Are you wondering if you should paint your home? Not only will you enjoy pulling up to your house every day, but it will also increase the value of your home.
And, if you choose the right colors, you can increase the value of your home by as much as $6,000. Every little bit counts when you’re getting ready to sell your home.
Since fresh paint has at least a 100% ROI, this simple home upgrade makes sense. And, you can save money and do it yourself.
Are you wondering how to paint your house? Painting is a lot of work, but it’s not complicated, so anyone can do it, even if you aren’t especially handy.
Whether you are planning to use interior or exterior paint, there are a few basic tips you need to know. Keep reading below to learn how to make the process as easy as possible.
Choosing Paint
Choosing your paint is the most important step if you want the end product to look good. Cheap, low-quality paint will look bad. There’s no getting around it.
If you are prepping your home to sell, pay the extra money for high-quality paint.
And make sure to choose the right colors. When choosing a paint color, remember that buyers want neutral colors. Lighter colors will create a modern house exterior and can make the home look bigger. You can add a few dark accents to create contrast.
Washing Your House
To make the painting process as easy as possible, you’ll want walls that are ready for paint. Whether you are painting inside or outside, it’s a good idea to wash the walls.
On the exterior, use a pressure washer to clean off the walls. You want to remove all dirt, stains, and loose, chipped paint. On the inside, use dusters to remove dust from the walls.
Then use a rag or magic eraser to get any stains off the wall. Let everything dry before you start painting.
Prepping for Paint
The most tedious task of all is the prepping stage. This is when you’ll tape off any areas you don’t want to get paint on.
You’ll apply painter’s tape around electrical outlets, doors and windows, and so forth. If using a sprayer, you’ll also want to use plastic sheets to cover the floor, furniture, and everything else in the room that you want to keep clean.
How to Paint Your House
Now comes the part you’ve been waiting for. Yes, you actually get to paint your house now. Here’s what to do.
Spray or Roll?
If you have a large home, or if you are doing every wall in your house, using a paint sprayer is the best option. It makes short work of large areas and saves your hands and shoulders from getting sore.
Most people will rent a big one rather than buying since it’s unlikely you’ll paint your entire home again in the near future. Daily and weekly rates are pretty low for renting. The cost to rent one will save you many hours of time.
Not to mention, the end product will look a lot better than if you used a roller and a brush.
A sprayer is also ideal if painting the exterior of your home. If you have rough surfaces like brick, stone, or stucco, a sprayer will easily get into all the nooks and crannies of the wall.
If you use a roller, it can take two or three passes just to cover up every spot. But if you have a smaller house, or just want to keep things simple, there’s nothing wrong with a roller and a brush. It just takes longer.
Use Paint Primer First
Once you’ve chosen a painting method, you can get started with your first coat. To start, you’ll want to paint the entire surface with primer.
Using a primer is essential for a long-lasting, good-looking paint job. It only costs a little bit extra, but it will make all of your effort worthwhile.
Primer is the basecoat that will cover up the existing paint. It also provides the ideal surface for your topcoat of paint to adhere to.
And primer makes your paint more durable. With a primer underneath, your final paint color is less likely to chip or stain, making it a long-term option.
Finish With Paint
Most of the time, you’ll only need one coat of primer to cover up the existing paint, seal in stains, and prep for paint. But if you’re painting a light color over a dark color, you may want to use two coats of primer to ensure none of the dark surfaces bleeds through your final paint job.
Once the primer is dry, you can start applying the final coat of paint. Depending on the primer used, it can take an hour or 24 hours to completely dry.
Once dry, start painting over the primer just like you applied your primer. Let the paint completely dry before deciding if a second coat of paint is required.
Cleanup
Your job isn’t finished once the paint is on the walls. Now it’s time to clean it all up.
If you have any painter’s tape applied to protect other surfaces, it’s best to remove this before the paint completely dries. Otherwise, pulling the tape off might rip off some dry paint.
If you did get paint on surfaces you didn’t want to paint, cleaning it up now is the easiest. Waiting too long for it to dry will make it more difficult.
If you rented a paint sprayer, be sure to clan it thoroughly before bringing it back, or they’ll charge you extra. You’ll want to clean the paint off the exterior and run water through the house until all of the paint is out.
Rollers can be tossed once you’re done using them, but clean off any poles or handle that you used, as you can save those. And spend some time cleaning your brushes in the sink.
Good paintbrushes aren’t cheap, but they can last a long time if you clean them well after each use.
Start Painting Today
Now that you know how to paint your house, it’s time to get started. You’ll feel so much better spending time in a clean, modern, freshly painted home.
Plus, the value of your home will rise and buyers will scoop it up even faster.
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