3 Things to Remember for Your Next Home Repainting Project

You are walking underneath the balcony on your way to your garage, when something hits you. It is a chunky chip of paint from the balcony trim.

You pause to take a closer look and see that your exterior wall paint is faded and peeling in many places. This startles you a bit. You didn't realize your exterior paint was in such bad shape.

However, there’s no denying that your house looks a little dingy, especially when viewed beside your neighbors newly painted houses. Yes, indeed. It’s time to ask for referrals for painting services.

Before you start your repainting project, however, read the following guide.

1. What Paint Colour to Choose

Should you go with White Echo or Sheer Ice? How about Soft Stream or Lilac Frost? Paint names all sound so charming, but they don't make choosing any easier.

Choosing the paint colour is probably one of the most difficult decisions you will need to make on your home repainting project. You have thousands of paint shades to choose from — and that's just one paint brand.

Here are some guidelines that will make choosing your exterior paint colour easier.

Go With White or Grey

If you want a safe colour, choose white or grey. According to a survey by Fixr, these are the colours that maximise a home's curb appeal. You can also use a combination of grey and beige or ‘greige’, which is basically a warm grey colour.

You Might Need Permission

If you are renting or leasing, make sure to ask for your landlord’s permission before you repaint the walls of their property. Likewise, if you live in a gated community, you might have to conform to community management rules about which colours may be used on house exteriors.

In most cases, whites, greys, greiges, and light neutrals should get easily approved.

Be Cautious About Certain Colours

What if you don't want white, grey, greige, or a light neutral colour? Even if you have carte blanche over the paint colour, exercise caution when considering some colours.

One of the colours you might want to rethink is blinding bright yellow. Zillow says yellow homes sell for nearly USD 3,500 or around AED 12,800 less than average. If you really want yellow, try to go for a light, pale yellow like straw or ochre.

Another colour you might reconsider is black. While it is sophisticated and striking, it can also look somewhat forbidding. This colour also absorbs and retains more heat than white or other light colours. Make sure to factor that in if you live somewhere really hot and sunny.

If you are determined to use black, apply it to trims instead. Use that colour on your doors, too. In the United States, Zillow says a black front door can boost home sales prices by 2.9%.

Finally, reconsider any plans to paint your house exterior any overpoweringly bright or dark hue. Purple, bright orange, bright pink, forest green, dark brown, and apple green can be overwhelming. Such colours can work well as trim or accent colours rather than primary paint colours.

2. When to Start

Summer is definitely an excellent time to paint your house. Painting is best done when the weather is warm and dry. Rain and humidity will not only prolong your paint drying times; they can also cause condensation to form on the surface.

That being said, you don't want to paint when it’s exceedingly hot out, either. In the scorching heat, paint can dry quickly and won't get the chance to cure properly. This does not bode well for durability.

The best time to start painting your exterior walls depends on where you are located. Early summer is a good time. That should be well past the pre-summer rains. Furthermore, early summer is warm enough for the paint to dry properly, but it's not too hot (like in the peak of summer) that paint cannot cure perfectly.

However, even in the early summer, there might be times when the temperature might be too high to paint. The only way to tell the perfect time is by using a thermometer. Begin your project when the ambient temperature is within the recommended range for the paint you are using.

Different paints will have different recommended ambient temperature ranges for application. For instance, latex paints may be applied between ambient temperatures of 10 and 29.44 degrees Celsius. Oil-based paints, meanwhile, may be applied when the temperature ranges from 4.44 to 32.22 degrees Celsius.

3. Who Will Paint

It can be exciting to paint your house yourself. However, exterior repainting is a massive undertaking, and it's best left to professionals.

Exterior repainting will begin with power washing the walls to remove any dust and dirt. Next, your painting contractor will repair damaged surfaces. Gaps and holes will be filled and then sanded.

After that, loose paint will be scraped and removed, trims caulked, stains covered and primed, and windows, doors, lights, and plants (if any exist in the perimeter of the wall being repainted) covered before the application of the first coat of paint.

If waterproofing is required, there’s an additional step before you can apply the first coat. Old paint must be entirely removed until you reveal the bare or uncoated brick, stone or concrete underneath. Only then can you use a waterproof coating.

After the first coat of paint has dried, a second coat will be applied. After that, a third coat or a decorative coating may be forthcoming.

Every one of these steps is laborious and requires meticulous attention to detail. It's unlikely you will be able to attain the flawless results you've been envisioning on a do-it-yourself repainting project. Thus, going pro is the better option.

Ready for a Repaint?

Repainting can be exciting. However, it can also be tedious and complicated, so it’s best to leave the job in the hands of a professional paint contractor like Groovy Hues.

So, after carefully thinking over the paint colour you want and scheduling your repainting project when it’s warm and dry, let the painting pros do what they do best.