How to Paint the Exterior of Your House Quickly and Efficiently
First you need to figure out how long it will take to paint the exterior of your house. The average house takes about 60 hours to paint. This isn’t a small time commitment! Granted this is also why the average house costs about $3,000.00 if you have it done professionally. If your house has lots of windows it will take much longer to paint. This is because of all the detail work involved with painting around windows. Also if your house has places where the old paint has come off you’ll need to prep these areas. This prep time is also a good time to fill any Woodpecker holes or any other small cosmetic problems with the outside of the house.
Supplies you’ll need:
1. Paint- I highly recommend latex paint because it cleans up easily and isn’t nearly as runny as oil based paints
2. Paint brush- You’ll only need one brush but make sure its of high quality. Nothing will slow you down more than using a poor quality brush
3. 5-gallon paint can- You’ll want to get one with a lid so you can cover your leftover paint at night or when you take a break
4. A brush grid – this is a grid that is usually metallic and is designed to give you a surface to run your roller on to get an even coat on it
5. A large roller nap and roller frame- Rollers come in all shapes and sizes. The larger the roller the heavier it will be to move around. This is because paint can weigh quite a bit once you get a roller soaked in it. This large roller should usually be a 1/4 inch nap. The nap is the width of the roller
6. A small roller and roller frame usually referred to as a mini-roller. This roller will be used primarily for the trim or upper edge of most houses.
7. An Extension ladder. As a homeowner you should already own a ladder that is as tall as your house. You’ll want to find a ladder that will reach the top of your house but you obviously don’t want one that is too large otherwise you’ll be carrying more ladder around than you need.
8. Ladder boots. These high density foam boots are designed to both stabilize the ladder at the top and also to prevent the ladder from scratching and scraping paint off.
9. A Drop cloth. Now here your probably thinking an old sheet or other piece of clothing will do just fine. Not necessarily true. Drop clothes are designed to have paint spilled on them. You can pour an entire can of paint on these clothes and it won’t seep through to the other side. I’d like to see your sheets do that.
Optional equipment
1. A 5 in 1 tool. These tools are designed with exterior painting in mind. You’ll mainly use them to scrape off old peeling paint and also to open paint cans.
2. Primer. If you have places of bare unpainted wood you will need to prime those places with primer first.
4. Caulk -Caulk is used to plug any small holes or to seal cracks on your house.
5. A caulking gun
6. Wood putty- If you have to plug any large holes such as wood-pecker holes or any other larger cosmetic issues you’ll want to use wood puddy instead because its cheaper and lasts longer.
I know that was a long list but keep in mind painting the exterior of your house is not a small project. Now that you have your supplies its time to start painting! Well almost. First you’ll need to prepare your house to be painted. There are three essential steps to prepping your home to be painted
1. Scrape any areas that have cracked or peeling paint with your 5 in 1. This mainly occurs on boards that are not the siding. Usually any place where your trim color will be such as around windows or the top section of the house.
2. Prime any areas of bare wood with primer. Primer is essentially very sticky and thick white paint. This primer acts as an anchor for the coat of paint you’ll apply on top. This is a VERY important step. Many homeowners skip this step assuming they can just apply the paint it will be just fine. It will look okay for a year or two but then the paint will start to peel off again because it can’t adhere to the bare wood very well.
3. Go around with your cock and cocking gun and seal up any small holes or cracks on the exterior of your home. Pay careful attention to the sides of windows. This is where the majority of your cocking will be. Be careful not to cock your windows shut! Pay careful attention to where the frame is.
Your finally ready to start painting! Congratulations! You will want to start at the top left corner and work your way left to right top to bottom. This is because you read left to right and therefore are more likely to spot any places you may have missed. This is how your minds have been taught to see things and its been proven to speed up painting. Painters work top to bottom because you will have times when paint will drip down and you’ll need to smooth it out.
Paint all of your siding first! This will cut down on time needed to clean your brush before switching colors. Also its easier to paint the trim and cover any mistakes you made doing the siding.
Now its time to paint the trim. Gutters and usually the small piece of wood underneath is a different color. also the boards around your windows are also usually a different color. You should be able to use your mini-roller for the vast majority of this and shouldn’t take too long.
You’ve finally reached the end and your house should now have a new coat of paint on it! Congratulations are in order when you reach this point. Painting the exterior of your house is not a small feat and shouldn’t be taken lightly. You also have gained a lot of experience painting and should help you throughout the entire time your a home owner.
