The Ultimate Guide to Home Painting

Painting your house is one of the best things you can do to boost its curb appeal, increase its resale value, and help you love your house even more than you already do. But this gratifying project can become taxing if you go about it the wrong way. Taking an informed, measured approach to painting will create a stunning house that's the star of the block.

Before You Start

Before you rush to the home center for paint samples, first consider this project in a global sense.

Are You Ready for a Long-Term Project?

Whether you do it yourself or hire a professional, painting your house is an extensive, involved project. Are you ready for a job that's more of a marathon than a sprint? If the paint contractor's estimate is too high, are you willing to take on the job yourself? Homeowners who begin painting their house at the start of the summer often do not finish until mid-summer.

Why Are You Painting the House?

Painting for an upcoming sale might mean choosing a color scheme that appeals to others more than to you. Or are you painting for maintenance purposes? If so, you might want to stick with the same color. This will make the house easier to paint. Painting your house a new color is a major remodel that is not easily reversible. Spend extra time making sure that this color is perfect for you.

Do-It-Yourself House Painting

Most homeowners would love to have a professional crew paint their house. However, the dramatically lower costs associated with doing it yourself tempt many homeowners into trying to do it alone.

Besides cost savings, do-it-yourself house painting has some unexpected benefits. When the weather is favorable, outdoor painting can be almost pleasurable. If you opt to paint by hand rather than spraying, you can jump into the project for short periods of time that better fit in with your schedule. Don't forget to relax and play your favorite playlist while you paint.

Another benefit of painting the house by yourself is that you begin to see your house up-close and in great detail. You see the areas that need fixing. As long as you aren't rushing the painting project, you should take time to address these issues.

Hiring Professional Painters

Even the most determined do-it-yourself painter may have second thoughts when considering taking on such an involved project. That's where professional painters come into the picture. The scale of exterior painting often tips do-it-yourselfers in the direction of hiring professionals, plus:

• Professional painters usually work in crews, not individually. This helps the job go even quicker. With pros, expect completion dates within days, not months.
• Professional painters own all of the needed painting tools. Some of these tools—high-velocity paint sprayers, extension ladders, and often scaffolding—are costly for homeowners to buy or rent.
• Professional painters will produce quality work. Just make sure that you've checked their previous work before hiring them.

Choosing a Color 

Picking a paint color for your home is, without argument, the best part of this project. Houses that are being painted for an upcoming sale need to appeal to the greatest number of potential buyers. Neutral colors and colors that fit in with the neighborhood work best for this.​

Otherwise, choose a color that you love, making sure that it fits with the style of your home and enhances its structural harmony. Buy paint samples in minimum 1-quart sizes and apply this paint to at least two sides of your house in order to see the colors in different lights.

When to Paint the House

• Moisture: Do not paint a surface that is directly being rained on. But if it is rainy outside and the surface is dry, you can probably paint your house. When the relative humidity (RH) level reaches 50 percent, you are pushing into an uncomfortable range and the paint will dry slower.
• Temperature: Temperature affects the paint curing process. Direct sun on the surface can cause the paint to cure in unattractive waves and ripples. On the other hand, temperatures in the range of 34°F to 37°F mean that the paint simply will not dry. 
• Time of Day and Season: The best time for exterior painting is between late morning (after the dew has evaporated) and mid-afternoon (early enough to allow the paint to dry before temperatures drop). Summer makes exterior painting comfortable, but shoulder seasons like late spring and early fall tend to have less pronounced temperature spikes.

Exterior Painting Costs

With do-it-yourself exterior house painting, it's simple and straightforward to estimate costs. That's because the vast majority of costs are devoted to two materials—paint and primer—and those materials are easy to determine with a paint calculator.

Generally, one gallon of exterior paint will cover 400 square feet. Spraying uses more paint than rolling or brushing. When spraying, expect to use about 1 gallon per 150-200 square feet.

Professional painters have different methods of issuing job bids and estimates, ranging from a single figure on a business card to multi-page proposals. Expect a professionally painted home exterior to be at least three times more expensive than a do-it-yourself job.

House Painting Tips and Tricks

Before starting to paint your house, use these tips to make the project go smoother:

• Just because paint can fill in minor holes and cracks doesn't mean that it should. Instead, take the time to properly fill those holes and cracks with putty or filler.
• If you are painting by yourself, one mental trick is to think of each side of the house as a separate project. Broken into smaller projects, this large project will feel less daunting.
• Flat paint sheen makes exterior painting go faster than satin sheen because paint flashing, a dullness created from one row to the next, is no issue. On the other hand, flat sheen does make cleaning siding more difficult.
• Buy quality paint and primer. There is a big difference in paints: A quality paint will generally be a little thicker and cover surfaces more thoroughly. Cheaper paints may require a second coat, which will ultimately cost you more in terms of time and money than buying high-quality paint in the first place.