Painters – Why You Need Them

When deciding to renew and refresh the exterior of your residential home, finding a professional and reliable painter can be an intimidating or exhausting process. Some homeowners will simply decide to tackle the job on their own. However, a professional painter can significantly reduce the time and cost associated with internal or external jobs.

Some of the things that must be taken into consideration when painting your home are whether or not you want to do the entire house, cleaning and preparation of the surface, choosing the paint type, and proper application. You should also keep in mind the time of year and weather because too much sun or freezing temperatures can undo all of your hard work. Some of the common problems encountered when painting the exterior of a house include peeling, alligatoring, blistering, wrinkling, chalking, mildew, running sags, and pain that just won’t dry. Choosing the proper high-quality paint for the job will go a long way to reducing headaches and time.

Paint selection is a very important process and it is essential to consider a few factors before moving forward. What is the exterior surface material made of? What type of final finish does the homeowner desire? What was used on the house in the past? Does the contractor prefer the ease of latex application or durability of alkyd-based paints?

The first step that a painter tackles is preparation of the house exterior. Whether the siding simply needs a brisk hose wash or a more thorough brushing and peeling depends on the current state of the existing paint job. Be sure to inspect each corner and crevice carefully. Look under the eaves and window frames. Spending a little more time on this initial step may seem exhausting, but will go a long way to improving the final results. You may need to scrape, sand, melt, or use a liquid paint remover to help prep the surface. A good one also ensures that rust stains are removed, leaks are repaired, loose caulking is replaced, cracks in the siding are filled, and mildew is cleaned off.

There are a number of specific tips and techniques to ensure you get the most even color and overall coverage with your exterior job. A professional painter will follow the movement of the sun over the course of the day and, if possible, work in the shade after the moisture has evaporated. It is also important to try and finish an entire side or section before stopping for the day. Uneven layers and drying may result if you split up one area over two or more days.

Final steps for a painter involve the more detailed and often time-consuming work of painting exterior trim. Tips to make the job go faster and look better include working from the top down, ensuring new caulking is dry before painting, scraping off drips and spatters as you work, removing storm windows to paint them separately, removing doorknobs and latch plates before painting the door, properly cleaning and priming gutters and downspouts, and using appropriate materials for decorative pieces such as ornamental metal or porch railings.