Does your home need a fresh new coat of exterior or interior paint? Damaged, faded, or just plain old paint can make an otherwise beautiful space seem dull and dingy. Luckily, new paint can add character and life to a house, and it is one of the cheapest renovation options available. Many people choose to tackle repainting themselves, but painting projects can often take longer and be more difficult than expected.

Ultimately, whether to hire a contractor or do the work yourself is a matter of budget and personal preference. If you are unsure of the best approach, consider the following questions carefully when choosing whether your exterior painting project is a do-it-yourself weekend job or something best left to the pros.

Will You Buy or Rent the Equipment?

The equipment needed for painting the exterior of a house is fairly extensive. Although the cost of purchasing or renting the equipment is not comparable to the cost of hiring a contractor, it is still an additional item to budget for.

Additionally, you should be comfortable with the type of equipment that will be required, especially if your home is more than a single story. Exterior painting requires a significant amount of time spent on ladders and scaffolding. Working in an elevated position can be dangerous if you are not experienced.

How Much Time Do You Have?

It takes professional contractors an average of five days to paint the typical two-story home. This will potentially take longer for larger homes or homes with unusually difficult to paint features, and inclement weather can increase the length of the job as well. If you have never done any exterior painting work, you can expect the time it will take to do it yourself to be significantly longer than this.

Are You Able to Handle the Preparation Work?

A good paint job is mostly about the preparation work that is done beforehand. When you are painting the exterior of your house, you will need to thoroughly wash it, scrape away old paint, repair damage, and seal any gaps where paint should not flow. The preparation of an exterior painting job is a large project in and of itself, and there are contractors who specialize in preparation work alone. Even if you are planning on painting the house yourself, it may be worth considering whether it will be worthwhile to hire a company like DBO Company to perform the preparation work for you.