How we Painted our House
This was the very first project we tackled in our new Century home! We wanted to brighten it up, and start fresh with new paint.
Before
Before
We are very lucky that Mike’s dad was a professional painter his entire life, and had just retired when we started this project. So we had his expert help and guidance. So first thing’s first, we had to choose a color. Cue Pinterest.
We decided on Gray. But holy moly are there a ton of grays out there… we ended up buying 10 or so samples, painting them on some extra wood and cardboard, and holding them on different sides of the house to compare.
Mike was fairly set on a darker gray, but I wanted as light as possible - something that would be bright, warm and welcoming. We finally landed on the perfect gray! But once we actually started the project, we realized it wasn’t gray at all. I was really disappointed at first, but looking back, I adore the way it turned out, and am glad it’s not so gray!
First thing’s first, you have to pressure wash the house. If you don’t have a pressure washer and don’t want to buy a new one, you can rent one from home depot!
We used an airless sprayer to paint, scaffold, painter’s tape, and lots of protective plastic.
We got all of our paint from Sherwin Williams - make sure you talk to the rep about the material of your exterior before purchasing anything. We had to get a special latex paint for the siding, and a different exterior paint for the brick. We also had a special primer for the brick before painting.
You should always start from the highest point first. So we did the chimney on the other side of the house first. Unfortunately I wasn’t there to help or get pictures, but I’m glad because I probably would’ve had a heart attack watching Mike climb way up there.
See how the color doesn’t look gray at all even next to the brick…
There’s a few key steps that are going to really make a difference. First off taping - you have to tape everything off that won’t be painted - porches, windows, gutters, vents, air conditioning units, and anything else. NEVER CHEAP OUT ON PAINTER’S TAPE. I repeat - never cheap out on painter’s tape! There’s nothing worse than meticulously painting the perfect lines only to ruin it when your tape tears and pulls the paint. Buy the good blue painter’s tape - trust me, it’s worth it.
Check the weather before getting started. You definitely want to make sure there’s no chance of rain.
You need plastic to tape everything off, and I would recommend saving cardboard from all those Amazon purchases to place on the ground so you don’t paint yours grass or plants.
It’s important to not leave the tape on for too long. The paint needs to set for an hour or 2 before you pull it off, but it doesn’t need to be completely dry. As Mike’s dad worked his way around the house, we would start taking the tape off of what he had already done, maybe 60 minutes-ish after he painted it. Just be very careful as you pull the tape so you don’t smudge it.
Make sure you wear old clothes that you’re not afraid to get paint on.
For painting the brick we sprayed one coat of primer then one coat of paint (picture above shows just primer), but we needed to go over it again with a thick roller to make sure we got all of the odd edges and holes in the brick. We used this 1/2 inch roller.
We absolutely love the end result, and we’re so excited to finish the exterior with fresh landscaping and a face lift to the patio.
