Exterior painting near me is a relatively big home improvement job, but it is the quickest and most affordable way possible to freshen up the look of your home.
However, exterior painting is more than just for aesthetic purposes. Giving your home a fresh coat of paint will even help seal its outer surfaces to protect it from heat, humidity, and moisture. It can give your home a different appearance and boost your curb appeal, which will be advantageous, especially if you plan to sell your home in the future.
As exterior painting is a pretty big job, you need to figure out many things before getting started, whether you need to do some touch-ups or need a comprehensive exterior painting.
Things you should know about exterior painting.
1) Unlike interior painting, exterior painting can pose more significant challenges and require more meticulous prep work.
The outer surfaces of a building are the first line of defense against the weather elements, so they’re more prone to various damage, from blistering to mold and mildew to wood rot. This potential damage is why exterior surfaces require a thorough clean-up and prep work before painting. That’s not to say interior surfaces do not need the same prep work but dealing with exterior surfaces requires more meticulous attention.
Sometimes, you need to find out the source of the damage if you notice any. For example, wood rot may be caused by clogged gutters or improper drainage around the house. So, it would be best if you dealt with the root cause of the problem first before fixing the wood rot. The earlier the problem is detected, the better, especially if the decay has not yet spread to the more structurally essential parts of your home.
2) Exterior painting is generally more expensive than interior painting. It is also more challenging to do correctly.
Unlike interior painting, exterior painting requires more paints, materials, and labor. If you’re on a budget but want your exterior surfaces done, estimating is essential to help you determine the cost of paints and materials.
Exterior painting is also more difficult to do right, and when it is not, it could lead to surface problems such as fading, chipping, peeling, and blistering. However, exterior painting lasts longer than interior painting and can improve your home’s curb appeal.
3) Safety is also a particular concern when doing exterior painting.
While applying new colors on your home’s exterior surfaces can achieve your desired appearance and style, there’s a specific risk with exterior painting. Especially when things like solvents, ladders, scaffolding, and power tools enter the equation, the exterior painting turns into a potentially dangerous project.
Thus, practicing safety measures is a must to help minimize the risk. Accessing and painting high areas of the home’s exterior requires ladders, where most accidents happen. Ladders usually come with instruction materials and everything you need to know about using them properly and safely. Instructions and warnings can be printed on the ladder as well. Before stepping on the ladder, inspect the rungs to make sure they’re stable and in good shape.
It is also essential to safeguard your body with personal protective equipment. Wearing a respirator and a chemical-resistant suit will protect your eyes, lungs, and skin while painting.
Before starting to paint, inspect your surroundings to ensure there are no potential hazards that could interfere with your ladders and scaffolding, such as trees and power lines. While the project is underway, keep children or pets away from the work site and equipment to prevent accidents.
4) Keep an eye on the weather.
We’re all looking for the ideal weather conditions to paint outside. Hot, cold, windy, or humid weather can negatively affect the exterior painting.
When the temperature drops, some paints tend to condense and become thicker in consistency, making them more challenging to apply and even more difficult to dry. As a result, the thick paint can cause more flaws in the finish, such as dripping, running, or sagging. In addition, the cold weather can ruin the paint’s bond with the substrate or the surface you’re painting, leading to other problems such as peeling or chipping.
On the other hand, the excessive heat may cause the paint to dry more quickly than necessary, leading to cracks, wrinkling, and bumping. Also, painting under direct sunlight or in 100-degree (and above) weather is not safe for anyone.
Spray painting may be the most efficient way to apply paint on the exterior surface, but it can also be difficult to control, especially when encountering wind or humidity. A gust of wind may carry airborne paint further away from the surface, leading to overspray and paint waste.
Humidity, however, may cause the paint to stay wet even longer. Combine humidity with heavy winds, and you’ll have a recipe for a paint project disaster.
While you cannot change the weather, you can adapt to it. If you’re planning on painting your home’s exteriors, you need to be aware of the weather when you schedule your project. Keep an eye on your local weather forecast as you look forward to the project date. You should also be flexible. For example, if you schedule your paint project in the hot summer months, your paint crew may have to set their painting schedule to early in the morning, so they don’t have to work during the hottest hours of the day.
If you are considering painting the exterior of your home, contact Custom Painting, Inc. for a free consultation and estimate. We will ensure that the exterior painting near me is done correctly, so you can enjoy your newly painted home for years to come.