Painting a house is a necessary task that every homeowner must face sooner or later. No matter where you live, eventually every house needs a fresh coat–both outside, and on interior walls. Changes in weather, exposure to the sun, and time can wear away a house’s exterior protective coat, while the interior house paint may become faded or dated. When painting a house, you need to know about house paint, proper tools and the steps involved in giving your home a new look. If you’ve never painted before, and you’re ready to start a house paint project, here’s a quick paint projects overview.

Types of House Paint

There are two basic types of house paint:

• Exterior house paint is for the outside of your home. It is designed to stand up to the elements without fading, cracking or peeling.
• Interior house paint is for the inside of your home, and doesn’t contain many of the chemicals that make exterior paint so durable.

Besides these two basic types, there are also “primers.” Primer paint is used as an undercoat on raw materials, such as unfinished wood or bare metal. Primers contain adherents that allow the paint to stick to a surface without flaking off or being absorbed into the material. Primers are also essential to use as a backing for light colors of house paint.

There are seemingly endless options when it comes to house paint colors, both interior and exterior. Your local paint store likely carries samples of colors, which they can mix for you. If you have an unusual color that you’re trying to match, some places allow you to bring a sample into the store and they can scan it, match it, and custom mix the house paint right there.

Tools for Painting a House

As part of this paint project overview, you need to know the proper tools to use when painting a house. They are many tools available, and what you need depends on the type of project you’re working on. Some of the common painting tools are:

• Brushes: A brush is the emergency tool for any paint job, whether it’s cleaning up a drip or adding the finishing touches around some molding.
• Masking tape and paper: Masking tape and paper is for tight areas where the house paint butts up against another area, such as cabinets or baseboard.
• Paint sprayer: If you have a big area to cover, a paint sprayer is quicker and easier than a brush or roller.
• Plastic: Plastic should be used on any painting job to prevent spills and splatters from getting on other surfaces.
• Rollers: Rollers are soft, round tubes covered with a nap or fuzzy material. The tubes are fitted onto a handle and when dipped on paint, are used to “roll” house paint onto a surface such as a wall or ceiling.

Painting a house can be a real nightmare of a job! However, with the proper tools and a basic understanding of the process, a DIY painting job can save you serious money.