3 Big Mistakes When Painting The Outside Of Your Home

Painting the outside of your home is a stellar way to give it a new lease of life. You’ll be blown away by how big of a change this is to your property’s appearance. Seriously, it can make your house look brand new. 

On the surface, painting the outside of your home seems like a straightforward task. Oh dear…you couldn’t be more wrong! Several common mistakes are made all the time by first-time DIY house painters. Here are three you need to avoid if you want to add value to your home through a new paint job: 

Choosing the wrong colour

Can things get much worse than a badly painted house? This could be the case if you pick the wrong colour. A specific shade may seem good when you look at it online or in a store. But, when you apply it to your house, it looks awful. Why? Because you didn’t account for things like reflections, the sun or how the colour looks alongside decking or the colours of your front garden. 

It’s a much harder decision than you initially think, so how can you come to the right conclusion. Speak to interior design experts or customer service people at DIY stores. Bring a picture of your house so they can see what might go well with it. Alternatively, hire some residential painters to tackle the job for you; they have the experience to know what shades look good on homes based on your preferences. 

Selecting the wrong type of paint

You’ve got the colour right, but have you chosen the right type of paint? This is a hurdle that trips loads of homeowners up, leaving them redfaced and taking another trip to the DIY store to buy a few extra cans of paint. 

Primarily, the problem with outdoor painting is that you pick interior paint. Interior paints are formulated to work inside the home. This means they aren’t equipped to deal with the weather or anything else that might come into contact with the paint. So, be sure you pick exterior paint – and that it’s of a high quality. Low-quality paint is lovely and cheap, but it doesn’t last and looks pretty awful. 

Painting during the wrong weather conditions

Anyone can tell you that painting when it’s raining, snowing or aggressively windy is a bad idea. Nevertheless, fewer people are aware that there’s an optimal temperature for painting. The air needs to be warm enough for a chemical reaction to take place that drys the paint. If the temperature is close to freezing, you should avoid painting as the paint won’t dry correctly and you’ll run into all sorts of problems. 

Speaking of drying, always ensure that one coat of paint is 100% dry before you add another layer. Otherwise, you end up with an uneven finish, possibly with cracks. 

There you go; three big mistakes you can’t afford to make when painting the outside of your home. To avoid a catastrophe – and wasting a lot of money – be sure you pay attention to any tips above. Pick the right type of paint, choose the right colour and paint when it’s dry and fairly warm.