Painting Your Exteriors

TIME SCALE 3. Hours Depending On Area

SKILL LEVEL

If you are tired of the way your home looks from the outside, you can totally change its appearance by brightening it up with a new coat of paint. A newly painted house is a joy to behold. But before you head down to the hardware store, assess your structure carefully to see if it would turn out to be less expensive to replace rather than repaint. Take for instance some parts of your home, such as the plastic downpipes that catch rainwater. You will need to prep them before painting. The surfaces must be sanded smooth before the first application of undercoating, over which you will need to apply a top coat. Faced with this tedious and lengthy procedure, it is often more convenient, not to mention less expensive, to replace your downpipes. They come in a variety of colours these days, like brown, black, or grey, that would make an attractive accent to your newly painted house. If you take a look at the picture underneath, you will notice that this three storey house, the last one I renovated, has a soil pipe vent that is higher than the roof level. This kind of arrangement makes for very difficult painting. What I did was to remove the stack's vent section, install an air admittance valve to replace it, and painted the remaining section to match the floor. If you have a lot of wood work, what you can do is to cover it with PVC wherever possible. Having PVC profiling eliminates the need to constantly repaint surfaces. The good thing about PVC is that it is available in a variety of colors, such as Oak or Mahogany. Visit your local distributor and check for new colors coming out. It is faster and definitely easier to clad surfaces with PVC instead of painting them. The front of this house, for instance, has been done over with both PVC cladding and painting! As in this picture, wood is quick to rot if it hasn't seen a coat of paint in a long time. In cases such as these, it is more convenient to replace it. But if your wood is in good condition, cladding is your best bet. The rotten apex was removed here and replaced with PVC. To achieve an attractive effect, a Taurus skirting board of PVC was used, as well. All the existing gaps between the windows and walls were given cut-to-fit PVC cloaking profile and sealed with silicone. One piece of advice before you start: always check the weather forecast to see if outdoor work can be done without any unforseen interruptions. You can't paint wet wood anyway, as ts bound to give you terrible blistering results. Also, check this section on ladder safety before starting to paint from heights. Before Painting Your Walls... If you have walls of brick, painting isn't necessary. A good scrubbing with a stiff brush and an application of a superior waterproofing solution will make it look like new. During the scrubbing process, make sure you don safety goggles and a dust mask to protect yourself from the inevitable flying particles. If you have a smaller sized wall, a pressure washer and a cleaning solution for bricks or patios will do the trick. But, NEVER USE A PRESSURE WASHER WHILE ON A LADDER! For any pointing that comes loose or dislodged, use a scraper to remove any traces of mold, apply a fungicide, then rinse off thoroughly the following day. See this section on re-pointing. Fill in cracks that have appeared on rendered walls with some PVA bonding. This will make it easier to paint the walls and ensure that the filler adheres better. Finer cracks will require a special exterior filler. I'd recommend the 2mm mortar. If your wall surfaces appear powdery or chalky, seal them with a stabilising solution before you start painting. Paint Wise, Choose Wise Before choosing the brand of paint you will use, remember that among hundreds, if not thousands, of different paint manufacturers, there will always be products that are better than most. Take a gander down the aisles of those big DIY stores as they always tend to carry the best brands. You will note the difference between good and so-so quality of paint once you start using them. The less expensive but substandard ones usually take 2 to 3 coats of paint before you achieve thorough coverage, whereas the really good brands only take a single coating. Guess which brand saves you more money? When choosing paint brands, always remember that “you get what you pay for”. Any woodwork that you have in the form of windows or doors should be prepared beforehand prior to painting the masonry. If need be, strip away any old paint that might have bubbled over using an electric hot air gun and a scraper. Remember to KEEP ELECTRIC HOT AIR GUNS AWAY FROM GLASS AS GLASS WILL BREAK DUE TO THERMAL SHOCK! Smooth the wood with sand paper, give it a quick swab with a white spirit-dampened rag, and paint it over. If the wood has rotted over partially, you needn't have to replace the whole window. Simply extricate the rotten portions and repair the existing damage with a wood repair kit. If there are gaps between the windows and the walls, seal them with putty. If the gaps appear to be larger than continental Europe, make them disappear them with PVC cloaking profile held in place with a good dose of silicone. Before starting the actual painting process, assess your painting style. If you are the kind who makes a right mess with splatters and blots all over the place, make sure you place a protective covering on all the items that don't need painting and lay a dust sheet over the floor or ground. However, if you are a fastidious type of painter, you won't need to take all this precaution, instead sally forth with a good 4-inch or 6-inch masonry brush. For rough masonry paint, you will need a special brush. Faster progress can be made if you start at the top of a wall and work yor way down. Never overload the brush with paint to ensure that a nice even coating is achieved. Apply your masonry brush in one direction only, as painting in the four directions of the compass all at once will only give your paint job unsightly lines. To give you an easier time holding 5-litre masonry paint tins, do get a paint kettle for your convenience. After the walls are done, you can start on your woodwork. Mask your windows or use a paint guard to avoid splattering paint on them, and make sure all surfaces of the wood are dry. The rule of thumb is, the longer you spend preparing the wood to take on the required number of coats, the better it will look afterwards. Generally, you should apply 2 coats of undercoating followed by one glossy coat. Skimping on the number of coats will give you a substandard looking finish. Take your time and hold the brush at a good angle, and I guarantee you, you'll waste less paint, avoid sloppy splatters, and get a professional looking paint job that your, and the whole world, will admire!