House Painting Tips that will Save you Time, Money and Frustration
By Mark J. Donovan
Painting is one of those home
maintenance projects that few of us enjoy but frequently have no choice but
to do. If your home has exterior wood siding, mother-nature pretty much
dictates painting the exterior of the home every 5-7 years. Between sun,
moisture and dramatic temperature changes, exterior house paint begins to
fade, crack and peel after just a few years. The interior walls of the home
can take a similar beating, however instead of mother-nature inflicting its
wrath, it is from our own human afflictions, particularly if children are
living in the home.
When tackling a home painting
project there are a number of house painting tips that can make your
painting project go more smoothly and give you a more professional finish.
Listed below are my top 10 house painting tips for making your home painting
project go a little smoother.
1) Prepare the painting area appropriately. This includes removing items and
obstructions from the room or work area, such as curtains, furniture, and
mechanical hardware wherever possible. Also make sure the room is well
ventilated if you are working on an interior home painting project. In
addition, fill all holes or cracks with spackling and tape all items that
you do not want to paint and cannot remove from the walls. Also, it is
advisable to wipe down wall surface areas with a damp cloth prior to
applying paint. You would be surprised how much dust clings to wall
surfaces.
Finally, if you are tackling an
interior paint project remove all outlet and switch face plate covers prior to
painting. You will waste more time cutting around them and inevitably leave
paint marks on some of them.
Make no mistake, no time is more wasted in a house painting project than
shuffling articles around the room, removing outlet covers at the last minute,
and cycling between taping and painting. When the preparation work is all
complete, then pull out the paint brush and rollers.
2) If the old paint on the
exterior of the home is chipped and flaking scrape the exterior of the home
prior to applying new paint. Warning, prior to scraping make sure the paint
has been tested to confirm that it is free from lead. There are strict
federal and state procedures for removing lead based paint products. Lead is
a hazardous material to humans and should not be removed by a non-licensed
professional.
Also, it is wise to power wash the exterior of a home prior to painting.
Mold and mildew, as well as dirt, rust and other foreign materials can
collect on the walls. If not removed the paint adhesion could be
compromised.
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3) In the event you are using a
paint sprayer, e.g. for painting the exterior of your home, use newspaper
and masking tape to cover windows and other large non-desired painting
surfaces.
4) Use plenty of drop cloths and have a damp rag in your pocket at all times
when painting. Attempting to not drip is a time consuming chore in itself.
Unless you want to have a contest while painting to see who drips the least
paint, use copious amounts of drop cloths. Having the damp rag in your
pocket will save time when you make that minor mistake with the cutting
brush.
5) Have a sufficient number of ladders with the appropriate height
requirements. Running up and down ladders and constantly readjusting them is
time consuming and tiring. Using the wrong ladder can also be dangerous to
your personal well being.
6) If the walls have never seen paint, e.g. bare sheetrock, prime them
first. You will save money on high priced paint absorption and you will get
a much better finish.
7) Cut first with a small angled paint brush and then pull out your paint
rollers. By rolling paint after you cut the corners and wall/ceiling
transitions, you can hide the brush marks and achieve a nicer finish.
8) Make sure weather conditions are right for painting. Hold off painting
the exterior of a home until you are sure the siding is completely dry and
free of moisture. Also make sure the weather forecast is free of rain and
fog, and the temperature is above 50o Fahrenheit. Even if you are tackling
an interior home painting project, it is best to paint on a dry and low
humidity day. Dry, humid free days will allow for quick drying times.
9) If you are using latex paint make sure to clean your brushes thoroughly
after use. If you are using an oil based paint use mineral spirits to clean
your brushes. Nothing can be more frustrating to go out the second day on
your paint project and find your brushes hard and unusable.
10) Finally, have a radio or Ipod player nearby. Nothing helps to soothe the
soul more, when undertaking a mundane home painting project, than listening
to your favorite music while you paint.
Happy House Painting!!
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