Should I Paint My Own House or Hire a Professional?
Nothing lasts forever, and that includes house paint. After a period of time, a combination of sunlight, moisture and exposure to the elements causes house paint to peel away from the exterior and become unsightly. As far as do-it-yourself repairs are concerned, house painting is not technically difficult for a homeowner to perform, but it can be time-consuming, messy and physically demanding. Hiring a professional house painter may seem like a viable alternative, and in many cases it is.
One thing a homeowner should consider when deciding between a do-it-yourself project and hiring a professional house painter is the size of the job. The old paint usually has to be scraped off before any new primer or paint can be put on the walls. This scraping and prepping step is not going to be pleasant, and the scrapers must be in good physical shape to reach some of the more obscure areas of the exterior. Homeowners accustomed to labor-intensive jobs may be able to tackle the scraping and prepping of an average sized home. Anything larger than average may require the expertise of a professional house painter and a seasoned crew.
There are also a few hidden costs associated with house painting that homeowners may not have considered. While the paint itself may be relatively inexpensive, all of the tools, sprayers, brushes and ladders may not be. By the time a homeowner purchases all of the additional equipment needed to paint a house, the cost may be even higher than hiring the services of a professional house painter. A homeowner may be able to rent a professional grade paint sprayer from a rental agency, however, for an affordable daily rate.
A professional house painter and crew does bring a level of expertise most homeowners do not possess. They will often mask off areas prone to receive over-spray, such as windows, exposed pipes and gardens. A professional house painter should also be able to complete the job in much less time than a "weekend warrior" homeowner. If time is a consideration, a homeowner may be better off hiring a professional house painter instead of allowing a partially scraped house remain in limbo for several weeks.
A professional house painter may charge a significant fee per hour or job, but a homeowner should compare that fee to the expense and time requirements of a do-it-yourself project. If the house painter can complete the job within a few hours or days instead of weeks, then the cost may be acceptable. Just be sure to pick a color of paint you and your neighbors can live with for years to come.
Painting Your House Exterior
For most people, their house is their biggest investment. Not only that, but it is where they live! Taking care of a house can be alot of work. Proper maintenance is required to maintain the quality and value of your house - landscaping, roofing, yard work, painting -- it all comes with home ownership. Painting your house is one of those tasks most people hate to think about, just like replacing a roof. How often should you paint your house? It depends on where you live, the climate and conditions, the quality of paint you use. Some houses in harsh environments require repainting every 3-4 years -- in fact, we know people who paint one side of their house every year in constant rotation -- this makes the workload manageable, while the entire house gets painted every 4 years.
In milder climate conditions, an exterior paint job can last longer, often times letting you go 8-12 years between paint jobs. If you moved into a new house in a tract development, chances are you
got a cheap, single coat paint job, and it would be a good idea to repaint after 3 years or so with better quality materials.
Six Things to Look for in a Quality Paint Job
- Proper Protection from Paint
If you are painting the exterior of your house, proctecting plants and shrubbery from paint is very important. Not only is paint ugly on your bushes, it can also harm the plants. If the painting contractor is going to be working inside your home, you want to be assured that your furniture and floors don't end up with paint all over them. You also don't want paint on light fixtures and doorknobs. You want paint to be where it belongs and nowhere else.
- Proper Pre-Paint Preparation
A paint job will not last if proper pre-paint preparation techniques are not used. Things like silicone, wax, polish, grease and dirt will prevent the paint from adhering properly. Things might look okay
for a short while, but when bad weather arrives, it becomes apparent that pre-paint preparation was sloppy.
Before new paint can be applied, it's important that all dirt and grime, mold and mildew and chalking or peeling paint be removed. This is important whether the painting is in the interior of the home or on the exterior.
Painting contractors may use water blasting as a pre-painting technique on exterior walls. Water blasting is a quick and easy way to clean off dirt and grime. It can remove mold and mildew. It can also remove paint that's chalking or peeling. But it also has the potential for damaging exterior materials is too high pressure is used.
So how do you know you're working with a professional? One sign is a professional will ask you to turn off the electricity to all the outlets and fixtures on the outside of the house. A professional will protect each outlet and fixture by wrapping it with plastic and securing the plastic carefully with tape.
A professional contractor won't expect to come back the next day and start painting if you have wood siding. The professional knows that it takes several days for the wood to dry out. In fact a
professional will use a moisture meter to make sure that the reading is 15% or less before painting.
- Caulking
You have the right to expect a painting contractor to caulk holes, window frames and other trim areas that typically require caulking. One of the goals of painting your home is to protect it from the environment. Caulking prevents water from seeping in behind trim and causing extensive damage.
On the inside of the home, caulking eliminates the home many bugs would like to make behind your trim work or cabinets. Caulking is all part of doing a quality job both inside and out.
- Clean Lines Between Separate Paint Colors
We've all seen painting jobs where the junction between the ceiling and the walls looks messy
because color from the walls slopped up onto the ceiling. No professional should walk away from a paint job where the lines between ceiling and trim, or ceiling and wall aren't straight and clean.
- Neat Painting Around Windows, Doors and Trim
A painter who does quality work spends time masking. You have the right to expect windows without paint on them. If you use a different color to frame the trim around your windows and doors, you have the right to expect that color to only appear on the trim. You should never have paint on doorknobs or hinges either. Only amateur painters fail to mask these typical door features. The same goes for light and electrical fixtures.
- Even Coverage
The color of the paint should be consistent and even everywhere. You shouldn't see any evidence of a previous color showing through. If it takes three coats of paint in some areas to accomplish this goal, that's the responsibility of a professional painter. To ensure you're happy with the level of coverage, you want to inspect the paint job under bright light. Daylight is usually the best, but bright artificial lighting is also useful. If you can inspect the paint job under both conditions, it's a good idea before you pay that contractor.
If you are painting the exterior of your house, proctecting plants and shrubbery from paint is very important. Not only is paint ugly on your bushes, it can also harm the plants. If the painting contractor is going to be working inside your home, you want to be assured that your furniture and floors don't end up with paint all over them. You also don't want paint on light fixtures and doorknobs. You want paint to be where it belongs and nowhere else.
A paint job will not last if proper pre-paint preparation techniques are not used. Things like silicone, wax, polish, grease and dirt will prevent the paint from adhering properly. Things might look okay
for a short while, but when bad weather arrives, it becomes apparent that pre-paint preparation was sloppy. Before new paint can be applied, it's important that all dirt and grime, mold and mildew and chalking or peeling paint be removed. This is important whether the painting is in the interior of the home or on the exterior. Painting contractors may use water blasting as a pre-painting technique on exterior walls. Water blasting is a quick and easy way to clean off dirt and grime. It can remove mold and mildew. It can also remove paint that's chalking or peeling. But it also has the potential for damaging exterior materials is too high pressure is used. So how do you know you're working with a professional? One sign is a professional will ask you to turn off the electricity to all the outlets and fixtures on the outside of the house. A professional will protect each outlet and fixture by wrapping it with plastic and securing the plastic carefully with tape. A professional contractor won't expect to come back the next day and start painting if you have wood siding. The professional knows that it takes several days for the wood to dry out. In fact a professional will use a moisture meter to make sure that the reading is 15% or less before painting.
You have the right to expect a painting contractor to caulk holes, window frames and other trim areas that typically require caulking. One of the goals of painting your home is to protect it from the environment. Caulking prevents water from seeping in behind trim and causing extensive damage.
On the inside of the home, caulking eliminates the home many bugs would like to make behind your trim work or cabinets. Caulking is all part of doing a quality job both inside and out.
We've all seen painting jobs where the junction between the ceiling and the walls looks messy
because color from the walls slopped up onto the ceiling. No professional should walk away from a paint job where the lines between ceiling and trim, or ceiling and wall aren't straight and clean.
A painter who does quality work spends time masking. You have the right to expect windows without paint on them. If you use a different color to frame the trim around your windows and doors, you have the right to expect that color to only appear on the trim. You should never have paint on doorknobs or hinges either. Only amateur painters fail to mask these typical door features. The same goes for light and electrical fixtures.
The color of the paint should be consistent and even everywhere. You shouldn't see any evidence of a previous color showing through. If it takes three coats of paint in some areas to accomplish this goal, that's the responsibility of a professional painter. To ensure you're happy with the level of coverage, you want to inspect the paint job under bright light. Daylight is usually the best, but bright artificial lighting is also useful. If you can inspect the paint job under both conditions, it's a good idea before you pay that contractor.