How do you paint a house? What equipment is best? It is a small ranch.?
Question:Which paint is best to use and what equipment would I need?
Answers:
Tapestry just about has it right. You want to power wash it first. Power washing first will save a lot of work because it will in fact remove most of the loose paint for you. The scraping is more to help with getting rid of ridges from the loose to adhered paint. One thing you have to be very careful of though and that is power washing too much. Say that for instance you had wood siding. If you over wash or have the spray in intense it will fray the wood and when you paint it, it will look horrible.
I say this from experience. I ended up having to actually sand the siding to reduce the impact of the frayed wood.
I would work it like this:
Get help to move things around for you so when you start you can concentrate on what you are doing with the sprayer. Laying down plastic tarps is a must. When it comes time for cleanup you will be SO glad you did. Friday afternoon power spray. A one story home shouldn't take more than 3-4 hours.
Before beginning to spray the best thing is to evaluate the best place to start based on where you want the hose to end up. I personally found that going to the furthest reach was better. That way you not walking over what you've just gotten wet and slippery etc. You get the idea.
It's unlikely you'll need a ladder but if you do... again you must be careful that you don't get the sprayer head to close to the siding or you can gouge it.
Saturday you can spend scraping while everything is drying. Tape plastic over anything you don't want paint on. Even things that are several feet away could be susceptible
You can also read the paint sprayer operation manual and get what to expect.
The Painting: Depending on WEATHER ...ha ha or not its dry or not yet that day you could get done painting with the sprayer that same day.
Do Not Buy one of sprayers they always show how easy it is to use on the fence in the back yard. I paid over a hundred bucks for one and spent most of the time unclogging the thing.
Rent a machine that will allow you to use 5-gallon pails of paint. You won't buy 5-gallon cans of paint but if you rent a machine that will allow 5-gallon pails to be used, you can bet it will through some paint.
Again plan ahead...tarps the whole shot. Learn from what went wrong with the power sprayer activity, if anything. Make sure the surface is dry (no dew or wet in any way) If memory serves me, the temperature needs to be 55 degrees or better
As far as what kind of paint…I used a product called “Flood” paint. I was extremely happy with the outcome. It’s only going on the 3rd year but I’m favorably impressed so far.
There were 2 of us working together and we did a 2-½ story, 3000 sq. ft. Octagon house in 3 days. That included replacing about a hundred feet of siding and using two 32-foot ladders and ladders jacks.
You won’t believe how little time you actually spent painting.
I was quoted a price of $8000.00 to have someone come in to paint it for me.
After buying all the equipment (not renting) I spent less than $1000.00 and I’m sure it done better than if I’d had it done.
Good luck!
Preparation is more than half the battle of painting a house!
Go over the entire house to see if there is any dry rot and replace any boards, then scrap any flakes off (usually found around windows and under eaves. Next step rent a power wash from a rental supply and power wash your whole house and let dry 24 hours.
A good sturdy ladder is an absolute must!! They can also be rented. If this is a one story it should take too long if you rent a paint sprayer for the bulk of the house. Use those sponge brushes for the detail work around the windows and doors.
It took professionals 5 days to do our 2 story house but it was done right and looks great. A one story would most likely take a full weekend.
Always clean the siding really good before painting, thats a must!!
There are two methods of cleaning siding
1. with a pressure washer
2. by hand with a brush and lots of tsp.
I recommened the brush, like a long handeled one you'd use to clean an rv.
You may need to strip the paint if you have many layers. I suggest striping it before you clean. if you strip it all off you will be down to bare wood. Paint will adhere to that better then it will an old under coat.
Use an old or cheapie 4" brush and lots of paint striper to strip the paint. It will take some time but its worth it. Do remember also that if you have lead paint you may have to call in an expert to strip it.
You will need a method of traping the paint that falls off. You can use old blankets, tarps or whatever, just do not let it soak into the ground.
Use quality paint striper! Get comercial paint striper do not use that cheapie hardware stuff. You will need 3-5 gallons of the stuff depending on the size of this building.
For painting just use a 4" brush and long strokes from side to side and a 2" brush for corners and cracks where the siding joins.
Use a 4" brush for most of the painting, do not use rollers. Buy the most expensive brush you can find and keep the brush extremly clean between applications. Do not let paint build up or become crusty on the paint brush.
You should apply a minumum of 2 coats and the first should be your base coat. If the base coat is visable through the top coat then just add 1 extra coat. let the paint dry between coats, thats a must!
I hope that helps, good luck.
I would only recommend a brush and some paint. When you brush, you are very close to the wood and can see where there is rot, or a place needing caulk. If you use a spray, you might end up with paint everywhere if you don't know how to do it. You can use a roller. Get a really good 4" brush and get to it.
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