I am painting my home's exterior myself. First home. First exterior paint job. Eep...
Today marks the beginning of Operation: Exterior Paint Job. My neighbors are helping me with my house, and I'm helping with theirs. I'm doing this myself, rather than hiring it out, for a few reasons:
- the "winning bidder" painter who's doing several other cottages in the complex is doing a single-coat paint job with a sprayer (when using a sprayer to apply paint, the paint is thinned with water so that it will go through the nozzle. This means that 1 coat with a brush = 3 coats with a sprayer. More sprayed-on coats, when it's truly a quality paint.)
- this same winning bidder is doing zero prep work. No scraping, no sanding, just covering the windows with plastic, covering the nearby cars to catch any overspray (though not too well), and hasn't powerwashed all of the units they've done thus far.
- for this bid, people are paying nearly $1000. I can buy the paint, primer, caulking, brushes, sanding blocks, painter's tape, and dust masks for half that...which just leaves the labor costs.
- by doing it myself, I get to learn about how to take care of my house (and learn where any potential weak spots are, et cetera et cetera)
The paint I'm using is very thick, has excellent UV-fade protection, is guaranteed against warping/bubbling/cracking/peeling when applied according to the manufacturer's instructions (another reason not to use Winning Bidder), and is in a color I like. My house will no longer be a candy-colored / bright pastel monstrosity.
Prep work will probably take until the end of June. I'm going to have some help from the neighbors; but for the most part I think I'll do as much of the lower-story and porch prep work as possible. (They're also lending me their great big tall ladder to paint the upper story, their homeowner expertise, and their son who has graciously said that he'll help paint the upper story. Which means I get to be a big ol' baby and keep my feet firmly planted on the ground :D ) Today I'm going to countersink some nails, which the builder didn't bother to hammer in completely. Then I'll need to smooth caulking over the nail holes to make the surface even. I should be able to get that done before I fly to my parents' place on Thursday, for a little visit.
Posted by Laughing Muse • 318 views • Share this link • Newer • Older
