House Painting Costs

Exterior house painting by a contractor can cost between $3500-$5000 for a 3,000 sq. ft. home. You can do it yourself for $400-$600.

House Painting Equipment

There are number of things you have to get before starting your house painting project including:

• power washers
• paint sprayers
• taller ladders or scaffolding
• sandpaper
• roller
• smaller brush
• plastic tarp or cloth for cover

House Painting Steps for DIY Project

Choosing paint for house painting

• Exterior house painting:
  Look for paint that is specially formulated for outside use.
• interior house painting:
  High gloss is the most durable, but very shiny (not appealing to everyone).
  Semi-gloss - the most used; easy to clean; available in many colors.

Preparation for house painting

• Cover everything around the area of house painting with either a plastic tarp or a canvas drop cloth.
• Remove the old paint- on the exterior using a paint scraper and a wire brush; do not remove the old paint - on the interior - sand down rough spots and apply undercoat (primer).
• Apply enough coats of undercoat (primer) to cover the old paint (one or two depending on the color of the existing paint)
• Be sure to allow enough drying time between coats if you do more than one coat.
• The final step of the house painting is to apply the colored paint.
• For exterior house painting you can use a roller or a power sprayer to finish the job faster.
• For interior house painting don't use sprayer unless you are using a non-toxic paint
• For the smoothest finish first roll top to bottom if using a roller. Then go back and paint around the trim with a smaller brush. Use the smaller brush to smooth out any lines from the roller.
• Apply at least two coats of color, if not more, to completely cover existing color.

House Painting - Things to consider

• An experienced contractor can complete a house painting job in less than a week, including prep work and clean-up;
• DIY house painting can take up to a month;
• Structural problems, such as broken or cracked cladding during DIY house painting project can cost a lot of money because you don't have the experience to handle it.

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