How to Paint a House: 12 Steps with Pictures

Table Of Content

• 2024 DIY Project Planner: The Best Home Tasks to Conquer Each Month
• Welcoming Exterior House Colors
• Load the roller
• Do I need to prime exterior walls before painting?
• More Exterior Painting Tips and Color Suggestions
• Step 9: Protect surrounding areas.
• Anker’s New Home Battery Tower Is a Sleek, Modular Step Toward Complete Energy Independence

Next, apply 1 coat of primer to provide a foundation for the paint and help it to last longer. Then, start by painting the sidings with a brush, roller, or paint sprayer, making sure to work from top to bottom. After letting the paint dry, consider applying a second coat to even out the paint and provide more protective coverage. For more advice, including how to choose the right paint for your house, keep reading. The existing condition of your house will influence the job and the tools & materials you need. For example, suppose you have an older property that’s been painted before.

2024 DIY Project Planner: The Best Home Tasks to Conquer Each Month

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There are quite a few factors to consider before making the final decision on who will paint your home. The questions below will help you weigh both the pros and cons with an open mind — from cost and equipment to safety and size. "To ensure cohesion between the exterior and interior narratives of your home, it's crucial that they tell the same story," Dorling told BI. When you're trying to sell your home, it's important to clean up outside in the name of curb appeal. Using temporary materials in exterior finishes that won't hold up to your local environment is a big mistake, said Latham. "Adequate lighting is essential for enhancing your landscaping and curb appeal," she told BI, adding that curb appeal isn't confined to daylight hours.

Welcoming Exterior House Colors

If the interior has been remodeled but the exterior hasn't, you're also doing your home a disservice, Dorling said. Dorling also said that when adding additional exterior lighting, don't overlook the importance of illuminating elements such as the stairs and house numbers. "You want your home to exude the same warmth and hospitality at night as it does during the day, and effective exterior lighting is pivotal in achieving this," she said.

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Load the roller

If the paint is lead-free, you need only don a dust mask and lay down tarps to catch debris before tackling the most crucial part of the project. There are a few things to be aware of when painting the exterior of your home. Repair any surface flaws with a surface repair compound rated for exterior use. Favorite finishes for exteriors include low lustre or satin, as they tend to resist dirt pick-up compared to flatter finishes. Many homeowners opt for semi-gloss for that little pop of shine on the trim, shutters and moldings. Your local Benjamin Moore retailer can help you choose the right one for your exterior surface.

Deciding to paint your home is a personal choice that is affected by your willingness and ability to do the job. “Cool weather makes fall the best time to paint the outside of a house. Latex paint won’t cure properly if the temperature falls below 50 degrees F,” says Mauro Henrique, TOH painting expert. Fitted to a telescopic arm, a nine-inch roller comfortably tackles a two-storey wall and covers a surface three times faster than a similar-sized paintbrush. Next, take your hosepipe and spray the walls thoroughly, using a jet nozzle to increase the pressure by concentrating water flow.

More Exterior Painting Tips and Color Suggestions

Try to complete an entire section of wall before stopping, so that the finish isn’t patchy and you aren’t left with a line where paint has dried. Whether you’re using a roller or a paint sprayer, don’t over-apply paint since it’s liable to drip onto you or the ground. Apply masonry paint thickly, hoping one coat will suffice, but two or three may be required. The quality and durability of the exterior paint job hinge on painting the house at the right time and in the right conditions. Working in sections, from the bottom to the top, will avoid streaks.

Step 9: Protect surrounding areas.

These tools and materials are necessary to paint an external wall and repair cracks or holes. If your property’s outside walls are pristine, such as immediately after building an extension, you can bypass the first two steps in the guide below. If you hire a painting contractor, be sure he or she follows the paint manufacturer’s directions.

Anker’s New Home Battery Tower Is a Sleek, Modular Step Toward Complete Energy Independence

And, while price usually indicates quality, with some exterior paints tagged at $40 per gallon, going by price alone can get expensive. Fortunately, there are some other indicators that will help you buy the right paint — if you know what they are. You’ll also pick up some helpful tips on both the all-important prepping process and the esthetic science of choosing colors. If you’ve taken the time to properly clean and prepare the surfaces, and carefully primed, caulked and painted with top-quality materials, your paint job should last at least 10 years. According to painting pros we talked to, annual maintenance is the best way to extend the life of your paint job and protect the structure. It's tempting to jump right into getting that new color on your home's exterior so you can see the results.

Hold off on caulking the cracks until everything has been primed. “Primer protects the wood when—not if—the caulk fails,” says O’Neil. New Orleans contractor Joseph Wallis did use a PaintShaver on this project to capture lead dust.

Even the best exterior paint can fail if it’s applied incorrectly. Always use a primer when painting any untreated surface to seal it off and to provide a base for topcoats to stick to. Alkyd primers are best for bare wood because they cover bleed-through from wood knots better; be sure the label states that the primer is designed to stop bleed-through.

To trim out the corners, I bought aluminum corners made specifically for this type of siding. These corners hook around the bottom of the shake, and get nailed on at the top. I’ve done it in the past, and while painting the scraped shakes certainly protects them, the aesthetic appeal leaves something to be desired. So for this job, I decided to replace any shakes with badly peeling paint. Give your home's exterior a fresh look, enhancing its curb appeal and protecting it from the elements. Tom Scalisi is a freelance writer, author, and blogger with a passion for building.