Selecting The Best Exterior Paint For Your Home

Exterior paint serves two main roles. First, it is designed to shield you entire home exterior. Quality paint defends your home from the harsh environmental conditions such as sunlight, temperature fluctuations, rain, and moisture from humidity. In North Haven all of these are important factors when deciding upon the right paint for your house. Second, a new coat of paint can transform your home's exterior into a brand new look that instantly adds value to your property and improves your home's curb appeal. With all the varieties of exterior paint available on the market today, it's important to choose the right product for your home's exterior surface.

Consider Color Wisely

Believe it or not, many homeowners do not give as much thought as to what color they're going to paint their house as you would think. Many homeowners either paint the house the same color it was or they may pick what's popular at the time. Remember, however, that the colors you choose for your home exterior will define you as a person. So take some time to choose colors that accurately reflect who you are. If you naturally gravitate toward neutral tones and warm colors, then put it on your house. If you like bold reds, oranges, or greens, however, then find a great shade for your exterior. You ultimately have to live with the decision long term, so make sure it's one that you can be excited about for at least 5-7 years.

Surface Preparation

Most homeowners think that new paint can be applied over the old paint and provide the same seal and protection. While it is possible to paint over your interior walls, this should never be done around the outside of your home. Even the best paint on the market will not properly stick to the old paint. So asking a professional painter to skip this step in order to save time or money will inevitably end in disaster. Surfaces should be stained and scraped in order to remove the old paint so that a fresh new coat can be properly applied. This will give a fresh new professional look that is unparalleled and virtually guarantee that your paint job will last as long as it should.

Set The Stage with Primer

Home surfaces like bare wood or siding require a solid primer as a base before applying the paint. Primers come in oil and water base with several varieties to choose from. Although a water based primer is perfectly acceptable in many situations, Oil based primers work best with stained wood and metal surfaces. There are also designated primers for other certain types of wood frames, concrete and even steel, iron, and aluminum. What this means is that for any home you may be looking at 3-5 different types of primer or paint in order to complete the job.

Water and Oil Based Pain

Just as primer is available in water and oil, so is paint. Selecting the right type of paint is absolutely critical as this will give you the right results in the long run. Exterior paint has to withstand all the extremes that mother nature can throw at it. Paint has a special mixture that is specifically designed for all the components of your home. For instance, there is gutter paint that adheres to steel and aluminum which are often what gutters are made of. If your home is protected by vinyl siding, then there are oil and latex products that apply perfectly to vinyl surfaces. If your home is made of brick, concrete, stucco, cement or shingles, then this requires a very different type of paint. You also need to consider roof paint, and of course, various stains for your deck or porch.