Painting a house is not an easy thing to do. Most people hire experts to do the job from start to finish. However, the cost of hiring a professional for a complete repaint is not cheap.
So when repainting your home, you want to make sure your house is in need of repainting before hiring a professional service or spending lots of your precious hours on it.
But how often should you repaint your house? What are the signs that your house needs repainting? And what affects the quality of the paint?
In this article, we’ll discuss all of these things and more.
How Often to Repaint Your Home?
There are several factors that could affect how often you should repaint your home. Factors include:
● Environment
● Location of painted walls
● Type of surface
● Quality of the application of paint
● Quality of paint used
If the paint was painted the right way on a nice, smooth and durable surface to begin with, it does not need constant repainting to maintain its colour.
Hiring a professional painter makes sure of this. Professionals can do a better job at making sure the paint lasts longer than your average Joe. So if you want long-lasting paint, we highly recommend you contact a professional.
This is, of course, provided that you frequently clean your walls and the surface isn’t exposed to dirt and other elements. In such cases, paints usually last a long time.
On average, most houses need to be repainted every 5-10 years or only as needed.
However, there are some things that exacerbate the need for repainting much faster. Some types of wood, for example, have a tendency to peel, while others may rot sooner.
In such cases, replacing the wooden walls would demand a repaint.
Another example is concrete walls. These surfaces have the tendency to crack which would need to be refilled with a compound, therefore, needing paint touch-ups to maintain the aesthetics.
For those of you who aren’t too worried about the small aesthetic issues, then you can get away with not repainting until the whole house is in need of one.
This brings us to our next discussion.
The Right Time to Repaint Your House
When You’re About to Sell or Rent Your House
Fresh paints do a wonderful job of brightening up the home and giving it a fresh start. It has the power to give a house a completely different vibe and is one of the best ways to upgrade the home, cheaply.
That said if you’re looking to sell your house, giving it a breath of new life by repainting may definitely increase its value.
In a slightly different scenario, if you decide to rent your house, giving it fresh paint will make it look new, attract potential tenants fast, and may even rent for more.
Hence, repainting a home when it’s time to sell or rent is paramount to its success.
And while you’re at it, may I recommend that you paint some areas of your exterior like the fence and deck too.
It’s Losing Its Beauty
Sometimes your house just doesn’t have the same pop that it used to when you and your family first live in it. The living room starts to feel unwelcoming, the bathroom walls look disgusting, and the kitchen walls have oil stains.
In such cases, doing a partial repaint of those areas might be a good idea to bring back the beauty of your home.
You Don’t Like the Colour
This might seem like a want than a need, but repainting your house when you don’t like the colour is a good investment.
Here’s why. Most people, especially since lots of people started working from home, are in their house most hours of the day. Isn’t it a good investment to actually love the place you’re in rather than hate it?
In another scenario, If your kids have a favourite colour (in our experience, girls will pick pink and boys blue), wouldn’t it make them happy to have it? They’re not going to be kids forever.
It’s Wearing Down
Not all paints are made the same. In the same way that no surfaces, weather conditions, and quality of application are.
There will be instances that your paint will start to fade and look dirty sooner than the estimated 5-10 years.
If you see your house has lots of cracks, or there’s peeling on the walls, or termites are taking over, then a little touch-up or renovation might be needed. These are all signs that repainting is required.
Making Sure The Paint Stays Long
Now that you’ve learned how often and when you should repaint, let’s find out how to make sure the paint stays for a long time.
● Fix the surface before painting – Never paint over old paint that is peeling, wooden walls that are rotten, and concrete that are cracked.
● Smoothen the surface before repainting – Before painting a surface, sandblast the surface to smoothen it so the paint can stick to it better.
● Clean the surface – painting over dust will surely result in the premature wearing of paint. Make sure to clean the area before you apply any paint.
● Choose the right paint – Your two main choices would either be acrylic or latex paint. Both types of paints are safe, durable and good for most surfaces. Just make sure to choose outdoor types for your exterior.
Final Thoughts
The need for repainting is different from one home to another. Some families may require that their house is always in the best shape while others may allow for the paint to wear off first before they think about repainting.
There are also some instances where the time is just right to repaint a home. Whenever you decide to repaint, it’s important to ensure the quality of your application by following the tips I shared above.
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