Upgrade Your Home for Less in Any Season

A fresh coat of paint easily and affordably refreshes the look and feel of your home. Our Lansing painters know firsthand that many people prefer completing home remodels during the summertime, since harsher weather and snow can halt progress. However, when it comes to interior painting, instead of letting the housebound winter months become stale and boring, redecorating and upgrading the look of your home with a new paint color offers the perfect alternative.

Winter painting offers many benefits, including lighting — an invaluable aspect of a quality paint job. The reflection of bright sunlight off snow outside during winter months casts ideal illumination for painting indoors. However, make sure to get an early start on this project to accommodate for the shorter winter days.
Any time you paint, ensure lasting, beautifully painted surfaces through careful preparation. Doing a bit of prep work the day before painting helps the process go as quickly and smoothly as possible. Clean soiled or greasy walls and fill and sand holes or cracks. Dirt, dust, mold or peeling surfaces weaken paint’s ability to adhere — so make sure to properly prepare those surfaces. Failure to do so results in unattractive flaking and chipping paint. Glossy surfaces also require special priming to insure long-term paint adhesion.

Before beginning, remove all decorations, curtains and switch plates, and move furniture away from the walls. Also remember to lay down drop cloths, tape off glass and trim areas and stock up on supplies.

Proper ventilation presents unique challenges during the winter months. When it becomes too cold to open windows for fresh air, fans can be used or windows cracked slightly. Use low or no VOC paints, since these water-based latex paints emit very little of the irritating odors that usually accompany fresh paint. These paints are much gentler and safer than those of the past, even paints from just a few years ago, as there have been many advancements in the technology of paint formulas.

Knowledge and application of these steps will insure a positive and rewarding experience that will bring enjoyable new color and life to your home.

Tips for Exterior Painting

When considering painting the outside of your home, warmer months remain preferable. Keep in mind these three important factors when deciding when to paint the outside of a house: temperature, temperature fluctuations and moisture or humidity.

Do not paint when temperatures drop below 50° (40° with certain premium paints). Paint becomes sensitive to temperature fluctuations between day and night, depending on climate and season. The ideal times for exterior painting — late summer and early fall — minimize the differences between temperatures throughout the course of the day.

On summer days, take care to avoid direct, harsh sunlight and extreme heat, which causes paint to dry too quickly. When this occurs, paint appears visually uneven and brushstrokes become too prominent. The best technique: start on the shaded side of the house and move with the sun.
Pay attention to moisture and humidity levels, as paint only applies properly to dry surfaces. Never apply paint to a house where it has recently rained, as it may require up to a few days to thoroughly dry. Also, paint dries much faster on days with low humidity levels, an important consideration because the longer it takes for paint to dry, the more dust and dirt will accumulate on the wet paint, resulting in a lesser quality paint job. Be sure to check the forecast for the days before and after you intend to paint.

There are a few other ways to maintain an exterior paint job and to maximize your home’s curb appeal. Experts strongly recommended primer for a base coat to smooth out imperfections and to strengthen the paint layered above. Always apply paint in full coats — two coats over primer is preferable — with all surfaces covered completely, leaving nothing exposed, which makes a house more vulnerable to damage and weathering.
Finally, keep the exterior of a home clean in the years following painting by hosing down exterior areas not washed by rain on a yearly basis, and pressure wash the house as a whole after approximately five years. This clears away dirt and mildew that fades and discolors paint. This cleaning also helps prepare for the next time your home will need painting (about every seven to ten years). 

Keep all these factors in mind when planning when to paint your home to ensure a smooth process and a quality application with visual appeal you will enjoy for years to come.

For more information about interior painting from the Lansing painting experts, please contact us here or call us at 888.705.1146.