Painting your home inside or out always takes longer than you think it will. Painting even one room might not seem like a huge task, but when you factor in preparation and clean-up, it’s a project that can leach your time and monetary budget. Hiring professionals is always a good way to start your painting project, especially if they can provide you with free estimates and advice about keeping time and costs down, but even with professional help, you’ll likely be working harder than you think to get the best look possible for your home’s exterior or interior. 

With every painting project, there are things that almost inevitably go wrong, especially if you’re trying to paint your home yourself for the first time. There will always be bad luck, unanticipated problems, and time drains when undertaking painting your home. 

So whether you’ve hired professionals or not, are painting one interior room, multiple rooms, or your home’s exterior, there are at least five rules of house painting you must never break to give yourself the best chance of completing your project without any undue delays, hang-ups, or disasters: 

Be Realistic

It’s so easy for first-time painters to bite off more than they can chew on their painting project. Don’t attempt to paint the entire exterior of your home by yourself unless you’re sure you have the tools, skills, stamina, and, most importantly, the time to devote to the work. Unless you’ve done it before, assume that you don’t have these things and get help. Depending on the dimensions of your home, it may even be dangerous to attempt to prep and paint a house by yourself. 

Don’t Pinch Pennies on Materials

There are ways to limit the cost of a major house painting project, but spending less on materials like the paint itself can be costly in the long run. If you can get away with lower-quality paint, go for it, but be sure about your decision. For the most part, especially with exterior paint, it’s a better idea to spend on quality paint that will protect your home from the sometimes-extreme weather changes that occur every season here in Colorado. It’s also much more of a headache to stop work because you’re out of paint or some other resource that you need. 

Do all the Necessary Preparation

This is where a professional can really help you. You might know that you need to scrape and prime before you paint, but you also need to caulk any cracks in the structure, cover your windows and plants, preserve interior décor, and more. Don’t rush this step or you’ll have to redo much of your work.

Always Assume You’ll Need More Coats of Paint

It’s difficult to tell how a paint job will look before it dries, but you can avoid frustration and redoing your work endlessly by assuming most surfaces, particularly on the inside, will need at least two coats of paint. Know what kind of paint you’re using and its intended and recommended use. If you’re not sure about the coverage of any area, throw another coat on it. 

Use the Correct Tools

Nothing is more frustrating than using the wrong type of brush to paint an area. Paint rollers can be a very efficient way of spreading paint over an area, but they can also spread and drip paint to many areas where you don’t want it. Be prepared with several different types of brushes for different areas, and make sure you have the safety equipment (i.e. ladders, drop cloths, etc.) to get the job done before you start it.

For more tips about how to get started on your next major paint job, contact Ireland’s Finest Painting today.