What You Need to Know Before Painting Your Home

There are numerous reasons why you need to paint your home. It can be to transform your interiors to be more aesthetically pleasing. It can also be to address chipped paint or cover up after repairing a certain damage.

While you certainly can paint your home by yourself, enlisting the services of the professionals in the field is sometimes a wiser option. Thereby, if you are sourcing for skilled tradesmen to handle the repainting of your home, there are online sources wherein you can get a free quote. Aside from having an insight on the amount of money that you need to prepare for your project, seasoned home painters would be able to provide you with sound advice regarding the paint materials you need to use. Gavin Kane, the expert behind Hunter Coast Painting, believes that you should only use the best quality paints and products to ensure a long lasting finish. With a durable finish, you will be able to save a significant sum of money in the long run.

By now you may already be thinking of painting your home, but before you do, it is worthwhile to keep a tab on some of the things you need to know.

Try color samples

Before you paint your home, it is important to decide on the paint color that you need to use to come up with the look that you want to achieve. Hence, take some time to try some color samples first. Purchase some sample paints and test them out in your home. Allow the sample of paint to dry and observe its color in daytime and nighttime. This will give you a better idea on how the color will look on your home compared to the color swatches available in the stores.           

Determine the amount of paint you need

Once you have decided on the color of the paint, the next step is to determine how much paint you need. Calculate for the total area that you are going to paint because the number of gallons of paint you will be needing depends on this area, as well as on the number of coats that you will make. Combine cans of paint of the same color in a larger container to ensure that you will have a uniform color applied. If you are going to use a primer, a single coat may be sufficient, but without a primer, a couple of coats of paint may be necessary.

With a primer, it is a good rule of thumb to apply a coat of it to the wall or surface that you intend to paint before sanding the surface, ready for painting. Nevertheless, there are already painted products which are infused with a primer, but these can prove to be more expensive than regular paint. Overall, make sure to get a little extra paint to have some left over in case of repair works later on.

Prepare the tools you need

Aside from the paint, you also need to prepare the tools you need to apply the color on your home. For sure, you will need rollers so you need to make a purchase in case you don’t own one yet. However, if you already do have a roller, clean it up by removing any debris from it, such as loose fibers. Also remember to rub dry paint brushes with a painter’s tape wrapped backward around your hand to ensure that no loose fibers from the brush end up in your paint.

Home interior painting

Prep up the room

For a home interior painting, make the effort to prep up the room that you are going to paint. You will be able to accomplish your painting job faster if nothing is in your way. Thus, empty the room or move large pieces of furniture to the center and cover them up with old sheets. Also cover your floors with newspapers or drop cloth so as not to ruin it with paint splatters. Wipe your walls down to remove any dirt, dust or oil build up. Paint will adhere better on clean walls. Finally, inspect for any holes or cracks in your wall and repair these promptly before you start painting.

Home exterior painting

Consider the weather

Before you paint the exterior of your home, it is a good idea to plan ahead. The key here is to execute your painting job at a time of the year when it is dry, with little rain and low humidity. The relatively dry weather will give the paint an ample time to dry. In addition to this, paint will not adhere fully to a wet surface. This is the reason why it is important to have a good understanding of your local weather patterns and select a perfect period to paint the exteriors of your home.

Clean and repair surfaces

Paint doesn’t adhere very well to dirty or rough surfaces, which is why it is necessary to clean your sidings. Sand or scrape any peeling paint to create a solid surface that the paint can adhere to. In addition to this, paint also doesn’t adhere to rotten wood. Hence, you need to replace the siding or the wood with a new one. Conversely, when the damage is not that large, you can use a wood hardener matched with an exterior filler product to create a surface viable for painting.

Repainting your home can prove to be a tedious task, but to ensure that you are successful with it, make sure that you prep up the room that you will repaint and test several paint colors beforehand. You also need to pay attention to the kind of finish that you want to achieve, as well as on the amount of paint you need. Nevertheless, keep in mind that the paint on your home can always be replaced once you are no longer happy with it. It will just take you some time, effort, and a little bit of cash, but rest assured that the end result will be worth it.