If you’re thinking about hiring a contractor to paint the exterior of your home, the following information may save you a bundle.
More than 80 percent of the cost of painting is taken up by preparation.
This includes the labor of scraping, sanding, chipping, masking, caulking, and cou
ntersinking and puttying popped nail heads. It also includes safeguarding adjacent landscape and irrigation and thoroughly cleaning the home’s exterior.
The remaining 20 percent consists of the actual painting labor and the paint itself.
The paint makes up a small part of the total cost equation, about 10 percent. Since the prep work is the most expensive part of the process, the longest-lasting paint can reduce the overall cost by reducing the frequency between paint jobs. Here is a comparison:
Using cheap paint will guarantee about a four-year life expectancy. Using top-grade paint offers about 10 years of lasting quality, given proper preparation in both cases.
The world’s best paint will not last long on a poorly prepared surface. The longer lasting finish derived from good quality paint will greatly extend lasting quality, and, therefore, the annual cost of painting.
When you rub top quality, freshly shaken paint between your forefinger and thumb it feels silky to the touch. Cheap paint feels gritty.
Most do-it-yourselfers we have met tell us that their painting technique involves getting as much paint as possible onto a given surface in one coat.
As contractors we know that this is the worst way to paint. A good paint job requires thinned paint and several applications.
We like three finish coats best. Thinner paint goes on smoother and bonds better. Thick paint can’t get into the pores of the surface as well as thinned paint.
The second and third coats bond chemically with the first coat. However, a thick second coat may run and remain wet long enough for dirt in the air to perch in the paint.
Thicker is worse. Multiple thin coats are exponentially better than one thick coat.
For tips from James and Morris Carey, go to www.onthehouse.com or call the listener hot line, 800-737-2474, ext. 59. The Careys are also on KRKO (1380-AM) from 6 to 10 a.m. every Saturday.
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