How to Save Money When Your House Needs to Be Painted

Having your house painted is often an unwelcome expense. Particularly when money is tight, as it is for many of us right now, there are ways to save money while still keeping your house in good condition. Here are some options to consider.


DO IT YOURSELF: Painting your own house will save you the most money, but only if you have the equipment and the experience to do it right. If you need to purchase ladders and brushes and all the odds and ends that are required, you will quickly eat up the savings. Also, painting a house correctly takes some skill, but that’s another article!

SPRAY INSTEAD OF BRUSH - One of the options most professional painters offer is painting the siding by airless sprayer. This will save you money as it is much faster. It is not the best option for every type of siding but in many cases it will do fine. Just make sure the painter uses a quality paint that is not watered down and sprays only the siding. You will still need the trim painted by brush.

PAINT ONLY TRIM - This is an excellent way to spread the cost out over a period of time. Paint either the trim or the siding one year and the other at a later time. You will get a better price from your painting contractor if you do the whole house at once, but if you’re selling the house or are having a difficult financial year, this may be your best option. Very often the trim of a house needs to be painted more frequently than the siding.

KEEP THE COLOR THE SAME - When you change the color of paint on your house, it usually requires two coats of paint to get complete, even coverage. The second coat will cost you almost as much as the first as painting is labor intensive. Therefore, you will save money by keeping the color the same and applying only one coat of paint.

PRESSURE WASH - If your house is dirty and dingy and you think it needs paint, try pressure washing it first. This may buy you a year and you may find that much of what you thought needed painting, just needed cleaning.

SPOT PAINT BAD AREAS - By painting only the areas that are in bad shape you can delay a complete house painting and save money. Window sills and doors often show signs of needing painting before other areas. If one side of your house receives full sun in a warm climate, the trim may peel within a few years of being painted. Keep on top of these areas by scraping, priming and painting two coats as needed and you can put off painting your whole house until it needs it.