Older houses have a charm and personality that new homes cannot ever match. Moreover, they have much appreciated but no longer commonly found details like wooden floors, built-in cupboards, and even idiosyncratic architectural features. However, old homes benefit from periodic maintenance.
Apart from essential repairs of wear and tear, a coat or two of paint can give a fresh lease of life to even the oldest of homes. However, painting an old home can be challenging because you need to maintain its integrity and character. Some handy tips for making your old home painting project easier to handle:
Evaluate the Extent of the Prep
The secret of a good paint job is the prep work that goes into it. Identify areas that require deep cleaning or priming before painting. Ceilings, typically overlooked, need special attention if they have not been cleaned or repaired for a long time. Also, pay special attention to areas requiring repair from water or other kinds of damage on both the exterior and the interior as they will have to be attended to before painting.
Doors, trims, and other woodwork often define the character of older homes, so they might need to be prepped thoroughly by having the existing paint stripped off and the bare wood exposed and smoothened. Not only is prepping time-consuming, but requires expertise and can be costly to do it right. For a better appreciation of the work involved in prepping, visit Surepaint website.
Choose the Right Paint
Older homes typically have many surfaces like exposed brick, plaster walls, wooden paneling, etc. that need you to use the right paint as well the tools to achieve the desired finish and long life. For example, using the wrong paint on brick can take the job longer to complete, while using high gloss paints on the walls is likely to highlight the imperfections in the surface.
If you are planning to paint non-drywalled or unconventional surfaces, it may be a good idea to consult a painting professional to save effort, time, and money in the long run. Even choosing the right shade of paint for older homes can be tricky because you would want to retain the character of the home by using colors appropriate to the era of the construction.
Using colors like classic white, stately charcoal grays or even some of the fresher-looking pastel colors can add to the personality of the house. According to Forbes, you should always paint test patches before deciding on the shade.
Conclusion
While a DIY job may be more fulfilling, you can typically get the best out of your investment by engaging a professional painting company to paint your old home. These companies not only appreciate the challenges of painting older homes but can also solve problems that are not typically encountered in new and modern homes.
An improper prep work, for example, will mean that you would have to repaint within a few years and cost you significantly more in the long run. Professional painting companies not only have the expertise but also the tools and equipment required to the job well and preserve the character of the older home.
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