Exterior Painting Technique

A fresh coat of paint is one of the best ways to make the outside of your house look better. Before you start painting, make sure you've thouroughly prepped the exterior. Depending on how big your house is, the job might take a few days to complete, so watch the weather forecast, and make sure it will be clear for a few days

First you'll want to gather a few supplies. These include:

exterior paint
stir sticks
rollers
roller covers
brushes
rollerg grid
drop cloths
buckets for mixing
rope
ladder hooks
towels
masking supplies
plastic wrap

To figure out how much paint you need, calculate the square footage of each side of your house - typically a high quality paint will cover about 400 square feet. If you need help, consider getting a quote from a local painting company, then just copy over the calculations for your own estimate. Make sure you buy enough to cover two thin coats - and I'd recommend using an acrylic latex-based paint because it dries more quickly, cleans up with water, and is resistant to fading. Be sure to cover any plants or garden beds near your work area, then just move the drop cloth around as you move your way through the house. It's best to paint from top down, and side to side.

If you need to take your tools with you, use an extra 5 gallon bucket and the rope to easily access your supplies while up on the ladder. I like to keep an extra dry brush with me - any case I see any dust or debris on the painting service.

Whether planning to use a brush or roller for the bulk of the surface area, start with a brush and paint a few inches around the trim - don't forget the bottom edge of the siding. If you're going to use a brush, work only as far as you can reach at a time, apply the paint in even strokes, and always finish back into the wet paint, or back brush. Dont lay the paint on too thick, or it will drip, or won't dry completely - it's best to do two thin coats for maximum coverage.

Using a roller, apply the paint to the face - but don't overload, just enough to cover the siding. You can also a roller grid in your bucket to load the right amount of paint onto the roller. Once youve covered a small section, lightly go across it again with the roller to feather out any excess paint - keep working from side to side, top to bottom, until all the siding on one side is painted - then move on to the next side of the house.

If you need to take a break, use the plastic wrap to cover your brushes or rollers and keep them out of direct sunlight. Once the paint on the siding has dried, it's time to move on to the trim. Use masking tape to cover the edges of the siding, and using a trim brush, work from the top down - dont forrget to finish you strokes back into the paint. After two light coats, remove your masking tape. While the paint is drying, pass over the remainder of the home to check for any missed spots or poor coverage.

Now that you've finished, it's time for clean up. Check the paint can for any specific instructions, but general guidelines include rinsing thoroughly under a heavy flow of water (like a hose) or following instructions on the back of paint thinner or acetone - dilution is typically a good idea.

Removing Wallpaper

Prior to beginning keep in mind wallpaper removing might be labor intensive plus could potentially cause severe damage to the outer surface. Almost all removal damage is due to the deficiency of any wallpaper primer before the walls were wallpapered, contributing to the adhesive becoming soaked up into the dry wall. The top layers of wallboard (paper) should try and break away with the wallpaper backing. If this occurs throughout substantial areas, phone an expert.

There are lots of varieties of wallpaper available today. Many are dry stripable, solid vinyl and also textile backed papers will be able to ordinarily be taken off by merely pulling them from the wall without the need of wetting.

Most commercial wall papers will be in the " vinyl coated "kind. Vinyl fabric covered wallpapers tend to be the most common on residential dwellings. The vinyl fabric face of such papers is commonly dry stripable and thus the face area will probably separate and then leave just the paper backing on the wall. Start by removing as much of the vinyl fabric face as is possible. Look for a unfastened corner, you may need a putty knife or scraper to get started.

Once all of the vinyl fabric face is taken away the paper backing must also get taken out. The paper backing will need a moistened removal. Load a 5 gal bucket to roughly 50 percent full with tepid to warm water, add roughly a cap full of fabric softener. Shut off the electric source to the room. Put on this mixture on the wall using a paint roller or even garden sprayer, a cloth or sponge can be utilized in corners. Wet a four to five ft section of the wall and ensure your wall section is soaked with the solution for approximately  ten minutes. Take out the wet backing with a four or 6 inch putty knife or scraper.

Once the backing is detached finish cleaning up your wall surface with a hand sponge along with fresh solution of garment softener and heated water. Allow the wall surfaces to dry out and then apply a wallpaper primer coat if you are planning to re- wallpaper your room. If you intend to paint, put on a good acrylic primer on the wall surfaces well before painting them.