Painting your home can be a major undertaking and it is important to get it done right to avoid problems later. Painting a home comes with many difficulties, so it is important to be aware of what the job entails before you get started to ensure that you know when you might need to get help from a professional. The team at Dunbar Painting offers both interior and exterior painting services in the Vancouver area, and we can help you to discern whether you should hire a professional painter for your upcoming project.
Should I Hire a Professional Painter?
There are many things that can go wrong with a painting project when the wrong paint, tools, or techniques are used. Hiring a professional painter can help you to avoid these problems and save time.
Learn more about top interior painting mistakes.
Many professional painters, like the ones at Dunbar Painting, are insured to protect your property and save you money if something goes wrong. The difficulties you might encounter will vary depending on whether you are repainting the interior or exterior of your home. Some of the challenges to consider when deciding whether you can tackle a painting project yourself or should hire a professional include:
Discomfort Working at Heights
Heights are especially common when painting the exterior of a home, but they can also be encountered in home interiors that are open to the second storey. Even if you are mostly comfortable working at heights, a lack of experience with the kind of work that is involved in painting could lead to accidents. Make sure that you know what kind of precautions need to be taken when scraping, sanding, and painting at heights.
Inexperience with Wood Prep Work
If wood is not prepared properly before painting it, the end result will often be flawed. Paint can chip and flake or have the wrong texture when the proper prep work is not observed, or the wood being painted could be damaged.
Missed Details
An extremely high attention to detail is one of the hallmarks of a good professional painter. While many people have this skill, not everyone has the experience to apply it to a painting job. Missed details can leave parts of your home exposed to the elements or cause work to need to be redone.
Uncertainty of What Paint to Use
It is vitally important to use the right paint on both the interior and exterior of your home. There are many different sheens and textures of paint, and the various types of paint are intended to protect different surfaces. It is also important to know what kind of paint to use if the previous surface used an oil-based paint.
Lack of Sprayer Experience
A paint sprayer can help the job go faster and leave fewer mistakes when used correctly. If you are uncomfortable using a paint sprayer it can result in uneven surfaces, dripping, and other issues.
What Parts of My Home can I Paint by Myself?
There are many different areas of a home that are good to paint yourself in order to save money. Fences are often rougher and require paint more frequently than other home surfaces, so most homeowners can paint their fence without encountering difficulties. If you are looking to save money on your home’s paint job, consider painting some of the rooms that are lower in priority, like the garage or basement, and have your professional painter tackle the high-traffic areas. It can also be good to learn to paint surfaces that see a lot of wear and tear, such as exterior stairs, as these can require repainting incredibly frequently.
If you would like to learn more about when to hire a professional painter, please contact Dunbar Painting and we can help you get the information you need to make a good decision for your property.