What You Need to Do Before You Begin Painting Your Exterior

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Every once in a while, it comes time to paint your home’s exterior. This may be for maintenance reasons or simply because you’re looking for a change. Whatever your reasons may be, make sure you take care of all the prep work before you get started. 

Wash the Exterior

You need to start off with a clean surface. Otherwise, you will be painting over certain problems that could potentially get worse. You need to scrub away any mold, mildew, or other build up on your home’s exterior. When you clean the outside of your house, you should consider the best option for the material. Some materials are more susceptible to wear over time, so you should inspect them before cleaning. In general, using a pressure washer is a good way to get any surface clean. Just make sure you don’t use too high of a pressure. Some spots may require you to scrub with a brush and the right detergent. 

Apply Caulking

Once the exterior is clean, you need to make sure the surface is ready to have paint applied. This means you need to fill in any holes and make repairs. Applying caulk to every opening on the exterior of your home is a good place to start. One reason you should do this is to keep pests out. Ants can make their way through even the smallest entryways in your home. You want to make sure you take care of any of these entry points so you don’t end up with a pest problem. Caulking holes and cracks will also ensure you have a nice smooth surface to paint over. 

Protect the Surrounding Area

You’re almost ready to start painting, but there’s one more step. You need to make sure you protect all the surrounding areas of your home from getting paint on them. There are several areas you should prioritize. Cover up all window frames, door frames, trim, and anywhere else that you don’t want to get painted over quite yet. You should also lay down drop cloths so you don’t get paint on your sidewalks, lawn, flowerbeds, etc. You can even cover your shrubs and bushes with plastic bags to protect them. 

Painting your exterior is a big job in and of itself, but it becomes an even bigger job when you consider all the prep work. You don’t want to skip out on any of these steps. They will help you end up with the best results.

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