Never Do This When Painting Your House

It's no secret that painting your house is an excellent way to improve its appearance and add value. However, there are a few mistakes that many homeowners make when painting their houses which can end up costing them time and money. In this blog post, you will discover the most common painting mistakes that homeowners make and how to avoid them. Read on to learn more!

1. Rushing a job

You will be miserable if you lie to yourself that you can paint the whole house on the weekend. You would not trust a contractor who comes and bid you on a two-day painting job unless he has five other personnel who will work with him at the time. The work requires cleaning the walls and doing any repairs that may involve sanding or priming and painting a couple of coats for better results. In short, even professionals estimate at least three or four days if three painters are working on an average-sized house. If you are working on painting an average house with a friend, it will take you at least a week or two to do a very good quality paint job.

2. Don't compromise on the quality of the material

Always go for top-quality paints, primers and caulking compounds. When your material is top-quality, it will last longer and provide a better cover than poor-quality material. Also, go for paints that have a lifetime warranty against defects in the finish. Most house paint gives you what you pay for – meaning to get the best ingredients; you must be willing to pay more. For example, high-quality exterior paint will cost around $30 per litre, sometimes up to $50 per litre.

 3. Not checking if you have all the materials that you need

Before you pick your painting brush to start painting, make sure you have all the material needed to avoid the last-minute rush. A lot of time will be consumed when running up and down to buy the materials and leaving work halfway. When you come back, you will likely have forgotten some details about where you left off. You will have an easy time if you do a quick inventory before you begin the work.

4. Using the wrong paintbrush

Select the right paintbrush to use for your project. With latex paint, you will need a brush that has synthetic bristles. For oil-based paint, use a natural-bristle brush. Quality is also the key to a good application. After purchasing good paint, ensure that you also spend a little extra on a good painting brush.

5. Assuming extreme temperatures

The paint is not very friendly to extreme temperatures. Therefore, if you live in an area with a cold climate, buy the latex or acrylic paint and bring them to the house before temperatures drop too low. Too much freezing will ruin your latex paint.

On the other hand, it is a bad idea to paint a hot surface. The reason is that your paint will start drying before you can spread it evenly, causing it to bubble and slough off. Therefore, have a good plan to avoid the direct sun if possible. 

6. Skipping primer

Skipping primer is one of the biggest mistakes you can ever do. The reason is that a primer will provide a good surface for paint adherence, creating a beautiful finish. A primer also helps to bring out the selected colour beautifully.

7. Selecting the wrong colour

Wrong colour selection is the biggest mistake, even before choosing the brush type. You should select the colour based on the colour chip. You may pick a nice colour from the strip and make an order for your paint. However, when you start painting your walls at home, it does not look like the colour you selected. Therefore, you should ask the paint store to mix a small sample of paint so that you can try it and see if it is what you should order. After applying, observe the paint in natural and artificial light during the day and at night. If the paint does not match what you ordered, you can look for another paint store to match your test.

8. Over-brushing

Suppose you are looking for the smoothest possible finish when painting woodwork, doors or cabinets; don't use too much brushwork. Put the paint on the brush and cover the area quickly. You can use a stroke or two to level it off. When you brush over the same area, especially after the paint has started to dry, you may cause unsightly brush marks and ridges.

9. Bumping the Ceilings 

Knocking the ceiling with a roller may not be intentional, but you should avoid it. Avoid this problem by rolling the horizontal roller strip of paint parallel to the ceiling. You can then roll vertically to the horizontal strip to create a nice buffer zone.

Final Takeaway

So, if you're planning on painting your house this summer, never do these things when painting a house as a DIY. By avoiding them you will not only help the finished paint job look better and last longer, but it will also save you time and aggravation in the long run. Painting your house is a big job, but it's definitely worth it when it's done well. If you need any help or advice, feel free to reach out to us – we're always happy to help our customers get the best results possible. Thanks for reading, and Happy Painting!