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Knowing that the speed with which paint dries can be affected by weather conditions, you may wonder when the best time to paint the house interior should be. Should you perform this home improvement project in the spring and summer months? Or should you paint in the winter months? Read on for answers to these questions.
You can also learn about reasons for painting your home's interior, the best times for commercial painting, and tips for painting your home during winter and summer. Finally, you can consider what's involved in choosing house paints and hiring paint contractors.
Reasons for Painting Your Home's Interior
Sometimes, you have to paint the inside of your home. These times include the following:
- If the last time someone painted the inside of your home is over five years, then you should consider painting.
- If the house paint contains lead then it is hazardous. Thus, if you're moving into a house painted with lead-based paints, your home may need repainting.
Should You Paint Your House in the Winter?
The colder months are an excellent period to choose for painting your house. This applies to both exterior and interior painting projects. Paint dries faster and quite well during this period, as there is low humidity. Moreover, you can seize the opportunity to perform warehouse and office painting projects.
Best Times to Use Interior Paints on Your Home
There's no specific time when painting the interior of your home is inappropriate. However, there are best times for interior painting, and you can get the best results. Also, you may think that painting your home's interior is something you should perform during the hot summer months.
After all, virtually everyone may prefer staying home during the winter months. Besides, painters may choose not to do painting projects during cold winter seasons. However, you could choose the perfect times within the winter months to start improving the interior of your home through painting.
Your newly applied paint can benefit from your home's dry and cool air. Consequently, you can give your home a lively, fresh coat of paint during the winter rather than wait for high humidity months.
Best Time to Paint the Exterior of Your Home
It is better to leave your exterior painting projects to certain seasons. Specific weather conditions that can give you an indication of perfect times for exterior painting jobs include the following:
- Relative humidity should be around 40% to 70%. Take note that low humidity can help your paint to dry faster.
- Wind speed should be below eight mph.
- The rain prediction should be zero for the paint application process and 24 hours after that for the curing process.
Best Times for Commercial Painting
You can look at particular weather conditions and choose the best times for commercial painting (on offices and other commercial properties).
- The wind, humidity, and heat conditions must consistently be right to do a long-lasting and excellent paint job.
- If temperatures are below freezing point, it would not be ideal for exterior painting projects. Paints may not stick correctly.
- Likewise, the weather should not be too cold and windy.
- In addition, the dry times for commercial painting jobs should neither be fast nor slow.
- However, interior painting projects can be done during winter as these are the perfect times. After all, many commercial properties are climate controlled.
- Nevertheless, paint contractors still have to use the right types of paint for cooler weather.
- In fact, with the right type of paint, you do not need to wait until spring or summer to perform commercial painting projects.
Tips for Painting Your Home During Winter
You now know that the perfect times for adding a new coat of paint to interior walls are during cold weather periods. Here are interior house painting tips for your painting projects during the winter season:
Preparation tips
- You can avoid unnecessary painting costs by simply taking the time to prepare well. This includes protecting your materials.
- Use a tack cloth or rag to clean dirt and dust off surfaces before you paint your house. This will make the surfaces smoother.
- Use drop cloths to protect your furniture and floors and surface protection boards for countertops.
- You can use masking film and masking paper to protect windows, baseboards, and cabinets.
- Painter's tape is enough to cover electric sockets and small spaces.
- It is easier to obtain a consistent paint color for interior painting projects if you mix your paint cans in a larger gallon bucket.
- Using a 5-gallon bucket roller tray will help reduce the amount of waste and mess.
- After mixing your paint, strain it with a bag strainer. This will remove impurities and produce a smooth finish.
Ceiling, wall, and trim painting
- Start with the ceiling painting and then the wall painting. After that, you can do trim painting and save floor painting for last.
- Clean off all dust and debris before painting the walls, doors, or window trims to avoid bubbles or blemishes.
- An extension pole is helpful if you are painting large spaces and walls.
- Be sure to cover the roller with paint but remove excess paint entirely.
- Use even strokes in a "W" or "M" pattern.
- Use these steps to apply both primers and interior paints.
- Make sure the paint dries completely before adding a second coat of paint.
- Winter air can help quicken drying so that you may open up windows.
- Account for different drying times for different types of paints.
- Leave walls to dry for 24 hours or more for oil-based paints and 4-6 hours for latex-based paints before adding a second coat.
Clean up tips
- After doing a significant painting job, you can complete your painting process with proper cleanup and disposal of paint washout.
- Use soap and warm water to wash out latex paint from brushes.
- Remember to keep any leftover paint safely for any future touch-ups.
Painting Tips During the Summer Season
- It makes sense to avoid painting under direct sunlight. The paint dries too quickly without having enough time to cure.
- Even though many contractors consider winter the best season to paint interiors, painting during summer months has its positive sides.
- Summer months can provide up to 15 hours of daily sunlight. This can give painting crews more time to complete painting jobs quickly.
- The drying process is also quicker. This means that the condition is more optimal for paints to dry.
- However, you have to be wary of the paint drying too fast. This can negatively impact the paint's lifespan.
- This is why professional painters use special thermometers to measure surface temperature.
Choosing House Paints for Painting Projects
- Try to be more aware of the types of paints and prices of paint materials. This can indicate the quality of the winter painting job.
- For example, paint brands like Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams are pretty reputable. They give optimum results when applied during cold temperatures.
- Specially formulated paints allow for cold-weather painting projects. They can be applied even on cold surfaces.
- Certain specialty paints, including oil or solvent-based paints, can release a lot of fumes.
- Perfect times to paint would be periods when you can open windows for ventilation.
- In any case, it is always best to use zero-to-low-VOC paints. There will be little need to air out fumes.
Why Hire Professional Paint Contractors?
- One of the benefits of hiring painting contractors during winter is that the paint dries faster.
- Besides, hiring professional painters during winter is one of the great tips for interior painting. This is the off-season period for contractors, and prices are more competitive.
- However, if you choose the best paint contractor, they can do an excellent painting job whether the day is rainy or snowy.
- Professional painters can get your home to look professionally painted and beautiful. They can do so much to enhance the curb appeal of your properties.
- They are sure to use high-quality paints and materials.
- Regarding residential painting projects, they can paint your house's interior and exterior equally well.
- Besides, there is the plus of paint contractors being able to handle home renovation projects such as rot repair and painting your house's exterior.
- Try to get a reasonable painting estimate and reserve a spot early. This can help you get a discount.
What Can Paint Contractors Help You With?
Knowing the best time to paint your house's interior or exterior is insufficient. You must be sure of doing an excellent job to save you stress, time, and money. Moreover, specific painting jobs can be pretty tricky.
For example, they can handle something as simple as kitchen cabinet painting or trickier deck painting, wood painting, siding painting, and textured painting. You can call them for industrial, residential, and commercial painting projects.