Painting the exterior of your home is likely a lengthy project. There are several steps to properly prepare your home’s exterior to be painted such as properly washing your home’s interior, removing the old, already-existing paint, applying caulk to any cracked seems or between clapboards, repairing any areas of the home that may be rotted or damaged, applying primer to ensure there are an air and moisture-tight barriers between the house and the paint, and, last but not least, trimming any landscaping that may interfere with the application of the new-and-exciting paint. Roadblocks and inconveniences are likely to come up if any of these steps are not carried out properly, resulting in a poor finished product.
Below are a handful of signs that will help you determine if your exterior painter is cutting corners or not.
Using Cheap Products
Quality paint is not cheap and can range from $35-$70 per gallon, depending on the specific kind. There are several benefits to buying quality paint such as lifetime warranties and the fact that worthy paint lasts much longer when compared to average, run-of-the-mill paint. One great tip to determine if your exterior painter is cutting corners is to ask about the kind of paint they plan to use. when asking this, keep in mind that the top-performing brands of paint include Behr Premium Plus exterior paint, Sherwin Williams Duration exterior paint, and Benjamin Moore exterior paint.
If the painting professional does not use these brands, it is recommended that you request them to. Along with that, if they mention using paint that is not 100% acrylic, consider that a red flag. If the prospective painter is unwilling to tell you which types of paint they plan to use, it is likely that they’re planning to use cheap and low-quality paint in order to cut costs. This will result in a finished product that will need to be repainted in a couple years, as opposed to lasting 8-12 years.
Poor Preparation
As mentioned above, there are numerous steps to prepare the exterior of your home to be painted. This preparation process is typically tedious and time-consuming, making it easy to cheap out on. Because many exterior painters charge by the hour, it is important to have a solid understanding of how much time it will take to properly prepare the exterior of your home to be painted. If your home has already-existing paint that will need to be scraped off and thoroughly sanded, the process can last anywhere from a few hours to a day, depending on the size of the home.
If the prospective painter claims that your home will not take long to prepare for paint, be sure to ask he/she to elaborate. Rushing the preparation process will almost always result in inconveniences down the road such as the need to completely repaint certain areas of the home or completely redo the entire project from start-to-finish. Keep in mind, paint will only adhere well to surfaces that are clean, dry, and not peeling. There are numerous materials needed to appropriately wash and remove loose, already-existing paint such as
- Scrub Brushes
- Detergent
- Pressure Washer Rentals
- Disk Power Sanders Rentals
- Caulking Filler
- Wood Replenishing Products (if necessary)
- 60-grit and 100-grit sandpaper (or whichever grit would be most effective for the exterior of your home)
- Paint-scraping utensils
By having an upfront understanding of the total cost of materials before beginning the exterior painting project, you can likely avoid cost or communication-related issues down the road when the project is already started.
Applying Minimal Coats of Paint
Ask your prospective exterior painter about their primer and process of applying the exterior paint. Typically, exterior painters use primer mixed with the exterior paint in order to minimize the need for more than one coat of final paint.
Other exterior painters opt to tint the primer of a contrasting color in order to highlight areas that have not been fully covered by the final coat. By asking the prospective exterior painter exactly how much paint will be needed to cover the entire exterior of your home with two coats and how he/she plans to apply the primer, you’re likely to remain on the same page with one another.
Using Improper Techniques
If you’re unfamiliar with the painting process, be sure to do your research. There are dozens of online resources to help you understand exterior painting best practices and what red flags look like regarding inexperienced painters that are only looking for a quick dollar.
Typically, exterior painting projects begin with painting the top of the home, along with any overhangs or gutters to ensure no fresh paint will drip onto newly painted surfaces. Siding, window trim, and door trim are generally covered afterward. Along with that, touch-ups are common when it comes to exterior painting, so be sure to press for details as far as what his or her touch-up process looks like. If you’re skeptical of the technique that your prospective exterior painter plans to carry out, be sure to press for details such as why he plans to use a different technique than nearly every other exterior painting professional.
Lack of Protection
If your prospective exterior painter is in a rush in hopes of saving time, there’s a good chance nearby gardens, trees, shrubs, patios, vehicles, and porches will be subject to paint splattering, overspray, and spills. This will likely result in large and inconvenient cleanup issues later down the road. It is recommended that you are better off safe than sorry. With this being said, be sure that drop cloths and plastic sheets are in place in any areas that could be subject to the aforementioned paint splattering, overspray, or spilling.
If you feel as though certain project-related details aren’t adding up, it is recommended that you request in-depth bids from other professional painting companies or contractors. When talking with the other companies and contractors, be sure to express aspects in which you’re concerned with, and how the other professionals will be able to address the areas of concern. Along with that, it is also recommended that you contact the professionals’ past few customers in order to verify satisfaction and customer recommendation.
Raleigh Area Exterior Painters
In conclusion, there are many ways to determine if you exterior painter is being dishonest and cutting corners. By developing a solid understanding of which products are cheap and which are top-notch, how the exterior of your home should be prepared to be painted, how many layers of paint is considered adequate and best practice, and how to properly protect nearby areas from paint splatter, overspray, and spilling, you’ll likely be able to have the exterior of your home painted as smoothly as possible with no roadblocks, communication issues, or surprises is start-to-finish costs.
When you choose Osborne Painting for as your painting contractor in Raleigh, Cary, Durham, or Chapel Hill, for any of your interior or exterior painting, refinishing or restoration needs, we guarantee you’ll receive the best service possible — we like to refer to it as “The Osborne Painting Difference”.
Please contact us today for your free estimate by giving us a call at 919-878-6611 or fill out our easy-to-use contact form.