;)
Exterior House Painting and the Importance of a Good Scrubbing
Posted by GuestPoster in -Home Improvement
There are so many steps to take into account when planning an exterior house painting project. The painting, of course, but that’s more the middle of the project, as the clean up is at the end. Before the actual painting can start, before a paint brush ever dips into a lush can of paint or a roller rolls across a wall, there’s the preparation stage—getting the outside of the house ready to paint.
How long it’s been since you’ve painted the outside of your home determines how long it will take to get the boards ready for painting. If it’s been a while, you’ll need to do things like replace loose, rusted nails, fix sagging soffits, scrape away loose paint and sand, and replace any boards that have rotted or have insect damage. Prior to this, however, at the very beginning of your exterior house painting project, you’ll need to give your house a thorough scrubbing.
The joys of power washing
Before you grab a bucket of sudsy water and a scrub brush and have at it, you might want to consider the joy of using a good power washer. Power washing the exterior boards of your house might be the single most important part of preparing your home for your exterior house painting project. Years of weather drives dirt particles, debris, grime, minerals and rust stains into every crack and nook and cranny. Power washing blasts the surface of the boards and removes particles that can keep the paint from adhering to the siding. It also eliminates mold, mildew and algae that can break down and rot boards after time.
Do it yourself or hire a pro?
Renting a power washer to do the scrubbing yourself will save you money, but in the long run, hiring a professional might just save your exterior house painting project. If you’ve never handled a power before, you can actually damage the siding. The high pressure water that exits the water jet can be difficult to handle and can actually mar the wood if not operated correctly. The pressure from the nozzle can tear skin and cause serious injury, not to mention the wand itself has a pretty powerful kick. Imagine standing on a ladder and trying to use something that can kick like a mule if not handled properly.
A professional understands how important it is to use the right equipment for the right job. He’s well trained and experienced with the pressure from the washer and knows the correct psi, water temperature and cleaning solutions to use that won’t damage the siding. He can even remove some of the loose paint and cut down on the scraping and sanding.
A power washer in the right hands is an effective tool to use on your exterior house painting project. A professional like CertaPro Painters can wash the siding in a matter of hours instead of days, saving you time, energy, money, and a bottle of antiseptic.
;)
;)
;)
