Maintain your exterior paint now or you will pay the wood repair costs later. The average cost of a professional exterior repaint is 5000$. About 20% of the cost is materials and paint (use Sherwin Williams ). Every house and budget is different so here are some typical scenarios:
I can’t afford a paint job right now. Use a paintable caulk on all cracks and holes. Prime and touch up these spots and any other bare spots. Pay special attention to sills, door jamb bottoms and transom windows.
I have a fairly new house with very little loose paint. I am willing to have the house painted the same color if it will cost less.- Pressure wash (get the gutters cleaned also) the house to remove surface dust that will cause and adhesion problem. Scrape loose paint, caulk and spot prime. Paint one coat on the siding. Paint one coat on all the trim work (you might need two if you sprayed the siding and had overspray on the trim). Scrape and clean the windows.
My house is old and the there is a lot of loose paint. If the house was built before 1979 you need to hire a contractor who is certified to deal with lead paint. Pressure wash and clean gutters. Scrape and caulk. Prime the entire house with primer that has been tinted the same color as the siding paint. Paint one coat of siding paint. Paint two coats on the trim. Scrape and clean the windows.
Give me the “Deluxe”. Same as above except do two coats on the siding for some extra protection.
Additional tips:
- Never skip the pressure washing because adhesion is the key to a good paint job. Ask to have the walks, decks or driveways done also. You will get a good price on them.
- Darker colors are going to look old faster because they fade. If you are going to paint vinyl siding use primer and never pick a dark color.
- If you get one shoddy paint job every paint job after that will suffer. It really is best to prime everything. Primer bonds to surfaces that top coats can not. The top coat, which is designed to cover, then adheres well to the primer.
- A new house will shift and cracks will open up in just a few years. Seal these cracks before rot starts.
- Knock yourself out painting the inside of your house. Let a pro do the outside.