House painting exterior - DIY or hire someone: What should I do?

In the following article, you will know the main factors you have to consider about house painting exterior, which will allow you to decide what’s better: DIY or hire someone else (+Prices and some recommendations!!!...)

Should I paint my house exterior myself?

The short answer: It depends. If you have all the materials and equipment required, the expertise and enough time to spend, just do it! But, if you lack experience, the appropriate equipment, or don’t have enough time, then it is better to call a reliable painting company.

We will give you some insights about exterior painting, and some factors you must take into account, and then you can make your choice.

Equipment, tools and other materials: To paint your house exterior you will need paint brushes, rollers or sprayers, tape, paint trays, buckets, appropriate clothes, and so on. If you already own them, it is OK. But, if you have to buy all of them, your costs will rise significantly.
House size: If you have a small house, it could be a good idea to paint it by yourself. But if you own a big house, with a large square footage or many stories, you will need to invest a large amount of time and resources to get it painted.
Surface conditions: You must take into account if the walls need repairs, sanding, getting rid of old paint layers (especially if they are lead-based paints), cleaning or any kind of resurfacing. Brick, stucco, cement or textured surfaces will require more work, more sophisticated painting techniques, and perhaps, spraying.
Time: You need to calculate the prep work time, the application time and the drying time. It is important to realize how many hours you will spend painting your house by yourself.
Weather: In Florida, the best season to paint your house exterior is the winter, and the second best is the spring. Other seasons have humidity levels, sun radiation intensity, hot temperatures, strong winds and frequent rains that will ruin your work.

Knowing these factors you will have a greater understanding of the challenge and can decide if you should paint your house yourself, or hire a professional painter.

How much does it cost to paint the exterior of a house yourself?

According to most realtor estimates, to paint the exterior of a house can cost from $2,800 for a single-story, 1,000 sq.ft. house, to $18,000 for a multi-story, 5,000+ sq.ft. house, where labor costs range from $800 up to $8,000. On that basis, the cost to paint the exterior of a house yourself can range from $2,000 up to $10,000.

However, the real cost depends on the house size, the amount of prep work required (if priming or some structural repairs are needed, etc.), the type and quality of the paints, the number of paint coats required, and so on.

Moreover, you can estimate a smaller budget due to labor cost avoidance, but you need to own all the required equipment and materials, such as paint brushes, rollers, sprayers, etc., to obtain a real money saving. Otherwise, the cost of buying all those materials can significantly increase your overall costs, and surpass the labor cost savings.

On the other hand, to cover the exterior of a typical 2,000 sq. ft. house will require at least 5 gallons of paint. There are different types of paints, suitable for different types of wall surface materials, and each kind of paint has its own range of prices.

According to a market survey made by Fixr in August 2022, average exterior paint prices can range from $2o up to $70 per gallon, depending on the type of paint. However, those are just reference prices which can vary due to inflation, availability and other factors.

Table 1. Average exterior paint prices

Types of paint	Applications	Average price	Avg. 5 gallons cost
Acrylic Latex	Cement, drywall	$20 - $50	$100 - $250
Water-based Latex	Cement, drywall	$20 - $50	$100 - $250
Oil-based	Wood	$20 - $70	$100 - $350
Masonry	Brick, stucco	$25 - $55	$125 - $275

How many coats of paint does the exterior of a house need?

Usually, two coats of paint are enough to obtain a good finishing. But it depends on several factors, such as the type of surface material, the wall condition (if need cleaning, priming or repairs), the color shade you want to obtain, the type and quality of the paint, etc.

If you use a cheaper, low-quality paint, it will likely require more coats of paint to obtain the desired finishing.

If you want to paint an old dark color surface with a new lighter color, you will likely need more than two coats of paint.

If you are painting the house exterior, which is more exposed to environmental (weather, chemical or biological) factors, you will probably need to apply extra coatings to obtain a better surface protection.

What brand is the best exterior paint?

Regarding the quality of paints, there are available in the market top brands, such as Sherwin Williams and Benjamin Moore. Pool Paint Screen LLC always uses Sherwin Williams products to ensure the quality of its jobs. Some of them are:

Duration Exterior Acrylic Latex: It is a high-durability Sherwin-Williams exterior acrylic latex paint. It comes in 1-gallon or 5-gallon cans and it is available in flat, satin and gloss options. Provides excellent protection from cracking, peeling and blistering, and it is self-priming. You can use one coat for repaints and two coats for unpainted surfaces.

Emerald Exterior Acrylic Latex Paint: It is a self-priming Sherwin-Williams exterior acrylic latex paint that complies with most VOC (volatile organic content) regulations. It comes in 1-gallon or 5-gallon containers and it is available in flat, satin and gloss options. Offers resistance to blistering, peeling, fading and dirt pickup, as well as a mildew-resistant coating, with a smooth, uniform appearance.

H&C COLORTOP Solvent-Based Solid Color Concrete Sealer: It is a high-quality Sherwin-Williams product designed to seal and paint exterior concrete and masonry surfaces. It comes in 1-gallon or 5-gallon buckets and it is available in satin sheen. Resists salt, acids, alkalis, water, oil, gasoline and ultraviolet light actions.

All Surface Enamel Oil Base: It is a high-quality Sherwin-Williams product designed for use on interior and exterior wood, metal, drywall, masonry and other surfaces. It comes in 1-gallon and 1-quart containers, and in satin and gloss sheen. Provides excellent resistance to weather and sunlight, maintaining its gloss and color.

This is not an exhaustive list of products. You can browse yourself on the Sherwin-Williams website and choose the product you like the most. You can also ask your painting contractor for recommendations about which products are the best for your house exterior paint.

What is the popular exterior house color for 2024?

The latest market trends and homeowners surveys reveal that the most popular exterior house colors in 2024 are neutral cold colors, light grays and beiges, for the house bodies (around 60% of surfaces), adequately combined with dark tones (black, dark grays, navy blue) in the remaining surfaces (front doors, accents, shutters, garage and trim).

Pool Paint Screen LLC recommends following the 3-color rule when painting exteriors:

60% (Usually, the body of the house) - One color: light grays, beiges.
30% (The garage and trim) – One color: black, dark gray, navy blue.
10% (The accents, doors and shutters) - One color: black, dark grays, navy blue.

Don’t forget that the appropriate exterior painting color selection will add value and curb appeal to your property. Whether you want to sell your house, or stay and live in it, painting the exterior with the adequate color will give you up to 55% ROI (Return-On-Investment).

Do professional painters spray or roll?

Professional painters use these two techniques, both spraying and rolling. The question is, When and where do they use each technique?

Rollers require a preparation time shorter than spraying equipment. But then, it is much faster to paint with a sprayer than with a roller, and the job can be done with the same quality.

It is easier to paint ceilings, corners and textured surfaces with a sprayer, but you will obtain more accuracy and material savings with a roller on open, wide, flat surfaces. Spraying a surface will consume up to a third more paint than rolling, due to the micro-drops spreading and evaporation.

Professional painters prefer to use rollers when painting the interior of occupied houses, where there is a lot of furniture and don’t want, or don’t have enough time, to move heavy objects or mask everything to protect them.

On the other hand, professional painters prefer to use sprayers in exteriors and also in the interior of empty houses, or when they have enough time and resources to move or mask and cover every object and furniture.

While rollers can also be used to paint most exterior plain surfaces, when it comes to painting cement, stucco, brick or another type of irregular surface, as well as grooves and holes, it is better to use a sprayer.

Although you can obtain the same quality finishing with both, sprayers and rollers, beginner painters should use a friendly and cheaper roller, while more skilled painters can take advantage of more expensive and sophisticated spraying equipment.

Finally, to clean up a roller and auxiliary materials it is easier and faster than cleaning up the spraying equipment.