House Painting Tips
Home Painting Tips
Painting a house can transform an old, drab building into an attractive home. The final results of painting a house depend on your choice of colors and how well you prepare before painting. The following house painting tips should help you prepare for a painting project.
Home Painting Ideas
House painting tips often focus on the latest fashion trends. If you like current painting trends that's fine, but remember that trends change quickly. The paint that looks cutting edge today may seem laughable in a few years. Be especially careful with exterior paint. Interior rooms are easy to repaint when trends change, but painting a home's exterior is a large undertaking that you don't want to have to repeat every time design trends shift.
The colors you choose when painting a house affect the feel of a room. When selecting paints, remember these house painting tips:
- Dark colors can disguise defects in walls and ceilings.
- Dark colors lend themselves to cozy, intimate areas.
- Light colors brighten dark hallways and low-light rooms.
- Pale shades make rooms seem larger.
- White ceilings add a feeling of height to a room.
Preparing for Home Painting
Preparation for painting a house is as important as the actual painting. Use paint masking tape to protect windows, doorframes and other areas that you don't want painted. Protect the floor and furniture with drop cloths.
The surface to be painted should be carefully cleaned and allowed to dry. Repair any holes, scratches and gouges in walls before painting, and read all instructions on the paint can. You may think that paint is self-explanatory, but reading the instructions provides helpful house painting tips.
When using primer, read the can label to determine how long the primer should dry before applying paint. Paint as soon as the drying period ends. When painting a home it's usually advisable to prime only what you can paint in a single day.
House Painting Tips and Safety
Painting a home can pose health hazards. Paint fumes can be toxic, so always ensure adequate ventilation and wear a paint mask.
Old paint can contain lead. Scraping and sanding lead-based paint results in airborne lead dust, which is extremely toxic. Before removing old paint have a sample checked for lead. Professional paint stores should be able to provide house painting tips for safely working with lead paint. If you have any doubts, professional house painting contractors can safely remove lead paint.