What Is the Most Important Thing to Consider When Repainting a House?

Preparation

• Preparing the surface to be painted, whether wood or metal, includes such tasks as scraping, cleaning, sanding, taping and priming. A surface that has not been properly prepared is liable to leave you with a bad-looking paint job that begins to flake away too quickly. What people usually don't like about preparation is that it takes time -- sometimes a lot of time, especially if your goal is to paint the exterior of a large house. Keep in mind that the more preparation you make, the more likely you'll be pleased with the final result.

Water Repellent

• D'Amato recommends that bare wood be covered with a paintable water repellent and preservative first. This means that the paint crew needs to scrape off all remains of previous coats of paint, if possible. Even with good paint, untreated wood will decay and rot over time from the effects of water and moisture. Spending a little extra money up front for a good preservative can extend the life of the paint job considerably, which means you won't have to repeat the process for a good, long time.

Double Coat

• It is rare that a single coat of paint leaves you with a finished product. The reality of the job is that you can almost guarantee a second coat will be needed. Here's where a liberal dose of patience comes in, because it's not easy to make yourself go back and repaint everything you just painted. A second coat fills in the thin spots which invariably creep into the project unnoticed, and it also provides an extra layer of protection for the wood or other surface material.

Considerations

• There are other factors to take into account, including the quality of paint and brushes, skill of the painters and what kind of weather is expected in the near future, which is more applicable if the job is outside. Pouring rain and painting is not a combination destined for spectacular success. And as annoying as it may seem, taking the time to tape off window sills and door knobs really will make the finished product look so much better.