Preparing The Exterior Of Your Home For Repainting: Three Things To Consider
Whether your home needs a fresh coat of paint or you are hoping to give your home a new look, your painting contractor can help you to make your house beautiful. Before starting an exterior paint job, however, there are a few things you should do to prepare the house. Use this guide to help get ready for your new paint.
Wash The Home
You don't want to have a layer of grime and dirt under your fresh paint, so consider cleaning the exterior of your home first. You can use a regular hose to wash away dirt, or for particularly soiled or muddy surfaces, you may want to consider using a power washer. Power washers are typically available for rent at local hardware stores, or you may want to consider investing in your own to keep your home, sidewalks, and deck clean year-round. Be sure to take extra care cleaning the bottom portion of the home where mud from rain or watering your flowers can build up over time.
Remove Flaking And Peeling Paint
Before applying a fresh coat of paint, scrape away any old paint that is peeling or flaking away. This will give your contractor a fresh, smooth surface to paint over. If you don't want to take on this task yourself, as your painter about adding this service to your painting estimate. You can then determine whether having the old paint removed for you fits into your budget.
Clear Your Lawn
Your painter will need to use scaffolding and ladders to reach all of the surfaces on your home's exterior. Clear the lawn and any walkways around your home to make a safe path for your painter to use. Consider trimming back bushes to keep them out of the way, and remove any children's toys or other outdoor items that might be sitting near the exterior walls of your home. Mowing the grass around the house before the project begins is also a good idea. You won't want to mow while the house paint is wet, as this could cause lawn clippings to stick to the new paint. Talk to your contractor about how much room he or she needs to set up any scaffolding that will be used for your project, as this will help you to determine how much space to clear.
Be sure to ask your painting contractor if there are any other steps you can take before your project begins, and prepare your home so it is ready for its beautiful fresh coat of paint.
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