Exterior Painting Services: A Job For a Pro
Interior painting is easy. A few brushes, roller, paint tray and maybe a small step ladder are all that’s needed. Weather is not a concern, heights are irrelevant and it can be broken up into small sections to easily fit into your busy schedule. Not so with exterior painting.
The overarching factor governing painting outside is the weather. Rain in the forecast means no painting. High humidity can likewise shut an operation down. Full sun is ideal for applying paint, but it can be downright miserable to work in. Bright sun also mandates working quickly- the expression “like watching paint dry” doesn’t apply to a painted surface in direct sun. Of course, a good day for painting isn’t much use if you have to work or meet some other obligation.
Finding the time paint the exterior of your home at the same time conditions is agreeable is reason enough to hire it out to professionals. But before painting, your home’s siding will need to be prepped. Scraping off old paint, nailing down loose boards, filling in cracks and holes and carpentry repairs are necessary before wetting a brush. This process can take up to a full day. An added consideration is the additional equipment. Exterior painting almost always entails an extension ladder. You’ll be spending at least $100 for a short, basic ladder with 200lb capacity. For a better ladder, you could spend several times that amount. Working at a height is dangerous and various stabilizing devices are available to keep your ladder steady. All for more money, of course. Given most exterior painting cannot be done with a roller you’re going to put in a lot of time on that ladder. You can cut that time down by ponying up the money to buy or rent a sprayer. These take some getting used to and can clog if not properly cared for. If you should drop your sprayer from a height, you’ve got a mess to clean up and an expensive piece of equipment to replace.
Saving money on home repairs by doing it yourself is great for some projects. But painting the exterior of an entire house takes a lot of time and more skill than most people realize. If you’ve only got weekends to work with you’re further hampered by weather limitations. Why not contact us and save yourself the stress, time and aggravation by letting the pros of Excellent American Painting handle it for you? Weekends go by fast enough as it is.