by Vickie Gross

Created on: August 03, 2011   Last Updated: August 04, 2011

In order to decide how to prep a home's exterior for painting, a structural assessment of the outside of the home is necessary. This walk-around overview will help to assess the job and to address any significant structural damages that may need to be repaired first. Loose, rotted, split, broken, or obvious termite damaged wood should be either repaired or replaced. Location of attached power lines and any other health hazards need to be assessed before the actual prep work begins.

Prepping tools and items:

Prep work will require the use of a slide or safety ladder, various sized paint scrapers or putty blades, wood putty, caulk, rags, rough to fine grit sand papers, painter's tape, steel wool, and more often than not a claw hammer and nails.

Prepping the home's exterior is the most important and yet hardest job in the overall painting process. Attention to detail is just as important, if not more important, during the prepping stage as it is during the painting stage. A well prepped painting surface allows the actual painting process to go much more smoothly than a non-prepped surface that requires constant stop-and-fix defects.

Preparation:

Decide which area will be prepped first. This can either begin with the trim, windows, or walls. Complete one prepping category at a time. This will help to ensure that nothing is overlooked and will save more time and physical energy by not having to constantly stop, kneel, climb, descend, and lug a ladder back and forth.

For this example, starting with the trim, scrape away all loose and flaking paint. Re-sink or remove any protruding nails, staples, or other protrusions accordingly. Use wood putty to fill in any holes, cracks, corner or trim gaps. Sand and smooth each filled area along with any other overly thick spots so that these areas appear smoothed and basically flush with the trim. For metal flanges and roof drains, use steel wool to smooth away any loose or flaking paint, rust and other possible debris. A mouth and nose mask is recommended when encountering paint dust and other fine particle debris.

The walls and windows will follow using the same basic applications as with the trim. The only difference between the trim and window applications will be the inclusion of caulking around the windows when necessary. Wood door frames are treated the same as the wood trim, whereas metal door frames are treated the same as with the metal flanges and roof drains.

Once the exterior preparations have been completed, the painters tape will be used to mask off the detail areas. Place the painters tape along window, door, vent, and garage trims accordingly. If a window has an a/c unit that is not in use, temporarily cover the outside area with a plastic or thick paper covering when prepping and painting near that area.

*Stay alert and stay alive: Use caution when setting, climbing, or carrying a ladder, especially around power lines. A utility belt made of thick leather is recommended when using nails and other sharp metals while standing on a ladder. Prepping a home's exterior for painting can become tedious so take the preparations in stages and keep yourself prepared by taking breaks and staying alert.

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