Exterior House Painter In Cork: How To Paint The Exterior Of Your House in Cork
Exterior House Painter In Cork step-by-step instruction and tips
Yes, it’s that time of the year again; you look at your house and think it needs a lick of paint again, but how and where to start keep reading, and I’ll show you the steps of painting the exterior of your home. And if by the end of this article, you think that you won’t be able to do the painting yourself, I can recommend the exterior house painter in Cork to help you with your project.
Exterior House Painter And Decorator in Cork tools and materials
If you just live in a bungalow, you’re lucky because you won’t need many ladders and scaffolding to paint your exterior walls, you’ll be able to handle most of the work with just a step ladder. But if you own a 2 or 3-story house, you’d need a long two-piece extension ladder or aluminium tower, which you could hire from a place like Carey Tool in Cork.
You would also need a 3-inch paintbrush, a painting roller with an extension pole to reach the top of the wall, and a painting scuttle. Don’t forget to get some drop clothes to cover your footpath and driveway around the house to protect it from paint splashes and drops.
Exterior House Painting in Cork choosing the right paint
My personal choice of paint for exterior painting in Cork is Dulux weathershield or Johnstone’s stormshield; this is a very good quality paint, and if you buy it in Woodies, sometimes you can come across a good offer and get it much cheaper than in paint shops. And if you have more money to spend on paint I recommend Colourtrend which is a very good pain too.
Now you ask me how much paint you’d need to paint your home, If you own a two-story house and you’re changing the colours of your exterior walls you’d need to apply two coats of paint on it, in that way, you’d need about 10 litres for each side of the house,if you live in a semi-detached house you’d need about 30 liters of paint for the walls and about 5 litres of paint in a different color for windowsills, reveals and trim.
Exterior house painters in Cork preparing and priming
So you have all your tools, ladders, and paint ready to do the job, Now look at the soffit and fascia of your house, is it clean? Most of the time you can just wipe it with a wet cloth to bring it back to its original appearance, but if you think that it looks really dirty, you should think about power washing the exterior of your house.
Now that we got that out of the way, your house is clean, inspect your walls for damages, holes, and cracks, use exterior wall filler over any of them, and once the filler is dry, sand it down with the sandpaper.
To protect your windows and front door from paint splashes, use masking tape and pre-taped masking film.
If the exterior walls of your house are new or have never been painted before, you’ll have to use a coat of primer first and then give them two coats of paint.
Exterior Residential Painter in Cork applying paint on the walls
Now grab your paint roller and attach an extension pole to it, open a bucket of paint and stir it well this is a very important step, add some exterior paint in your scuttle, dip the roller in it, and start painting the walls of the house, watch for the drips and runs on the walls, if you see any smooth them out with the roller or a brush. Use the paintbrush in the areas where the roller can’t reach, after applying the first coat of paint wait a couple of hours for the paint to dry, and then apply the second coat of paint.
Now that the house’s walls are painted, do the window seal and the trim.
Exterior Painting Services in Cork how to paint gates
The house’s front gate is usually the first thing people see when they visit you, which means you have to keep it in good shape.
If the gate is made of wood use the exterior paint that is made especially for the wood, same story with the gates that are made of metal you’d have to use a special paint for metal, I personally prefer to use oil-based paints they are more durable.
Before you apply paint on the gate give the gate a good rub with sandpaper and then clean the dust off with a cloth. Now the gates are ready for painting, apply one or two coats of paint until you reach desired results. Remember if you’re using oil-based paint you’ll have to wait until the next day to apply the second coat, and with the water-based paint you can do two coats of paint a day.
Exterior House Painter in Cork How to paint pebbledash walls
About 50% of the houses in Cork have pebbledash walls which are not very easy to paint because of the rough surface of the walls. You’d need to get a fluffy paint roller with at least a 1.5-inch nap and a 4-inch paintbrush to do this job. First, you’ll have to put on one coat of primer on the walls, The fluffy paint roller will help you to get most of the surface but you really have to put your back into it, use the 4-inch brush in the areas that you couldn’t get with the roller, this is not an easy job and it’ll make you sweat, so if you think that you won’t be able to handle a job like this I recommend you to hire an exterior house painter in Cork to save you the trouble doing it yourself.
Now, that you’ve put on the first coat of primer on your exterior walls; give it a few hours to dry and then use the same method to apply another two coats of paint on the walls.
Painting pebbledash walls is a very messy job, so cover all the ground around the work area with the drop clothes.
Professional exterior painter in Cork how to clean your gear
Once you’ve finished painting the walls and you’re happy with the results it’s time to clean your paint rollers and brushes. Grab yourself a bucket of clean water and clean your gear in there, change the water when needed, using the brush comb will make this job much easier for you.
To clean your paint brushes after the oil-based paint you’d need to use white spirit, pour a small amount of white spirit into a small container, and deep your paintbrush in it, It’ll help to wear rubber gloves so you can use your hands to clean the brush bristles, change the white spirit in the container a couple of times while you clean the brush and that should do now your paintbrushes are clean.
Now when the exterior of your house is done, and your place looks fantastic again, you might think that it’s time to upgrade the interior of your house. Still, you feel tired and think you can’t handle the job on your own; in that way, I recommend hiring an interior house painter in Cork who can help you make your life easier.
Exterior House Painters And Decorators in Cork Frequently asked questions
How often should I paint the exterior of my house in Cork
- Although a good quality paint job can last you for quite a long time I still recommend keeping on top of it and painting your house every three-four years, wait to see the paint starts peeling off and cracking on your exterior walls and fencing.
Can I paint the exterior of my house during the wintertime
Yes, you can but only if you have to; otherwise I wouldn’t recommend doing any exterior painting during Irish winter.
If you want a 100% job wait till summertime when it’s warm and dry, basically you need your exterior walls to be dry when you apply the paint on them.
Do I need to hire a professional exterior house painter in Cork
If you’re not afraid of heights and can find a few free days in your schedule you can paint the house yourself, which I think only some of us have, that’s why we need the help of professional painters.
Advantages of using high-quality exterior paint
Yes, there is a big difference between using high-quality paint and cheap exterior paint, my choice is Dulux weathershield exterior paint or Johnstone’s stormshield for exterior walls, these are very good quality paints you can rely on.
How long does it take to paint the exterior of a house in Cork
Roughly it takes about four days to paint a two-story house applying two coats of paint on the walls.
Exterior House Painter in Cork summary
While painting the exterior of your house can be a DIY project, hiring an exterior house painter in Cork can ensure that the job will be done with a high-quality finish that will last much longer.
The professionals have the expertise, experience, and the right equipment to do a better job; they know which paint will suit your house better, saving you time and money in the long run.
