How To Paint Your Home Exterior ?

The house’s exterior can be painted with only a brush and your preferred paint, right? Certainly not!

Although painting the outside of a house is a do-it-yourself project that is possible. There are several precautions that you must take for both safety and a more professional result.

So, whether you’re interested in learning more about priming the outside of your home, application methods, or problem-solving, you’ve come to the perfect spot. As we’ve covered every single aspect in this guide.

Without further ado, let’s get started!

Does It Require Permission To Paint A House’s Exterior?

In general, you shouldn’t require permission to paint the exterior of your home. However, if your home is a listed structure, you might need permission to paint the outside of your home or make other, seemingly trivial alterations. Be sure to verify before beginning any work.

What Supplies Are Needed To Paint The House’s Exterior?

Exterior paint is responsible for not only making your property seem nice, but also for protecting and waterproofing the substrate of the walls. The sort of paint you use will be determined by how exposed your walls are to the outdoors and the surface you are painting; render, cladding, and other outside finishes, for example, may require different finishes. In general, masonry paint of high grade will be required for your outside walls. This paint is appropriate for pebbledash, stucco, cement renders, stone, and brick.

Masonry paint is offered in a wide range of colors and comes in both smooth and textured finishes. Cracks and extremely uneven surfaces can be covered with textured paint, although smooth finishes are simpler to apply over broad areas.

Weatherproof wood paint or stain will be needed for wooden cladding. Make sure the tin is appropriate for the project you’re working on. Additionally, you must prime the wood (unless the paint you have chosen combines a primer or states otherwise).

Step 1: Pressure-Wash The Walls.

Utilize a power washer to clean the house of dirt and dust accumulation to achieve the finest covering. TIP: Smoothly and carefully go from top to bottom of the home, overlapping each stroke by 8 inches.

Step 2: Restore Any Damaged Surfaces

Walk around the whole house’s perimeter and take note of any harmed stucco, siding, masonry, wood, or metal surfaces. Using a spackle knife, fix any cracks or holes with epoxy. When dry, use a medium-grit sanding block to softly sand the surface.

Step 3: Take Off Any Loose Paint

Once the outside has dried, walk around the house’s perimeter and look for any paint that may be damaged or loose. Lay up drop cloths around the floor, then use a medium-grit sanding block or paint scraper to remove loose and damaged paint.

Step 4: Trim The Caulk

Utilize external caulk, a caulk gun, and any gaps between the home and trim around doors and windows. Caulk should be used along the surface where different materials meet if the home is made of a mixture of materials, such as siding and brick.

Step 5: Apply Primer On Stains

Look for any stains or obvious wood knots on the outside. Use a paintbrush to apply one layer of stain-blocking primer to the surface.

Step 6: Secure The Windows, Doors, And Lights.

Cover doors, windows, and windowsills with plastic sheeting, painter’s tape, and lighting fixtures.

Step 7: Paint The Outside.

Fill the paint sprayer halfway with flat or eggshell exterior paint. Depending on the intensity of the color, apply one or two coats of flat or eggshell exterior paint to the whole house. Take care to move from top to bottom in a smooth, continuous manner, leaving 8 inches between strokes. 

TIP: Start with a layer of primer to guarantee optimum coverage when altering the exterior color from light to dark or dark to light. Primer is not necessary when applying a fresh coat of an existing color.

Step 8: Paint The Doors And Trim

Do not cover doors, windows, or light fixtures with plastic wrap. Use a paintbrush to apply two coats of exterior semi gloss paint to the doors and woodwork. Take off the drop cloths.

How To Paint The Outside Of A House

Few components of your home have as much aesthetic effect as the outside paintwork. A well-executed painting reflects your pride in your home and adds to its originality.

Step 1. First, Prepare Your Work Surface.

Despite the desire to just start painting, considerable planning is required for a professional result. A successful painting, according to Dan Lawson of Medallion Paint, is 95 percent dependent on a decent surface. Allow at least 28 days for the stucco on the outside of a new house to dry before painting it. Uncured stucco may make it difficult for paint to adhere properly, giving the surface a dusty or chalky look.

Inspect the outside walls and trim for chipping, peeling, mildew, and other flaws before repainting an old property. Apply a chlorine bleach solution using a garden sprayer to kill mildew. Then, pressure-clean the whole exterior to remove grime and loose paint.

Step 2. Caulk And Patch As Needed.

Grab a tube of caulk before you take up a paint roller. Sealing cracks and places where one type of external material meets another is critical. Window frames, door frames, molding, and fascia boards are all examples of this. Patch any chips or pits on an existing stucco surface with fresh stucco (and allow time to cure). Any fascia boards or wood siding that exhibits indications of deterioration should be replaced. Sand wood doors and trim lightly to create a surface that will take paint well.

Step 3. The Third Step’s To Prime.

Prime with a good sealer to get the most out of your paint finish. Dan notes that sealers have a high resin content. These sealers seal everything in place, covers the old paint, and provide a solid surface for the new paint to cling to. Pick a sealant for chalky walls if you’re repainting walls that have grown dusty or chalky. Dusty surfaces won’t take paint well.

Regarding new construction, vinyl and the majority of wood siding work well with latex primer. Apply a hot stucco primer if the stucco you’re working with isn’t dried. As soon as the primer dries, the surface may take paint, skipping the waiting time. But if you can, let the stucco cure for the advised amount of time. To find out how long you need to wait before starting to paint, look at the label on your primer or sealer.

Step 4: Select Top-Notch Exterior Paint

An excellent exterior paint is an entirely acrylic latex. The three basic parts of the formula are as follows:

– The coloring-giving pigments.

– Binders, which keep the paint on the wall in place.

– Solvents, facilitate the spreading of the paint. Most exterior paints available now are water-based.

The solvent disappears when paint dries, leaving just the pigments and binders. Volume solids are what these are called. The volume solids of higher-quality paints are often greater. They might also have better binders, which would keep the pigments in place for a longer period of time. This makes durability better.

Consult the manufacturer’s website or contact your local distributor for a Technical Data Sheet to find out the volume solids percentage in a certain brand of paint. In general, “premium” or “super-premium” paints are probably going to have more volume solids than cheaper ones.

Step 5: Choose Colors That Provide Curb Appeal

There are so many options when choosing a color that the process might be difficult. Spend some time driving about your area to discover what appeals to you if you have no idea where to begin. Remember that vivid colors will fade more quickly than more subdued ones.

Make sure to take into account the architectural features of your house; pick a color that goes well with the type of roofing you have and any brick or stone accents. Paint sample swatches on a portion of the outside of your home if you’re having difficulties choosing between two hues. Examine the outcome at various times of the day to see which one you like. Check with your neighborhood association and local building authorities to see if there are any paint color limitations in your region before settling on a certain shade.

Step 6: Roll And Spritz

Method. This procedure calls for two people. To swiftly and uniformly apply paint to a surface, one utilizes a sprayer. The other person follows after and applies paint with a roller to the freshly sprayed surface. On rough surfaces like stucco, in instance, this produces an even finish.

Before you start spraying, cover your windows with plastic to protect them. You may also use a sprayer with a shield. Apply a second layer if money permits after the suggested drying period. Bright colors don’t cover as well as muted ones do. You might need a second layer of vivid colors simply to achieve the full color.

Step 7: Add The Last Touches

The doors, fascia, molding, shutters, and other ornamental elements are painted as the last phase. Here, a steady hand and an excellent brush are your finest tools. Especially along the length of the fascia, you may expedite the painting process by utilizing 6-inch hot dog rollers. 

In order to get a professional finish, there are no quick cuts; you must invest the necessary time. A top-notch paint job made using premium materials can last up to 10 years, depending on your environment.

Possible Problems:

1. UV rays from the sun: Sunlight and moisture can result in chalking and color loss. However, compared to oil-based or alkyd paints, latex paint tends to be more resistant to the effects of direct sunshine.
2. Temperature Change: Paint with exceptional adherence and flexibility helps minimize cracking and flaking brought on by the substrate’s expanding and/or shrinking (wood, plywood, or hardboard). Premium acrylic latex paint is a great option for freeze cycles. 
3. Water and Moisture: Wood will expand and contract depending on the quantity of moisture present. As a result of this stress, paint may fracture and peel. Water can evaporate and escape through porous or breathable latex paint before causing damage. Furthermore, moisture can cause blisters, which promote mildew growth. While mildew may be avoided from developing, it cannot be eliminated once it has begun.

Conclusion