One of the downsides of home-ownership is the house painting cost you face when your home needs to be repainted. As this happens at least every few years, you could be looking at a large outlay over the course of the years. It’s important to factor this cost into your estimates when you’re looking at buying a house, as a larger house will cost you more each time you need to re-paint. That said, of course re-painting is an excellent opportunity to change the color and decorative scheme of your home. Consider your colors carefully; not only should one room be well put-together, you’ll also want your home to work as a unit. Don’t be afraid to introduce some bold colors as they will allow your home to speak out loudly of your character. That said, you’ll want the outside of your home to fit into the neighborhood to some degree. Standing out is wonderful, but check the rules and regulations set out by your local homeowners’ association to ensure you’re not about to break any of them. On the inside, on the other hand, you are completely free to do whatever you want and can let your hair down a bit more.
The interior house painting cost can vary greatly, according to how many rooms you need to paint and how big these rooms are. It’s a good idea to measure each room and buy more paint than you think you’ll need. Obviously, you could keep these costs down by buying cheaper paints, but it is not always a good idea to do so. You want the highest quality you can afford, because low-quality paints will let your old color scheme shine through and will not provide you with the coverage you need.
The issue then becomes what to do with your furniture while you paint. Moving furniture from room to room so you can paint without worrying about ruining bedding, sofas or tables is the best idea as a general rule. However, old sheets or polythene sheeting can help you keep the paint off your furniture too, if you drape them across the bits you need to protect.
Many thin layers will end up giving a much nicer result than few thick ones. You don’t want drips and runnels, after all, so take your time and, while it may take a bit longer, you’ll be able to enjoy the result far more. One-coat paints for interior surfaces are widely available, but don’t expect them to take only one coat. You’ll usually have to slap on two or three coats onto the walls regardless, as you want complete coverage. Again, taking the time to do things right will not only give you more pleasure from the end result but will also mean you can put off re-painting for longer as your paint job will last as long as possible.
Gloss paints will let you put a new coat of color on your woodwork, such as doors, skirting boards and banisters. Most people opt for plain white, and for good reason; not only is plain white a color to suit most schemes, it is also the cheapest option. As such, you could be reducing your cost by opting for white. However, if you can afford it you may wish to choose a more original color to suit your decorative scheme. Again, many thin layers will produce a better result than a few thick ones, and don’t forget to sand down your woodwork before applying the gloss; otherwise you will get bubbling.
In terms of exterior house painting cost, you’re looking at a sizable amount depending on the size of your home. It is usually worth it to let a professional painters paint the exterior of your home as you can be at great risk if you’re unable to use the correct safety gear. To find a good professional house painter, use all the tools at your disposal rather than choosing the cheapest one by default. You want someone who is good at his job and who has proven to be reliable; as such, you’ll need to look at such websites as Yelp and Google to ensure there are no clients whose houses were ruined or whose money mysteriously went missing without the service being performed. The painter will also be able to help you decide on a color scheme that suits your home, your neighborhood and your personal tastes.
Painting your house is a regular event. A good time to do it is in the autumn, to shield your home from the impact of cold weather, as the paint provides the wood with some protection. Alternatively, the spring or summer are good times too. Obviously, winter (or particularly cold or wet fall weather) is no good as the paint will never dry. You’ll want to be sure the weather is conducive to drying as your home will need to dry completely between each set of two layers.
Ventilation is very important, especially when using gloss paints inside the home. The cost of painting a house needn’t be prohibitive, but the build-up of fumes could lead to doctor’s bills which will raise the stakes considerably, so ensure you keep everyone healthy by leaving windows open and providing excellent airflow throughout your home and through the newly painted room or rooms.
Painting a kitchen, specifically, can be a bit of a challenge as you won’t want paint to be mixed into your food at any stage. Empty your kitchen of any and all edible goods as well as pots, pans and china. This will be especially important if you plan to paint cabinet doors and drawer-fronts, but the easiest way to ensure nothing is contaminated is by removing any and all foods you plan to eat during the painting from the kitchen before you get stuck in.
House painting prices may seem like a prohibitive cost, but this is not at all the truth. In fact, between the issues you may deal with after not painting your home for too long, and the low price of paint today, you can count on them to be far more reasonable than expected. However, if you don’t have unlimited means it is a good idea to be prepared by calculating the amount of money you will need in advance. This requires you to measure every room you plan to paint as well as gather details on the paint you intend to use. Look into the cost of local painters if you want to hire one; however, you can save quite a bit of money by putting in the elbow grease yourself. But how do you estimate the cost in advance?
A good way to get some idea of how much you’re going to need to spend on house painting is by using a house painting cost estimator. This will allow you to budget for your house and will let you input the measurements of your room. You’ll also enter a number of other details such as the number of doors and windows, the hourly rate you’ll pay a painter if you’ve elected to hire one, and the coverage provided by your paint. After you finish entering these details, the calculator will be able to tell you precisely how much you should expect to pay for the room in question. This is an invaluable resource, as it allows you to budget reasonably accurately. However, as you never know what may crop up during the painting process, it’s a good idea to budget an extra eur100 or so just in case of an emergency. For example, a bucket of paint may be knocked over, or the paint may simply not provide the coverage specified. For these contingencies it is a good idea to have some emergency money set aside for your painting project.
Ultimately, repainting your house seems like a huge undertaking. It’s a good idea to split it up into pieces. For example, one year you can re-paint the ground floor, then the next year you can re-paint the second floor and the year after that the outside gets a new coat. That way you won’t end up spending a huge amount of money all at once and you can spread the workload. Happy painting!
Josef Volf – managing director of PainterDublin.com
We are a reputable painters and decorators, covering Dublin and surrounding areas. If you have more question regarding painting and decorating, please don’t hesitate to contact us on “PainterDublin.com“, we are always willing to help.
Knowing how to safely store paint is important since the material is among those that can potentially poison people and the environment. It is also very annoying to deal with dried out and caked paint. However, the harm that can be done to the body by such caustic substances is more serious. You can prevent it from happening to you and your family by following a few guidelines for storing paint and other hazardous materials. Avoid storing your paints in areas that are exposed to extreme temperatures since too much heat or cold can affect the quality of the paint. Too much heat on oil based paint can also cause a fire. If you are storing paint and other hazardous substances, do not put them on containers that are used for food or beverage. If they are ingested by somebody, the result could be fatal. Check the label of the container before discarding paint and other similar substances. Most of them specify a particular disposal instruction. You should not also bury or burn them.
The secret to stripping wallpaper lies in the correct use of water, patience and a good scraper.
