Home Ideas

Home improvements are nice and great projects to do but the down side of this is the budget. How can we do a home improvement without spending an arm and a leg? The answer is repainting your home. Repainting your home costs much lesser than any other home improvements like redecorating and renovation. Repainting also takes up lesser time.Repainting your home will give you instant satisfaction right after even applying the first coat of fresh paint. As with any other repainting job, you have to make sure that you have prepared the surface before applying the paint. Preparation will vary according to the surface to be repainted. The first thing you will do is to replace or repair any surface that is damaged including wood, metal, masonry and stucco. Thoroughly clean and wash all surfaces to be painted so that the fresh coat of paint will adhere to the surface and a clean surface will give a great result. In cleaning the surfaces to be painted, make sure that you use good quality sandpaper or a paint scrapper. This is to ensure that all the cracked, blistered and chipped paints will be removed. Continue scrapping to the raw surface as necessary. After removing and scraping all the paint, you can now start patching up nails and screw holes, cracks and gouges. This is to ensure that the surface to be painted is even.

Use caulking liberally at the seams and corners of doors and windows. A good rule of thumb is to apply caulking any place one material meets another kind of material, with the exception of where siding or shingles overlap between the shingles. Use epoxy filler for any major repairs in the woodwork. Knots in the wood, old paint or old wood stains should be covered with stain blocking primer. Mildewed areas can also be covered with this stain blocking primer. When using primer on mildew, be aware that there are special primers with additives specifically designed to treat mildew problems. Sand all smooth and glossy surfaces carefully. This will ensure that the paint will adhere to the surface. Remove any dust and debris thoroughly after.

Before painting, make sure that you remove or cover all surfaces that are not to be painted like light fixtures, window screens, electrical covers, plumbing outlets and others. Protect the floor, driveway, the car and even the plants. You can use old cloths or newspaper. Next is to apply primer to all raw surfaces. Be aware that paint, metal, wood and stucco require different types of primers. Let the primer coat dry thoroughly before applying the paint. When applying multiple coats of paint, be sure to allow each of the coats to dry before applying the next. Carefully follow the recommendations and instructions of the manufacturer when applying the paint. A brush should be used to paint all woodwork and a sprayer or roller can be used for the rest. Lastly, allow the last coat of paint to dry and stand back to admire your newly repainted home and see the big difference.