Home Improvement


Archive for March, 2008

Mar 31 2008

DIY - Painting – Painting Exterior Walls

Apart from preparation, which is often 80% of the job, painting an exterior wall is about as easy as it gets. But there are still a few guidelines useful to follow to achieve the best final result.
Proper paint selection is first and foremost. In most cases, an oil-based or alkyd paint is the best choice. [...]

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Mar 28 2008

DIY - Painting - Painting Exterior Trim

Painting exterior trim is among the more difficult exterior paint jobs. It requires more preparation and greater care during execution. But it can also be the most satisfying, since good trim really makes a house stand out.
Preparation
Proper preparation is key, as it is with any painting job. Trim will need to be masked exactly. If [...]

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Mar 25 2008

DIY - Painting – Painting Equipment

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could just buy a bucket of paint and a brush then get going? But any interior or exterior home painting project will require much more.
For all but the smallest jobs, a ladder is a must.
Make sure you overspend here. That doesn’t mean buying foolishly, but getting more ladder than [...]

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Mar 24 2008

DIY - Painting – Masking Tips

Whether the paint job is outside or in, masking is almost always needed at some stage. Unless the section to be painted is nowhere near a surface you don’t want touched, this preparation step will be vital. Nothing looks more unprofessional than globs or streaks of paint where it doesn’t belong.
Tape
For quick and cheap masking [...]

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Mar 21 2008

DIY - Painting – Interior Preparation

Regrettably, about 80% of any interior home painting project is preparation.
Skipping this step will almost always produce a poor final result. Adding to the difficulty is the fact that interior preparation jobs require much greater care than for exterior surfaces. Washing is harder. Dust from sanding requires special handling to avoid making the complete house [...]

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Mar 19 2008

DIY - Painting – Interior Paints

There is no single type of paint that is required for indoor paint jobs. But in most situations, a few that carry that label earn it by working much better than exterior paints.
Most paints can be divided into two broad categories: oil-based or alkyds and latex or water-based types. In general, alkyd is used outdoors [...]

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Mar 17 2008

DIY - Painting - Interior Painting Guidelines

Once good preparation is completed, the actual painting can go quickly and easily. But there are still a few guidelines helpful to observe, in order to get the best result.
Proper paint selection is the first requirement. Interior paints, whether latex or oil-based, come in a variety of finishes: glossy, semi-glossy, satin, eggshell and flat. Which [...]

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Mar 14 2008

DIY - Painting – First Steps

Getting started on a new project is always the hardest part. One major reason for that, especially in the case of painting your house, is the knowledge barrier. There’s just so much to know to get the job done right. Read on and flatten that hurdle between you and your house’s brand new look.
Color and [...]

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Mar 13 2008

DIY - Painting – Finishing Up

Thankfully, every painting job eventually comes to an end. After all the effort of preparation and painting, though, there are still a couple of things left to do.
Once the paint dries, a thorough inspection is called for. Before removing any masking, look for areas near the edges or corners that are not quite covered. Be [...]

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Mar 11 2008

DIY - Painting - Primers

A primer is a paint or coating applied directly to a surface to serve as an undercoat for other paints. In principle, any paint could be used as primer, but specially prepared compounds typically do the job much better.
Many surfaces aren’t quite ready to serve as the base for a single coat of oil-based or [...]

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