So, you’ve hired a professional painting company to restore the exterior of your home, and give you a brand new coat of paint that will last for years to come, and keep your property looking bright and beautiful.
Congrats! Hiring a painting contractor will save you quite a bit of time, and ensure that you get the best results.
But what do you need to do to prepare your home for painting? What’s your responsibility, and what’s the responsibility of the painting contractor? In this article, we’ll take a look at a few of the best tips on preparing your home, and getting ready for an exterior painting project.
- Trim Shrubs And Bushes, And Cover
First things first, you should trim all of your bushes and shrubs away from your house. There should be at least 18 inches of clearance, which is usually enough to get a brush or a roller on an area without any issues.
This helps keep your plants safe from stray paint, and makes things easier for your contractors. And, while most contractors will put plastic coverings over your plants and landscaping, you may want to consider doing so yourself, to make sure that your most precious plants are totally protected from paint droppings.
- Check Your Roof For Damage
The painters in Winnipeg, may have to use your roof to access some parts of your house. This is a common practice, even when using scaffolding. So make sure that you check your roof for damage. Check your shingles, gutters, and downspouts. You should take pictures of everything, too.
This has a few benefits. First, it makes sure that your painters are safe during their project, and won’t be in danger of falling due to loose shingles or other problems.
Second, checking your roof every year or two is an important maintenance task, that can help you save money on roof repair and replacement in the long-term.
Finally, if you have photos and notes about the condition of your roof, you will have proof of your roof being damaged, in the rare event that your contractor is careless enough to rip away a few tiles, or cause any other kind of damage.
- Make Some Room In The Driveway
It’s usually more convenient for your painters to park and set up their equipment in your driveway. Consider not using your driveway or garage for the duration of the project, and park on the street instead.
This will make things easier for your contractors, and speed up the project. You also won’t have to risk your car’s paint job, as paint drips or solvents can easily damage your finish.
- Pressure Wash The Exterior Of Your Home
Your painters will be prepping the surface and scraping away exterior paint to provide a great surface for the new paint job, but you don’t want them to have to clean the house. It’s best to let them start off with a relatively clean home.
You can hire a pressure washing service or home washing service. They’ll be able to wash your windows, walls, window treatments, and even your roof, in some cases, to provide your contractors with a fresh “canvas” for their paint.
Don’t want to hire someone else? You can also just rent a pressure washer, and take care of this job yourself. Just take care to use a low pressure setting, to avoid damaging wood, paint, and windows.
- Make Any Major Repairs To The Exterior
Most painting companies don’t handle siding repair, window caulking or restoration, weatherproofing, and other such restorative repairs. And, even if they do, they will likely charge a premium for doing so during a painting job.
We recommend that you hire a handyman or carpenter for any repairs that must be made to the exterior of your home before painting. This is the best way to make sure that the end results are satisfactory, and doing so will likely also save you some money, and prevent project delays.
Follow These Tips – And Your Contractors Will Be Able To Work Efficiently
If you follow these five basic tips, you’ll be able to benefit from a better end result, faster project completion times, and a lower overall project cost when working with a painting contractor.
