House Painting Tips
As I get older I am often looking for new ways to do old things better, faster and more efficient. Work smarter not harder right?
When the time presented itself to paint the clapboard siding on my house, I decided to focus on painting one side a year to make this daunting task more manageable.
All of my Pro painting friends feel that the best way to paint clapboard siding is with a brush.
The reasoning for this is it is easier for a brush works the paint into the clapboard siding and into the crevices, and also because spray painting a house can become a disaster for a do-it-yourselfer.
My friend Mark O’Lalor from O’Lalor Painting Company provided me with the kit below to make my clapboard siding ordeal go smoothly and gave me some tips for painting clapboard siding.
The kit included:
A paint roller pail that hangs from a ladder. a 6″ roller, dust brush for cleaning the dust off the house and a quality paintbrush.
The key to this kit was the roller. Painting clapboard siding goes much faster when you roll on the paint and back brush it.
Getting started:
Start at the top of the clapboard siding to be painted and paint across from left to right, working down the side of the house.
Work on three or four clapboards at a time. It’s preferable to paint all the way across the house until you terminate at a window or corner board. You may find it easier to break up your painting by painting sections between windows, corner boards and doors.
TIP: for large areas of clapboard siding try setting up several ladders at the same height. Step from ladder to ladder until you have finished the 3-4 clapboard siding run. Lower the ladders and repeat. This saves time moving ladders.
Look back over your work occasionally to check for drips and runs.
When painting clapboard siding,apply the paint with a roller then “brush it in” using a brush, this saves a lot of dipping with a brush.
Rollers are available in many sizes and various widths from 3″ to 12″. A 1/4″ to 1/2″ thick roller nap is good for clapboard siding.
See my post: how to prep for painting
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