The Various Preparatory Costs Included In The Total Exterior Painting Cost

By Author: Kathy Brook
Total Articles: 4
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A good paint can add a value of thousands of dollars to a home, but at the same time, the cost involved in undertaking this exterior painting can also be pretty high. Therefore, many people opt for doing this exterior painting themselves and thus saving on a major exterior painting cost in the form of labor. However, before one starts the actual painting process, there are certain preparatory activities which he or she needs to undertake first.

If these preparatory activities are not done properly, then the overall decorating cost of your exterior walls can increase drastically. Thus, before you decide to paint the exterior of your house, make sure that you are well aware of these preparatory activities and do them properly.

Remove Blockages

It is very important for a good painting job that you are able to reach the wall comfortably and have full uninterrupted access to it. In order to ensure this, the first preparatory activity which one needs to undertake is to remove all the blockages, such as window boxes, shutters, house number ad name plates, etc. from the wall. Once all these items have been removed ...
... from the wall, the painter will get a smooth wall on which he can make long and straight strokes without any disruptions.

Protective Drops

Once the above step has been completed, the next step is to place a protective drop cloth on the areas where the current paint and stains on the wall are going to be removed and scrapped.

Surface Preparation

The next and a very crucial step in the painting preparatory process is making the surface of the wall, which is to be painted, smooth, dull and dry. For this, all the dirt and foreign matter settled on the wall is removed and if there are any cracks or holes in the wall, the same are taken care of. There are many techniques which can be used for the removal of the old paint and smoothening of the wall surface. The choice of the method will depend on the size of the all, the damage that is present on the wall and also on the type of damage to which the wall has been subjected to. Some of the common methods which are used for this purpose are:

- Pressure washers are used for the removal of dust and foreign matter from the wall.
- Scraping can be done using a wire brush or a wide blade, but this is effective only when small areas of paint have to be removed.
- Sandpapers are used for the smoothening of the surface. This is generally done after all the scraping work has been completed.
- For exterior stains, on which scraping, paint removers, etc. do not work, bleach can be used for lightening of the stain and it will also not cause any damage to the wood.

Thus, it is obvious that the preparatory cost involved in the total exterior painting cost is pretty high, but this is something which cannot be missed or not done, of you are going to paint the exteriors of your house, you will first have to undertake all of the above preparatory activities first.

Kathy Brook works for a company which is involved in the business of providing the services of the exterior as well as interior painting of homes. The exterior painting cost and the decorating cost, if not managed well, can end up going way beyond the budget. Therefore, it is important that a professional is hired, who has complete knowledge about the job and is fairly priced as well.