Have you thought about painting the exterior of your home? Despite what many people think, the actual painting of a house is only about 25% of a project. Preparation is the foundation of a quality paint job. If you do good “prep work”, you may only have to paint your house once every four years instead of every nine.
Here is an important question to ask any painting company: What steps do you take to prep before painting the exterior of your homes? Preparation is easy to skip, but you want to be sure that your home doesn’t only look good but is protected as well.
Each exterior painting project is unique, and there may be some areas of your home that will need more preparation than others. At Brightest In The Room Painting, we use these five ways to ensure that an exterior paint job lasts the test of time.
The first option is pressure washing. This cleans the siding and trims so they are ready to be painted. Also, this will take off the old, peeling paint that doesn’t stick to the wood or siding anymore. This will give the new paint a nice, clean surface to stick to.
After giving it a good wash, our painters scrape areas that have started to crack and peel. It is important to get rid of old paint that is peeling so that the new paint can stick to the wood (and primer) instead of failing paint that doesn’t stick. Also, wood that is out in the sun, rain, and snow is much more likely to rot and need to be replaced.
The wood exterior surfaces on homes more than 20 years old are often somewhat damaged due to the changing seasons, so before painting, you must consider some factors. Especially in the Greater Toronto Area! Our painters scrape and remove the old, peeling paint before sanding the exposed wood. This will give the primer more surface area and a good “bite” to grab onto and sink into. It also smooths out the ridge between the paint that wasn’t scraped off and the bare wood next to it.
The exposed wood or siding is then covered with a thick coat of primer. Peel Bond Primer by Sherwin Williams is a thick, long-lasting primer that we like to use. Here is where the magic takes place! Primers are almost always made to protect wood and siding from further damage from the weather. But it is also made of resin and other glue-like substances that “grab” the wood and the glue-like substances in paint. Paint sticks to this primer coat much better than it would to the wood itself. Make sure to ask your painter how they prepare the surface!
Caulking is another important step to take before painting. Caulk is used to fill the gaps around windows, doors, etc. so that water, dirt, and other things don’t get in and damage the home. It also makes your home’s insulation better, so your heating and cooling bills will be lower. Caulk should also be used in the nail holes that have been pushed down so that water won’t be able to sit on the ledges these holes create and cause the boards to swell.
There are also other ways to prepare, such as using wood putty, chemical sprays, and mildew removers, among others.
Call Brightest In The Room Painting at 647-689-6009 if you have any questions about prep work, other parts of the painting process, or want to schedule an in-home estimate.