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How To Paint External Walls

Michael is one of our professional decorators and in this article, he provides some guidance on how to paint the external walls of your home.
He will explain how you can paint the outside walls of your home in 5 simple steps.

Michael

Michael

Professional painter based in Manchester

External Walls: Paint outside walls in 5 easy steps

By painting the exterior walls of your home, you are giving your house a completely new look. You can paint the entire property or perhaps just the wall that divides your property from the neighbours.

Word of advice. Painting the exterior walls of your home can be a pretty big job. This depends on the size of the property and the materials of the walls that need to be painted.
Let me explain to you which steps you would need to take to paint the exterior walls of your home yourself.

Step 1 : Preparation

The first thing you will need to do is clean the wall and remove any obstacles. Start with removing loose paint with a wire brush. Ideally, clean the wall thoroughly with a pressure washer. In case you don’t own a pressure washer, rent one at your local DIY store.
Allow the wall to dry thoroughly. Check the joints and scratch out loose grout with a grout nail. You should grout the wall again, but after you have repaired any holes with quick-fix cement and a putty knife.

Even though you are working outside, please cover the ground under the exterior wall you are going to paint with construction foil.
Now it is time to prime the untreated brick with a fixative, especially for outer walls. Let it dry for at least 12 hours.

 

repair wall before painting
Tip: Quick-cement hardens within 20 minutes. Therefore prepare small quantities. It is an aggressive material, so wear sturdy rubber work gloves.
Michael
Michael Professional Painter

Step 2: Tape off the woodwork

Make sure to tape the window frames and the other woodwork around the outside wall with masking tape. You will notice that you cannot apply any masking tape on rough surfaces, it simply won’t stick. In this case, just use a paint shield. This is a hard plastic spatula with a sharp, bevelled edge that you push into the corner (for example between the frame and the wall).

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Step 3: Calculate how much paint you need

Measure the width and height of the walls. Multiply the width by the height and you get the surface area of the wall. In the same way, calculate the area of your windows and doors. Subtract these from the total square meters of your walls. Multiply the final area by two, because you will be applying at least two layers. Then divide the total square meters by the number of m²/l stated on the paint bucket.

Step 4: Applying the paint on the exterior wall

Stir the paint well before use using it with a stirrer or paint mixer. Pour the paint into a bucket with a grid. First paint with a brush along the taped edges of the wall. Use a small roller for medium-sized areas and a roller with a telescopic handle for large areas. Divide the wall into imaginary areas of approximately one square meter. For each imaginary section, work from top to bottom and from left to right, making sure that the sections overlap.

Tip: Paint the bottom 30 cm of the outer wall a dark colour. Splashed earth and mud after rainfall will be less visible.
Michael
Michael Professional Painter

Step 5: Remove the masking tape and cleanup

Remove the masking tape while the paint is still wet. Remove any splashes with a wet cloth.
Wrap the used paint rollers and brushes separately in tin foil or plastic bags. This way you can keep them for a week and use them again when you want to apply the next layer.

Don't feel like you are up for the job? Hire a professional decorator to do it for you instead!

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