Easy steps to painting the outside of your home
May 26, 2016, 5:30 PM
If you have a single story house that’s fairly small, you may be thinking of painting it yourself, especially if you’ve had some past experience.
To do the job right, here are the basic steps you need to follow:
1. Check the weather forecast before you start. The rainy monsoon days are not a good time, but super-hot summer days will help paint dry quickly. Just remember paint should go on while it’s relatively cool in the morning, so get up before the sun rises to start work.
2. If there are old wooden areas of the house, scrape off any old loose paint from those areas along with the walls. Next, pressure-wash any masonry/stucco surface areas of the house to remove dirt and dust. You can quick rinse and wipe down the wooden areas; do not pressure-wash the wood).
3. Use elastomeric caulk to fill hairline cracks in stucco and around windows.
4. The fastest way to go is to paint with a spray gun. But first, use tape, drop cloths and plastic tape on windows to keep paint off areas you don’t want to cover. Practice with the spray gun on a small area of the house.
5. Then back-roll the walls. Roll even more fresh paint on sprayed areas and smooth everything out.
6. Finally, paint all the trim with a brush and roller.
It takes a lot of work, but it’s possible to do this job yourself. There are, however, a couple of compelling reasons to consider hiring a professional painter:
- Retail priced paint will be more expensive than the price contractors can get.
- To do it right, you need to rent a good power washer, paint sprayer and a portable motorized hoist. That’s in addition to brushes, trays, caulk and tools for sanding and caulking.
- It may take you a lot longer to complete: perhaps even a week or more.
For more DIY tips and information for all the projects around your house, home, castle or cabin, visit Arizona’s largest collection of homeowner DIY advice and information at www.Rosieonthehouse.com.
And if you are in need of a quality contractor you know you can trust, visit our list of Arizona’s very best contractors or service providers for your home improvement projects at RosieontheHouse.com – Arizona’s most trusted Referral Network.
Tune in to KTAR every Saturday morning from 7-11 a.m. for the Rosie on the House broadcast!