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How to Paint a Home’s Exterior (And When To Hire a Professional)

HOW TO PAINT A HOME'S EXTERIOR (AND WHEN TO HIRE A PROFESSIONAL)
 March 13, 2023 |  Home Maintenance, DIY |  home exterior, painting, new homeowner, home seller, spring, summer, fall

There are so many reasons why people paint their homes. Maybe a room has gotten a bit stale and could use a new color, or nicks and scratches have been compounding the need for some serious TLC. A fresh coat of paint is a great way to solve these aesthetic issues, but paint has many other benefits for a home’s exterior! Good quality paint will help protect homes from the elements, insects, weather, and even wood rot.

While a home should never be judged solely on its exterior, a tidy, attractive first impression is crucial for every home sale. Before getting too excited though, there are a few things every homeowner should know when considering a home exterior makeover.

Pick the Perfect Day
If you are set on painting your home’s exterior yourself, it’s important to understand what you’re in for. Painting a home is a big job that should start a long before you pick up a brush or roller. Unlike interior jobs, a successful day of painting a home’s exterior is heavily dependent on the weather.

Direct sunlight will cause paint to dry more quickly, and certain types of paint will thicken in colder temperatures. In addition, things like moisture and dirt will cause your paint to struggle adhering to surfaces. Look ahead and find a day that isn’t too cold, humid, or windy (since gusts can carry dirt and other unwanted granules). It may be possible to paint effectively in the spring or even into the winter with the right equipment and types of paint, but most painting experts recommend sticking to summers and early autumn.

Prepare Your Exterior
Once you’ve selected the perfect time and date for the job, you should plan to get your home’s exterior ready for the new coat. Depending on the condition of your siding and the current coat of paint, extensive scraping and power-brushing can remove dirt and other obstructive substances. Sanding your walls will help primers smoothly bond to the surface for the best painting experience.

While cleaning off these surfaces, you should also plan on making minor repairs as you encounter them. Fill holes and repair the natural wear and tear that every home exterior is bound to experience throughout its lifetime. Importantly, keep caulk on hand so that you can eliminate air leaks and reduce chances of water penetration into your home.

Get to Work!
Once those steps have been crossed off, you should be ready to paint! A word of caution: while many homeowners should be fully capable of doing a great job painting their home’s exterior, there are situations where bringing in a professional would be the wiser choice.

Consider the size of your home. It may seem obvious, but multi-story buildings will require a ladder to complete a painting job. Homeowners will need ladders long enough, painting supplies with the appropriate reach, and they will need to be comfortable painting while high in the air. If you don’t have brushes, rollers, or stable ladders with enough reach, hiring a professional may end up saving you money on the job when all is said and done.

Professionals will have experience reducing things like lap marks or brush marks that tend to be common with DIY jobs. Additionally, ambitious homeowners might attempt to purchase and operate a sprayer without sufficient operating knowledge in an effort to save time. Be realistic with your abilities, and the time that you can afford to invest into a job like this before making a final decision!

Did you know that home inspectors are trained to identify issues on your home’s exterior, landscape, and your roof? To avoid letting minor issues grow into major maintenance problems, always schedule a home inspection with your home purchase! Schedule a home maintenance inspection with your local NPI property inspector today!