House painting in Philadelphia is not an easy task.
It requires a lot of time and effort and can be difficult to complete without professional help.
Some common beginner house painting mistakes are easily avoidable once you’re aware of them, so with the right tools and knowledge, you can achieve the house of your dreams.
Just be prepared to spend a good amount of time on research, preparation, painting, and clean-up.
Mistake #1: Not allocating time for house painting
An exterior painting job is immensely exhausting and if you aren’t prepared to put in your time and your energy, you may not finish your project or you may finish it hastily.
This is why most people hire a contractor for exterior painting in Philadelphia, but if that isn’t what you want, it’s best to create a calendar and allocate painting days over 1-2 months.
This will help you not get overwhelmed when house painting in Philadelphia.
Mistake #2: Choosing your paint color based on a sample
Although this may work better for interior painting jobs, it’s very important to think about the multiple factors affecting the exterior of your house too, such as:
- How quickly dirt will collect and show
- How insulated your house is (black will help keep your house warmer)
- How the lighting affects your paint; colors look different at certain times of day
Choosing a bright white may look beautiful in the beginning but can tarnish easily and requires a lot of upkeep.
The most popular white paint currently is “white dove”.
The most popular options when painting exteriors, however, are neutral tones, such as cream, tan, black forest green, dried thyme, and other earthy tones.
Mistake #3: Not calculating the correct quantity of paint
When doing exterior projects, one should allocate some preparation time to calculate the amount of paint per square foot required to complete the entire house.
It’s much more common to buy not enough paint than too much paint and is always better to have extra when you want to refresh your paint job a few years down the line.
Mistake #4: Painting your house in Philadelphia’s cold weather
When house painting in Philadelphia, particularly the exterior of your home, an essential factor to remember is the temperature and whether it’s favorable for a painting job.
There are multiple sealing products in paint that need to dry and if the Philadelphia weather is below optimal, the drying process may not take place.
This can ruin your paint job, so it’s very important to pick a time of the year when it’s warmer.
Paint cans always have specifications that show a range of temperatures that are conducive for that type of paint, so be sure to take a look before deciding when you would begin your painting job.
Mistake #5: Not being aware of the details of the previous paint job
When starting a new paint project, it’s important to know what was used on the surfaces previously—especially the finish used.
For example, if you paint over an oil-based finish with new latex paint, this can be disastrous and can create real damage to your property as the paint and finish mix and degrade.
This is extremely difficult to clean up and repaint so it’s essential to find out what paint was used previously.
A quick tip to check the paint you’re dealing with is using sandpaper.
Choose a small section to test all your paints, preferably at the back of the house where any potential damage can be easily covered.
When using sandpaper, if your paint sands and powders with ease, this is a sign it’s oil paint.
If you think it’s latex paint, it’s best to sandpaper and create grit on your old paint exteriors to create enough hold for your new paint to stay.
With these tips in mind, your house painting in Philadelphia will be mistake-free!
If you make sure to avoid these mistakes when house painting in Philadelphia, you can get your ideal paint job done.
You must be ready, however, for the amount of time and effort an exterior painting job takes.
Remember that a professional can get the job done much faster and to a much higher standard, so it might be worth the extra cost if you’re someone with not enough time to get it properly done yourself.
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