Have you finally decided to have your home’s exterior in San Diego repainted? That’s a great move. Exterior painting is not just an event; it’s an investment to protect your investment. When done correctly, the exterior home painting creates a protective coating on your siding that helps minimize the effects of harsh weather and environmental elements such as the rain, scorching sun, bugs, and organic growth.
In addition, a fresh coat of paint boosts the curb appeal of your home, prevents expensive repairs down the line and ultimately increase the value of your home. But as you might have already noticed, painting the entire exterior of your home can be quite daunting, and it needs meticulous planning. So if you’re planning to have your home repainted, here are some tips to prepare it before the actual painting happens:
1) Decide on the Colors
The laziest, but still effective way to go about this is to simply repaint your exterior with the existing paint color. That way, you don’t have to pull your hair trying to figure out which trim color coordinates with your siding color or whether or not you should accent your doors. If you’re looking for something a little different, you can always seek advice from your professional painting contractor and they will be more than happy to offer free color consultation.
2) Make Necessary Repairs
If you’re hiring a professional painting contractor in San Diego, California, they might be able to carry out some simple carpentry repairs and drywall repairs at an extra charge before they start painting. However, if your house has major structural damages and paint failures, you might want to have this sorted out by an independent contractor in advance.
As you will notice, exterior painting is a great opportunity to point out and correct some of the damages and defects such as organic growth, water damage, and structural failures. Before the actual painting begins, make sure that any missing caulk is replaced, damages and missing planks are replaced and water leakages are addressed.
3) Deal with the Mildew/Mold Menace
If you live in a humid microclimate, you might have a constant challenge with mold and mildew growth. This can also be caused by water leakages from plumbing structures, gutters, and drainage fixtures. Mold and mildew can be identified as patches of greyish and greenish ‘stains’ on the surface of the siding, typically where there is some dampness.
Mold and mildew need to be treated and cleared before painting happens, Covering them with a coat of paint will only have them resurface after a month or two. To eliminate the mold menace completely, apply a mixture of 1-part domestic bleach in 3-parts of water to the affected and surrounding areas to kill the spores. Follow this with scrubbing off the stained patches using a hard brush and rinse using plenty of plain clean water.
4) Pressure Wash Your Exterior
Your home’s exterior collects a lot of dust and debris as well as chalk from disintegrating paint over the years. Painting over dirt only sets a stage for paint failure as the paint will not properly adhere to your surface. Pressure washing is a powerful way to clean off all sorts of dirt and debris as well as knock-off chips from peeling and cracking old paint. If you have the power washer and some experience, you can offer to do this in advance even if you’re hiring a professional painter.
Bottom Line
Preparation is key to any exterior painting job. If you’re painting your own exterior, you will need to go all the way and include sanding, paint stripping, caulking, and priming before the actual painting can happen.
However, if you’re hiring an exterior painter in San Diego, CA, such as Ron Rice Painting & Consultation, you don’t have to worry about surface preparation, we will take care of all that. All you have to do is give us a call today and book a free estimate.