Exterior Painting — DIY or Should I hire professionals?

Do It Yourself Exterior Painting or Hire Professionals?

Like any other part of your home, the exterior requires a little maintenance every now and again. The same way you clean the inside of your home weekly, or cut the grass and trim the hedges on the weekends, you should also look after the outside of your home to make sure it will continue to protect against the elements as long as it’s supposed to. But no matter how much upkeep you do eventually your exterior paint will reach the end of its lifespan. It’ll fade, crack, chip and make your beloved home look generally unkempt. You don’t want that.

The easiest way to get a fresh start with you exterior is to have it repainted. And the quickest way to renew your home’s barrier protection from the elements while giving it a brand new, squeaky clean appearance is by giving it a fresh coat of exterior paint. See what we’re getting at? Your home probably needs a new bit of paint. That and regular paint touch-ups will help to keep your home’s exterior in tip top shape.

Obviously the next step after deciding to paint your exterior is figuring out who is going to be the one to do it. You’ll have to figure out if you’re going to hire the professionals who do these kinds of things for a living, or if you’re determined to tackle the project yourself. Really, either way, it’s going to get done right? (In the case of DIY, we say hopefully.) But honestly, there are pros and cons to each, and you’ve just got to figure out which will work better for you.

Pros of D.I.Y

If you are the kind of person that regularly does their own home’s improvement projects then maybe painting the exterior of your home might not be that big of a deal for you. You might do it to save money, and you might do it simply for the reason of it being the kind of thing you do around your home anyway, but you should also keep in mind that there are other factors that will be at play.

And if this isn’t the kind of thing you normally do, like if you have to watch ten YouTube videos and read five or six articles, then there are going to be a lot more things to think about before you climb on that ladder.

The pros of DIY are that you’re doing it yourself. It’ll be done on your time, to the specifications that you set for yourself and maybe (it’s definitely not a given) you’ll save a little bit of money. Its hard work, but some people will be able to enjoy the fact that they can sit back and say they tackled it all on their own. You also don’t have to deal with very many people outside of yourself to get the project done. You won’t have to deal with finding and hiring someone, you’ll just have to talk to the people at the paint counter at the store.

If you have experience with house painting, by which we mean if you are a good painter with the ability to paint straight lines and cut clean corners, and if on top of that you have the time and energy for such a job, then by all means do a DIY exterior painting project. But read the cons before you get started because the only real benefit is the saving money part, and you might not even manage to do that.

Cons of D.I.Y

The cons of DIY are many, and that’s really why we have professional painters as a professional business field. Painting, especially exterior painting, has a surprising number of requirements to ensure you get the best job.

The biggest con of DIY painting is the look. If you don’t paint for a living you’re just not going to do as good of a job as a professional. It’s harsh, but that’s the truth. Inexperienced, and sometimes even experienced, homeowner paintjobs look incomplete and messy, whether there is paint where it shouldn’t be or it looks thin because only one coat was applied before the D.I.Y-er decided they were done. And if improper preparation techniques were used, it won’t look good no matter what.

Another thing is that without proper prep, the painting done is useless. It won’t last very long because the point of prep is getting it to last. When it comes to lasting very long and D.I.Y, that’s about how long an exterior painting project can take for a homeowner. Painting on evenings and weekends after work and family obligations is just difficult and a job that could take about a week will end up taking about one to two months. So not only would you be working doubly hard all that time, your home will look like an in-between mess the whole time you’re working.

If you mess up enough or paint it and decide you hate it, you may have to end up hiring a professional exterior painter anyway and then you’ll have to say goodbye to that money you thought you were saving. And what’s even more expensive than mistakes? Accidents after you fall off of your ladder trying to paint higher spots.

Pros of Hiring Professionals

Hiring professionals has as many pros as D.I.Y has cons. In fact, let’s go in order of our listed cons and see how it turns in to a positive when professional exterior painters are involved. With professional painters who have experience, know-how and tools, you get a job that looks amazing. You get a job that looks professionally done and a job that has been professionally prepped so that it will last as long as it’s supposed to. Your home will for sure get two coats of paint and not be dropped halfway through.

Professional exterior painters are also great because the only thing they’re doing is focusing on your house. They don’t have those other work obligations because this is their work. You’re home that can take two months to paint yourself, can take them a little over a week. Also while you have to work alone, they have a team to ensure the work goes as quickly as possible while still maintaining the integrity of the job.

Hiring professional exterior painters means that mess ups are taken care of, and that more money doesn’t have to come out of your pocket unexpectedly (except for in extreme cases). It means that if someone falls off of a ladder, the company’s insurance covers it, so not only are you kept safe, you’re kept protected. It means a paint job that is beautiful and timely done with quality materials you wouldn’t have had access to otherwise and one that you don’t have to worry about at all from start to finish.

Cons of Hiring Professionals

The cons of hiring professionals are virtually nonexistent as long as you’re careful of your selection in your exterior painters. Worst case scenario you get bad painters who skip town and don’t finish your job. But this is easily avoidable if you go with a reputable company that’s been around for a long time and can show you examples of their past work. Be sure to check the company out completely as you would for anyone you hire, and you should have a smooth project that leaves you feeling pleased.

We offer free estimates! To get your free estimate or if you want to learn more about our Orlando, FL exterior painters, contact us here or call us today at 407.256.8610.