Revealed: Seven super secrets to painting your home exterior

Here are the best paint hacks for giving your house a fresh coat of paint and a brand new look this summer 

Take a look at what your near neighbours have achieved before exploring colour schemes offered by the major paint-makers. File picture

Summer is pick-up-a-paintbrush season and here are the answers to the questions we’ve received most often from readers in relation to painting the house — whether you take on the job yourself or hire a professional.

What’s the best way to settle on a colour for my house?

This will be a group of colours rather than one shade if you consider the reveals and any available woodwork, you can paint like doors and frames. I would always encourage readers to do three things. First of all, simply look at what other people have done — there’s a useful showroom of wins and fails slathered up on homes similar to your own on show.

Consider the setting, whether it’s nestled in rolling green fields or staged on an urban street, as this will reflect on how the building settles into its environment.

A home finished in an unusual two-tone application of Stonework and Heron Island from Colourtrend’s Exterior Weather Collection. 

Secondly, work off the palettes provided by the major paint makers. These have been worked out with superb attention by a team of colour specialists. Pick up all the catalogues you can and find colour combinations that work with the existing architecture, shades, materials, and surroundings of your home. The inspo pages in ColourTrend’s Irish-themed collections are gorgeous, Colourtrend.ie.

Thirdly, use an online visualiser. There are plenty of these tools online offered by paint companies or as a universal app to download. Use real-time video or take a picture of your house from each aspect and project a potential colour right up onto the walls. Visualising does not take the place of testing, which should be done on every side of the house in a large swatch.

How do I protect my windows when I paint the house walls?

This is a crucial moment in the preparation phase, as splattered glass and a smeared frame are major issues, especially in warmer weather when water-based paint dries extremely fast. Invest in either a self-adhesive “drape” film that covers the entire area, or a shrouding set with a roll of plastic combined with a low-tack painters’ tape. 

Fleetwood does an affordable self-adhesive UV-resistant, 25m roll of 600mm of Window Film for €17.99. Ensure any tape you choose is moisture-proof, seals well against paint ingress (sprayed or rolled on) and is intended to lift easily without damage. 

Fleetwood Weather Clad Wild Atlantic Grey and Black.

Any reputable tradesperson will cover your windows and doors as standard. Gutters should not need to come down before painting (unless you’re ready to replace them), but downspouts can usually be removed easily. If you take gutters down completely, they may need professional levelling going back up.

Should the house be power-washed before painting?

House walls, fascia and soffits should be cleaned to avoid migrating grot and to provide the best surface adhesion, but power washing is not appropriate to every surface and should not exceed around 800PSI of pressure. 

Highly breathable, limewash allows materials to release moisture and colour can be built up in multiple coats; Little Greene's Normandy Grey, 5l from €82.

The slightly brittle render placed over external insulation (the wrap) can be damaged by heavy mechanical spraying. If there are areas of pointing, again, these must be handled carefully with less PSI and a gentle angling of the unit. There should be no mould or mildew on the walls, as this could spoil the finish and be sealed under the new coat. 

All loose debris should be removed with a wash down with a de-greasing solution of sugar soap or a suitable product for rendered walls. A handheld scrubbing brush is especially useful during this work. Let the walls air dry completely before proceeding with any new coat of paint. This will take at least a day on the shadier sides of the house.

What repairs should we make before painting?

Your walls must be clean, dry and in excellent repair. Any suspicious, wandering cracks larger than 5mm should be investigated by a structural engineer. 

Having been cleared of loose material, other small breaks, holes, and dings can otherwise be filled, and caulking around windows and doors fixed where needed before they are draped and walls are painted. Walls can be slightly roughened with sandpaper or steel wool to help the paint to grab on more effectively — a process known as de-glossing.

Tones in Dulux Weathershield really sing together on this period beauty in a country setting. Knock na Ri Beginish, Achill White and Sweet Bluebird; from €10.50 a litre.

If this is high work, and you are not competent to go up a ladder, pay for a trade to do the work for you. The exterior armour of your house is extremely important, and worth that extra spend every few years. Handling chipped, peeling paint at any height takes considerable coordination, strength, and patience. 

A study by Dulux Weathershield found that adding a lick of paint to your home’s exterior (and presuming the façade is kept in good condition) can help increase its perceived value by up to 25%.

What is the best paint for exterior masonry?

Every exterior paint must cover well in an unbroken application. It must stand up to the sodden seasonality of many years of Irish weather. The paint should contain ingredients to see off mould and algae growth, and the colour should be true over time with good UV resistance. 

You can expect to be offered ready mixed colours and bespoke colours (which usually come in at a little more per litre). The major players for acrylic-based paints include Dulux for its Weathershield All Weather Protection Smooth Exterior Paint, guaranteed against wear for up to 15 years; from €10.50 per litre. 

Fleetwood Weather Clad in Pearl Grey.

Fleetwood’s Weather Clad is designed for Irish conditions. Made in Virginia, County Cavan, the company offers 18 years of “triple-lock protection” and performance against peeling and fading; white Fleetwood Weather Clad, €5.50 per litre bought in 11-litre pails. 

Fleetwood’s colours, inspired directly by our landscapes, include seriously beautiful cooler greys, creams, and sage greens, with three-for-two offers in sample pots. The company’s premium choice for tinting is Fleetwood WeatherGuard Colour Perfect (€14.80 per litre), Fleetwood.ie. 

For porous stone and lime render, explore Earth-friendly, breathable, limewash. Little Greene has a broad selection with a 3% gloss level (very flat) that is built up in coats to deepen the colour (use within 14 days of delivery); 5l from €82, Littlegreene.ie.

What is a trade paint?

Interior and exterior paint is split into retail and trade paints, but you can, of course, buy either. Trade paints are more expensive due to their additional durability, coverage, superior opacity, ease of application and overall quality. Your paint professional is most likely to suggest trade paint over retail paint, and using fewer coats than retail paint, it may not actually cost more. 

Fleetwood paint-testing station.

Ensure you get both the branding and colour of the paint you want, obviously. Don’t be talked into a compromise. In terms of finish, opt for matt, satin, or semi-gloss paint with various levels of sheen. 

Test, test and test again — directly on the house. If you thought the prestige of Farrow & Ball was furiously expensive (well, relatively it is), expect around €25 per litre for a premixed colour and a super flat finish in 132 heritage choices.

What Farrow & Ball does deliver is a high degree of permeability, which allows moisture to escape and protects your paint finish for prolonged periods. Twin this to its Exterior Eggshell for woodwork and Metal (€42.60 per litre). Various suppliers. Ensure you buy multiple cans of paint with the same batch number to ensure colour consistency.

What’s the best season and what’s the best time of day to paint a house?

Summer is actually an ideal time to get to it, but pick your time of day. Water-based and acrylic paints dry very quickly. 

Colourtrend’s Templar Grey.

The team at ColourTrend advises: “The weather plays a massive part in this. In order to make sure your paint gets the best chance to dry and form that all-important adhesion with your surface, you need to check the weather forecast. Temperatures should not fall below 10C during the time you are applying the paint and also during the time the paint is drying. 

As you need to apply two coats for the best coverage and colour, this can mean you need that temperature for as much as 48 hours. It is also very important not to paint if there is a risk of rain, fog, frost or if the relative humidity is above 80%.”

In short, blistering heat will dry paint too fast, and damp will create moisture that will slow drying, which could not only ruin its surface, but also reduce its performance.