What To Know Before Painting Your Home’s Exterior

Thinking about sprucing up your home’s exterior with a coat of paint? Painting your exterior can improve curb appeal and property value dramatically. However, it’s important to keep in mind that this is a time-consuming and costly project that you should carefully consider in advance. Here’s what to know before painting your home’s exterior.

How Big Is Your Home?

The bigger your home, the more expensive and time-consuming it will be to paint. The number of stories you have can also impact time estimates and price.

What Kind of Siding Do You Have?

What kind of exterior siding do you have? Aluminum? Vinyl? Wood shakes? The material of your siding dictates how the entire painting process goes. You can paint some materials easily, but this doesn’t apply to everything. Brick and stucco require more coats, for example, because they’re extremely porous materials.

Do You Have the Necessary Supplies?

Painting the exterior of a home is more complex than painting the interior. Some necessary items include:

Pressure washer
Paint sprayer
Painter’s tape
Drop cloths
Extendable ladder
Paint scraper
Primer
Filler
Sanding block
Spackle knife
Exterior caulk
Caulk gun
Plastic sheeting

The cost of these supplies can really add up!

What Color?

Another thing to know before painting your home’s exterior is the color you want to use. For the exterior, most homeowners opt for neutral or dark colors.

You can choose whatever color your heart desires, but keep in mind that bolder colors can reduce property value. And if you live in an HOA, make sure the color you choose adheres to your community’s rules. Some HOAs even require you to choose from a limited number of preapproved colors.

How Much Will It Cost?

The average exterior painting project costs anywhere from $1,700 to $4,300. Prices vary depending on the size of your home, your location, the condition of your exterior, and accessibility. Using premium materials and paints can also bump up the price.

DIY or Professional?

Can you DIY an exterior paint project? Yes. Should you? Probably not. It can take weeks to paint your home if you’re a one-person team. And you likely don’t have the tools or expertise to complete the job safely or correctly.

What if you make a mistake? It can cost a small fortune to fix even minor mistakes. This can push you hundreds or thousands of dollars over budget.

For the sake of simplicity, it’s much better to hire a professional painter for the job. It’ll save you money, time, and headaches in the long run.

Other Considerations

There are a few inconveniences that come with painting the exterior of your home. Are you prepared to deal with them? You can’t park in your driveway until the paint is dry, for example, so you’ll either need to park in the garage, on the street, or somewhere else. And if you work from home and are using a contractor, you’ll have to deal with noises for several days, which can potentially disrupt your meetings.