It doesn't take long after one of the neighbors springs for a new exterior paint job that everybody else can soon be seen standing out in front of their homes with paint brochures and color swatches. Why? The answer is simple. A good exterior paint job transforms the appearance of your residence. It's like getting a new home almost overnight.
Why Is Home Painting So Important?
House painting is important for many reasons. Obviously, a good paint job beautifies and adds character and personality to your home. Just for that reason it's important to take sufficient time planning which colors, shades, and paint styles you want to decorate your home with. But paint also serves as one of your home's primary lines of defense against weather, insects and other damage, so it's an important aspect of home maintenance to keep up on as well.
When to Paint
There isn't any set timeline when you should plan to re-paint your home. It varies depending on climate, the quality of paint that was previously applied, how thoroughly your home was prepped beforehand, and whether you hired a good painter. A poor paint job can last as little 3 years before it needs attention, and a good one can last for upwards of 20. The most important determining factor is the condition of home's current coat. Is the paint chipped, cracked, flaking, or peeling anywhere? Are there areas of exposed wood or is there sign of water damage to either your siding or the paint itself? Finally, how does your home look? If you see any of the signs mentioned above, a new paint job is probably in order, but even if you don't, you might still be ready for a change.
Which Color to Choose
Once you've decided on a house painting project, you'll need to choose your color. There's no set rule here to guide you. The wide variety of colors to choose from, and the combinations that are available when it comes to trim, doors, and other extras, make this choice mostly a personal one. One of the best ways to get pointed in the right direction is to drive around your town and neighborhood looking for homes that catch your eye. Try to figure out what it is about them that turned your head. Maybe they did something you didn't like (i.e. stay away from that color, style, look, etc.), maybe the color combinations really speak to you (a light body with dark trim or vice versa), and maybe it's just how they accented certain parts of the house that you like. Make note of all these things so that you can keep them in mind as you get your own house painting project underway.
Testing, Testing 123
Another good rule of thumb is to test out colors on your home before you start. Once you've noted what others have done, and have visited a paint supply retailer to get some more ideas, test out a few potential colors on a non-descript part of your home just to make sure it's what you expect. Colors that look fantastic on a tiny brochure can strike you a lot differently when they're covering an area of a couple square feet. Try out a few options so you can compare them, and give yourself a few days to mull over your impressions. Taking this advice can save you the dilemma of what to do those 20 gallon buckets of "Green Myth" that you quickly realized looked more like split pea soup once you started slopping it on.
Educate Yourself as to Proper House Painting Procedure
Once you've chosen the color schemes and paint, the next step is to start the home painting itself. If you're a do-it-yourselfer, be sure to read up on proper painting procedure, from surface preparation right on down to finishing touches. Figuring it out as you go can be a valuable learning experience, but where painting is concerned it can also mean a lot of extra work and unsatisfactory results when it comes to the final product. If you think home painting might be a little out of your league, talk to an experienced painting contractor in your area about getting your house painting job underway so you can enjoy your beautiful new exterior paint job for years to come.
Onyx Construction Group is a residential and commercial painting contractor based in Philadelphia, PA. We provide residential and commercial interior and exterior painting, decorative finishes, floor and wall coatings and other specialty painting and coating products and services in the Greater Philadelphia area, Bucks County and Montgomery County including suburbs throughout the Delaware Valley.
This is a list of towns we service for painting and repairs Ardsley Ambler Bala Cynwyd Blue Bell Cheltenham Gulf Mills Gwynedd Huntingdon Valley Jenkintown King of Prussia Horsham Lafayette Hills Merion Morland Pottsgrove Lower Providence Merion Park Merion Station North Wales Oak Lane Manor Oak Summit Oak lane Oaks Rockledge Roseglen Rosemont Roslyn Heights Royersford Rydal Souderton Spring House Spring Mount Sumneytown Sunnybrook Telford Trappe Trooper Valley Forge Whitemarsh Whitpain Wyncote Wyndmoor Willow Grove Buckingham Doylestown Fairless Hills Hulmeville Neshaminy New Hope Philadelphia Northampton Southampton Abington Narberth Brynmaur Warminster Upper Moorland Lower Moorland Upper Dublin Dresher Feasterville Trevose Bensalem Morrisville Yardley Richboro Ambler Elkins Park Wrightstown Bristol Holland Newtown Makefield Hatfield Montgomeryville Pa Pennsylvania Delaware Valley NJ New Jersey Specialists in auto top convertible install and repairs Listing of Cities in Montgomery County Pennsylvania that we serve: Abington Township Ambler Arcola Audubon Bala Cynwyd Belmont Hills Blue Bell Bridgeport Bryn Athyn Cedars Center Square Cheltenham Township Collegeville Colmar Conshohocken Creamery Douglass Township Dresher Eagleville Earlington East Greenville East Norriton Township Elkins Park Erdenheim Fairview Village Flourtown Fort Washington Foxcroft Square Franconia Township Frederick Gilbertsville Gladwyne Glenside Green Lane Gwynedd Gwynedd Valley Harleysville Hatboro Hatfield Township Hollywood Horsham Township Huntingdon Valley Jenkintown King of Prussia Kulpsville Lafayette Hill Lamott Lansdale Laverock Lederach Limerick Township Linfield Lower Frederick Township Lower Gwynedd Township Lower Merion Township Lower Moreland Township Lower Pottsgrove Township Lower Providence Township Lower Salford Township Mainland Maple Glen Marlborough Township Meadowbrook Melrose Park Merion Station Miquon Mont Clare Montgomery Township Montgomeryville Narberth New Hanover Township king of prussia Norristown North Wales Oaks Ogontz Campus Oreland Palm Penllyn Pennsburg Perkiomen Township Perkiomenville Philadelphia Phoenixville Plymouth Meeting Plymouth Township Pottstown Red Hill Rockledge Roslyn Royersford Rydal Salford Township Salfordville Sanatoga Sassamansville Schwenksville Skippack Township Souderton Spring House Spring Mount Springfield Township Stowe Sumneytown Telford Towamencin Township Trappe Tylersport Upper Dublin Township Upper Frederick Township Upper Gwynedd Township Upper Hanover Township Upper Merion Township Upper Moreland Township Upper Pottsgrove Township Upper Providence Township Upper Salford Township Valley Forge West Conshohocken West Norriton Township West Point West Pottsgrove Township Whitemarsh Township Whitpain Township Willow Grove Worcester Township Woxall Wyncote Wyndmoor Wynnewood Zieglersville Zieglerville Listing of cities and municipalities we serve in Bucks County, Pa.: Andalusia Bedminster Township Bensalem Township Blooming Glen Bridgeton Township Bristol Township Buckingham Township Carversville Chalfont Churchville Cornwells Heights Croydon Danboro Doylestown Township Dublin Durham Township East Rockhill Township Eddington Edgely Erwinna Fairless Hills Falls Township Fallsington Feasterville Trevose Ferndale Forest Grove Fountainville Furlong Gardenville George School Haycock Township Hilltown Township Holicong Holland Hulmeville Ivyland Jamison Kintnersville Lahaska Langhorne Langhorne Manor Levittown Line Lexington Lower Makefield Township Lower Southampton Township Lumberville Mechanicsville Middletown Township Milford Square Milford Township Morrisville New Britain New Hope Newportville Newtown Nockamixon Township Northampton Township Oakford Ottsville Penndel Penns Park Perkasie Pineville Pipersville Plumstead Township Plumsteadville Point Pleasant Quakertown Revere Richboro Richland Township Richlandtown Riegelsville Rushland Sellersville Silverdale Solebury Township Southampton Spinnerstown Springfield Township Springtown Telford Tinicum Township Trevose Trumbauersville Tullytown Upper Black Eddy Upper Holland Upper Makefield Township Upper Southampton Township Warminster Township Warrington Township Warwick Township Washington Crossing Washington Xing West Bristol West Rockhill Township Wrightstown Township Wycombe Yardley Zionhill Locktown Milford Mount Airy Mount Joy Mount Pleasant Mountainville New Hampton Norton Oak Grove New Jersey Cities and Municipalities we serve: Oldwick Pattenburg Pittstown Pleasant Run Potterstown Quakertown Readingsburgh Reaville Riegelsville Ringoes Rocktown Rosemont Sand Brook Sergeantsville Spring Mills Stanton Stanton Station Stockton Three Bridges Wertsville West Portal Whitehouse Whitehouse Station Woodglen Delaware County Cities and Municipalities we serve: Aldan Ardmore Aston Township Bethel Township Birmingham Township Boothwyn Brookhaven Broomall Bryn Mawr Chadds Ford Chester Heights Chester Township Chesterbrook Cheyney Clifton Heights Collingdale Colwyn Concord Township Concordville Crum Lynne Darby Drexel Hill East Lansdowne Eddystone Edgemont Edgmont Township Elwyn Essington Folcroft Folsom Glen Mills Glen Riddle Glenolden Gradyville Haverford Township Havertown Holmes Lansdowne Lenni Linwood Lower Chichester Township Manoa Marcus Hook Marple Township Media Middletown Township Millbourne Morton Moylan Nether Providence Township Newtown Square Newtown Township Norwood Parkside Philadelphia Pilgrim Gardens Primos Primos Secane Prospect Park Radnor Township Ridley Park Ridley Township Rose Valley Rutledge Saint Davids Secane Sharon Hill Springfield Township Swarthmore Thornbury Township Thornton Tinicum Township Trainer Upland Upper Chichester Township Upper Darby Township Upper Providence Township Villanova Wallingford Wayne Woodlyn Yeadon Berwyn Cedar Hollow Center Square Devon Downingtown Exton Frazer Frazier Glen Loch Kimberton Main Line Malvern Norristown Pineville Spring City Stratford West Chester