How to bring exterior walls back to life!

If you are among those who bought their property a long time ago, then you are definitely thinking about renovating some of its segments. Exterior walls represent your household, and are the first thing which someone sees when passing by your house or coming over for a cup of coffee. You know that taking some extra time to refresh those walls will give them additional protection and enhance them, and so if the time has come to brighten them and repair all the damage done by the elements, consider these tips before starting with your project.

Get Ready, Set, Clean…

The first and starting process it the preparation. You need to make sure that the area getting repaired is clean, so use a hand brush to remove the dirt and a scraper to remove any loose masonry. If your wall has dirt or algae on it, consider using one of your household detergents to remove it. Once you have everything cleaned well, you cans tart the repairing process.

Needed Repairs

In order to repair the small cracks and holes, you must have taken the first step seriously. Once the surface is cleaned from loose materials, you are free to apply the exterior filler or mortar, by using your knife. If the cracks or holes are too deep, you might have to create additional layers, letting each previous to dry before adding another one on top of it. Once the layer is dry enough, rub it down with medium grade sandpaper.

Choosing Proper Paint

When choosing the proper paint, it is always the best method to pick a few testers and paint them on a cardboard. Once you get the idea on how it looks, you can start the painting process. Note that the color will look different on the walls facing the sun and those not facing it, and will also look different depending on the time of the day. Feel free to spend some extra time choosing the paint, because it will represent your household and your house’s appearance to others.

Painting the Walls

Painting process takes a lot of time, so make sure you have checked the weather broadcasting for the next couple of days. You will require a bright and sunny day to do it without any complications. Make sure you have all the necessary tools with you. Once you have everything you need to begin, you can do some quality texture coatings with the chosen paint. It is advised to use a paint kettle and a masonry roller brush to cover large areas quickly. Start by diving the wall into smaller sections which you can finish in one painting session, and repeat until the entire wall is completely painted.

Saving What Remains

Once you are done painting, remember to save all the remains of paint, brushes, stains and oils, and store them in a safe and cold place for additional use in the future. That way you will save a lot of money and you won’t have to spend extra time looking for all those things in different stores. Before storing the brushes, make sure you remove all the paint and products from it, and then thoroughly clean the brushes.

Water-based paints are easily removed with water by adding just a little bit of soap, then rinsing and cleaning them; oil based paints are easily removed with a solvent such as white spirit. Remember to dry out your tools to prevent them from corroding, and store them on a place without moisture.

With these quick steps and tips, your exterior walls will become bright again, and your house will radiate with life. Remember that this process takes a lot of time, so don’t rush and try to be as thorough as possible in order to do everything just right.