Repainting older homes, whether you’re a property developer or a homeowner, can sometimes feel like a bit of a delicate task. Not only will you need to think about how to choose an aesthetic that fits with the rest of the house, but you’ll also need to take care that you remove older paints using safe techniques. If you’ve got some repainting projects coming up on homes that are on the older side of things, then here’s what you need to know.
Going with versatile colours
When repainting a home, you might be tempted to try to go with a more modern look, to try to bring the older building in line with a more contemporary aesthetic. While this can work well with certain newer builds from the 20th century, there are some cases – especially with older homes – where you’ll need to think about how that might clash with the rest of the aesthetic of the building.
That doesn’t mean that you can’t get creative with your approach and introduce something that wouldn’t ‘traditionally’ fit – it just requires a certain level of caution as to how the end result might turn out.
Beware of potentially hazardous materials
While most paints are relatively safe nowadays, you still need to be careful. The fumes given off by certain new paints can be serious health hazards, not to mention the dust given off when removing old paint. One particularly dangerous thing to watch out for is the removal of paints and paint products that contain asbestos. Factors such as artex removal costs will need to be included in your overall budget – it’s absolutely not a corner that you can afford to cut, both in terms of health risks and regulatory compliance.
Put costs into perspective
Having an older house repainted can end up being quite expensive. In many cases, the decorators will need to spend quite a lot of time stripping and preparing the areas in question, raising costs substantially for the whole project.
It’s important that you put these costs into a broader perspective though. Older homes that haven’t been done up can be a lot harder to sell, and even harder to rent out. If you’re looking for a great way to add value to an older building, then repainting is a pretty safe place to start with that process.
It will need to be done regularly
Lastly, it’s important to not stress too much about getting it perfect this time around. Houses need painting reasonably regularly, often every few years or so. As a result, unless you’re selling the property, you can always see how a certain look turns out this time, and then decide whether you want to mix things up in the future.
Repainting can be a great way to add value to older homes, but it’s important that you take the right approach. From dealing with hazardous materials – both old and new – in the right way, to thinking about how to match the colours to the architectural aesthetic, it shouldn’t be too difficult to get it right.