The thought of painting a house can seem rather daunting at first, but with the right know-how, you will realize just how easy it is to do. When painting a house you already live in might not incur any maintenance costs, a brand new house might need extra prep before you can even start working on the walls.
Obviously, this is not always true for either situation. The house you have lived in for many years may reveal a nasty side to it once the wallpaper has been stripped. Or, the house you have just moved into, may have the smoothest walls you have ever seen.
Either way, whether you need to fill in gaps pre-paint or can paint straight onto a surface, painting is not always the easiest task to do. Hopefully this guide will not only help you paint a room or two well, but find out how long it takes to do so and why it can be a good thing to do yourself.
So, without further ado, let us take a look…
Why Paint the House Yourself?
While it is always easier to call up a professional – it is their job after all – you can do it yourself. It will never be to the same standard (because a professional does it for a living), but that does not mean it will be a terrible job either.
So long as you are not looking for perfection (whatever that is) and do not mind learning along the way, painting a house yourself can be an enjoyable and rewarding experience. Yes, it is easier to get a professional in and be done with it much sooner, but doing it yourself has its positives too.
If you are on a budget, or if you just like to save money where possible, then painting the house yourself is a good money saver. All you will need is a few cans of paint, a couple of paintbrushes and new rollers.
You may find there are other expenses too, depending on the overall quality of the wall, but typically, it should be an inexpensive job to do.
Can Painting Change The Value Of The House?
Nicely painted walls, whether it’s the interior or exterior, will always add value to the property. If a house buyer has less work to do, they are also more likely to buy it faster.
For them, it means less money having to be spent on fixing the house up to a good standard – it has already been done for them. If their first impression of your house is peeling, old paint, then the house could be on the market for months.
Think of it this way, the money you spend on making your house presentable will only add value to the property. And if you sell, you are likely to get your money back. So, do not think of painting your house as a lot of effort, because it can reap rewards if you do come to sell it in the future.
What About Painting The Exterior?
No matter whether it is painting walls on the inside of the home or painting the exterior, all first impressions count. A fresh coat of paint on the outside wall, or even just the front door will add extra value.
It will make the house look cleaner and well presented, and that is the kind of vibe that you are after. Even if you are not planning to sell your house, a brand-new coat of paint can do wonders on sprucing the place up.
So, How Long Does It Take To Paint A House?
It actually all depends on how big the house is. Whereas a professional will have a team of people, meaning it will only take a matter of days or hours (depending on how big the team is and how many rooms they have to do), with you as a non-professional, it will take a lot longer.
Even though you may have a partner or family friend helping, it will still take a few days to get the job completely done. As well as the painting itself, there is also the matter of prep work, and that could be from getting the walls primed and ready, to moving everything out of the way.
So, whilst this question can not be answered fully, it is handy to know that perhaps it would be best to concentrate on each room as individuals. This means you can work out how much time you need for each room, and then calculate how many days it may take.
Before You Start
Even though it is tempting to have at it with the paint, there are a number of things to do before you can even think about opening that can of beautiful color.
- Cover your furniture – paint has a habit of flicking onto anything and it can be a nightmare to clean out of light colored material. Either cover items and flooring, or move what you can out of the room.
- Materials – make sure you have everything you need to hand – paint, rollers, paintbrushes, angled paintbrushes, a ladder, a tool to chip away any old paint or paper, sanding block, etc.
- Old clothes – when you paint a house, do not wear anything that you still want to keep wearing generally. The paint will get all over them, and it will not be worth keeping the clothes by the end of the job.
Prepping The Walls
The wall is basically a large canvas, and it will need to be a good smooth surface to work on. Use this time to scrape any old residue of paint or paper off the walls. Sandpaper is ideal for any exposed wood, and it will help to soften it and let the primer adhere to it better.
If you come across any slight holes or cracks (that do not need to be seen by a professional), then you can fill the gaps with wood filler or painter’s putty. This will then need to be sanded flat once dry.
Priming The Walls
The primer is useful for making the wall a complete, plain canvas so the paint color will work better over it – so do not skip this step.
First off, start with the trim. This is done by using an angled paintbrush and following the corners of the room and the outline of doors and windows, etc. This is basically anywhere the roller will not be able to paint.
It is a good idea to do this step because it means you will not make any mistakes later, and gives you a guide of where to paint towards.
Once this has been done, you can use the roller to fill in the gaps. How many coats of primer all depends on what the can says, so follow any instructions it may have.
Now It Is Time To Paint
When it comes to finally painting, do it exactly the same way you did with the primer. If you make any mistakes, you can easily paint it with the white primer once it is dry.
Repeat these steps in every room, but just remember not to rush it for the best results.
Final Words
Painting a house does not always have to be done by professionals. It is a job you can most certainly do yourself, so long as you do not mind that it will take a few days and cause a lot of mess – it is painting afterall!
Since it can take two to three hours to paint around a 500 square foot side of a wall yourself, it is not impossible to spend a few days getting a house fully painted. Calling up the professionals and having them do it would make the job a lot quicker, but it is also more expensive. So, whether it takes extra days to do it or not, go and find some old clothes to wear, it’s time to paint!