Don’t forget about your doors and shutters. Unfortunately, it’s best to paint doors and shutters with a brush. It’s going to take a bit more time, but it will be worth it. If you take your time, use quality paint and don’t try to do it by yourself, your beautiful new exterior paint job can last between 15-20 years depending on your climate.
Stop In At Ace Paint and Unfinished Furniture
Stop in and see one of our great team members at Ace Paints and Unfinished Furniture. We’ve got two locations: Mt. Lebanon, 412-531-2029, and McMurray, 724-941-9060. We’ll be happy to help you plan your next painting project!
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