How to Know When it is Time to Paint Your Home’s Exterior

Have you ever wondered if your home’s exterior is overdue for a paint job? Here are a few circumstances to help you know when your home can benefit from a coat of paint. We’ve also included some of our favorite info and tips for exterior paint jobs to make your painting process that much easier.

When to Paint Your Home’s Exterior

Here are a few common examples of when you should consider painting your home’s exterior to benefit your home and your wallet.

When You’re Selling Your Home

Painting your home can help you to attract more buyers to your home sale. It can also drive up the value of your home, additionally driving up the potential asking price of your home. A paint job is a fairly affordable update, and it can literally pay off when you’re selling your home.

When There is Exterior Damage

When you start to notice that there is some damage to your home, adding a new coat of paint can protect the siding material from further deterioration. For example, if you see some warping or exterior mold, thoroughly cleaning the surface and adding a protective layer of paint can help to prevent any future damage.

When The Paint is Faded or Bleached

If your exterior paint has started to fade, it's time for a paint job. Keep in mind, you don’t only have to repaint your home for the sake of aesthetics. Keeping up with your home’s paint can boost the curb appeal of your property, which can in turn increase the value of your home. As a result, you’re investing in your home and your future. For example, many people use their home in a reverse mortgage to pay for long term care or expenses in retirement.

How to Prep Your Home for Paint

So, what do you do once you’ve bought your paint and supplies for your project? Whether your home is old or new, painted or unpainted, you’ll most likely need to use a primer before you get started with that first coat of paint. Using a primer will help to guarantee that the paint will stick to your home. Even if you’ve thoroughly washed your home’s exterior, there are still some barriers that might prevent it from adhering to the surface. So, using a primer can help your paint to lock into the surface of your home, giving the paint a durable foundation. This will help your paint to look smoother and more even and will also enable it to last much longer than it would otherwise.

When you’re shopping for paint, make sure you determine if you need a primer to prep your home for paint. Depending on the type of paint you use for your home project, you might need a different kind of primer. For example, if you’re painting wood, you might want an oil-based primer, but otherwise, you might prefer an acrylic latex-based primer for a smoother and more long-lasting paint job.

How to Find Help

Are you feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of painting your home’s exterior by yourself? If so, don’t worry. You don’t have to take this project on all by yourself! Instead, you can hire a professional contractor to help you get the pristine and fresh results you’re looking for. You can find the different contractors in your area by simply doing a quick Google search. Some of these contractors will specialize in painting and others mayl have a wider field of expertise. Make sure to read plenty of reviews from other customers to find the contractor that seems to meet your needs. Then spend some time talking with the different contractors on your narrowed-down list. Talk to them about their experience in addition to getting quotes. This will help you to find a contractor that will work well with you, your goals, your communication style, and your personality.

For more tips on finding the right contractor for your painting project, check out some of our other blog posts on this topic!