House painting can be a big expense if you hire it out. Yet it is a job you can do yourself. And with the many economic issues we are facing right now, it makes a lot of sense to do as many jobs around the house as we can.

Now you may think that painting your house is going to be a lot of work. Even more so if you don’t know how to do it right. While some people think of house painting as really hard. It really isn’t that hard at all, though it can be time consuming. And you should find it even easier with the following tips.

Preparation
Preparation is the most important part of the job when it comes to painting. Not doing this right can cause a lot of problems in the future.

So the first thing is to fix and repair what is broken or has a hole in it. This is true for both inside and outside work. I mean, you do want your house to look as new as possible after it is painted.

On the inside of your house these areas can be easily be repaired with a spackling compound which can be found in most hardware or painting stores. Larger areas can be fixed with drywall joint compound over a patch of drywall or fiberglass mesh. These patches need to be dry and sanded smooth before painting.

On the outside of your house, cracks can be fixed with caulking. With holes sometimes they can be filled but many times it is just easier to replace the board.

You also need to make sure there is no loose paint on the area you are painting. Most often you will find this problem on the exterior of your home. Here you can start by power washing the entire area that is to be painted. This should remove any loose paint and make it easier for you to paint. After that, use a paint scraper to remove any loose paint that is still left on.

Next, what you are painting needs to be primed properly. This means you need to use the proper primer for the type of paint you will be using and for the material it is going on. There are primers for interior and exterior. There are primers for covering stains. There are Primers for gripping to smooth surfaces like metal, glass vinyl etc. The best thing is to make sure the paint store helps you match the primer to the job you’re doing.

Like with a lot of things the preparation is sometimes half the job.

Now you are ready to paint.

The Paint
Today the best type of paint is the 100% acrylic latex though some people still insist on using oil based paint. In Canada oil based paints are being phased out by legislation.

For areas that will be exposed to moisture like the kitchen and bathroom, using a semi-gloss paint is recommended or a specially formulated kitchen and bath paint.

For the exterior you need a good quality exterior paint.

When choosing paint note that with price often comes quality. So you could be paying more to begin with but you could actually end up saving money in the long run. The more expensive types stay looking good longer and therefore you won’t have to repaint your house as often.

Finally, although house painting is not that hard, it still can take a lot of time and effort. But don’t be afraid, the paint stores have all the expertise to tell you what you need to do the job. And you should have no problems actually doing the task. Take your time and do the job right and you will have a home you can be proud of.

home exterior | 2 Comments »

We are going to go step by step over what is required to remove an old Aluminum sliding patio door before installing a new door.

The first step is to be safe both in the way you work and by wearing safety glasses and gloves when doing this job.

It is easiest to first remove the sliding panel from the door. The vast majority of doors out there have the sliding panel on the inside half of the track and the stationary panel is on the outside. Whatever the case in your particular door, the sliding panel has to come out first. This is done by lifting the panel up as far as it will go into the top channel and swinging the bottom away from the fixed panel. You will now have this panel removed.

Sometimes the bottom rollers will prevent the bottom from swinging out of the track. If that’s the case, you may be able to simply pry it up a little and get it off. If not you will need to find the roller adjustment hole in the bottom corners of the sliding panel. Put a screwdriver into this hole and turn the screw counterclockwise to bring the roller as far up into the bottom of the sliding panel as possible. This should allow the slider to come out.

To remove the fixed panel, you will have to do a little more work. There is usually a stop of some kind in the top and bottom tracks that are screwed in. By removing these stops you can sometimes get the door to move sideways away from the side jamb it is fitted into. You can start by simply grabbing the side rail of the fixed panel and pulling as hard as you can. If you’re lucky, the panel will pop free. Then you can lift the panel up as far as it will go into the top channel and swing the bottom away from the track, and remove the panel.

Now, I said “if you’re lucky”, because in most cases the panel is pretty stuck from the weather stripping and caulking and dirt and rust. Usually, you’re going to have to use a pry bar to loosen the fixed panel before it will slide out of the side jamb.

If you haven’t done so already you need to now remove whatever inside trim there might be around the door frame. Now you have to remove the jamb and sill. You will want to do this without damaging the exterior material that surrounds the door frame or you will have extra work.

So, remove all the screws from the side jambs, top header, and bottom track that you can find. Then, take a pry bar and get it under the bottom track about in the center and pry the track up until it is separated from the floor. If the frame was simply screwed in, then the frame should now be loose in the opening and easily come out. If your door frame was nailed as well to the house frame, you will have to do a bit more work. Use a hacksaw or reciprocating saw if you have one to cut the track in half. This will allow you to fold the cut piece up towards the side jamb and pry it and the jamb right out. Do the same thing to the other half.

Sometimes there is a nailer fin in behind the siding. Start at the bottom use a heavy chisel and pound it into the crack between the frame and exterior material, whether it’s stucco, siding, etc. and try to cut the nailer fin with the chisel. Once you get the bottom third loose, many times you can pry and pull the jamb free as you work up. After you do both side jambs, then do the top. Sometimes the top has no nails, or just one in the center, so it will come down pretty easily.

Now you are ready to install your new door.

interior | 2 Comments »