In Minneapolis-St. Paul, interior and exterior paint jobs are two of the best ways to breathe new life into your home. Think hard about whether this is a job you want to tackle on your own, however. While painting is absolutely a job that's within reach of almost any homeowner, doing it right takes a lot of time and patience. Add to that the fact that a "perfect" paint job is probably out of the question if you're a first timer (proper painting technique is one of those degrees you can only earn at the school of hard knocks, no matter how much you read up on it ahead of time), and a lot of Twin Cities residents choose to hire the job out to a professional home painter in Minneapolis. That being said, here's a few painting tips that are specific to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, as well as some information on what to expect cost and project duration wise if you're leaning toward hiring a house painter in Minneapolis to slap on the paint for you.
Interior Painting for an Amateur Minneapolis Home Painter
Not surprisingly, interior painting doesn't vary much region to region, so we won't spend too much time on it here. Prep properly by cleaning, patching, and priming necessary surfaces before you paint, protect flooring and furniture with drop cloths, remove all light switch and outlet coverings, as well as door and window hardware, and tape off areas like trim, doors, and windows for tighter lines and a cleaner painting experience. Follow those basic steps, along with any tips you can glean from the store you purchase your paint from, and your project will turn out fine.
Exterior Painting Tips that a Professional Minneapolis Home Painter Lives By
Exterior painting in the Twin Cities isn't quite so straightforward. With weather that's as varied as anywhere in the country, and cold that hits early and hangs around late, you need to be conscious of the weather in Minneapolis-St. Paul prior to painting the exterior of your home. The following are some rules to think about if you want your paint job to look good and last as long as possible in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
Don't Paint Out of Season—Paint should only be applied when the temperature is above 50 degrees for latex, and over 40 degrees for oil-based paints. Even more important for Minneapolis: don't apply paint if there's a chance it might freeze within two weeks of slapping it on. If a freeze hits your paint before it's cured, you'll likely sacrifice looks and longevity. That means painting season in the Twin Cities runs approximately April through September, one of the shortest painting seasons in the nation.
Always Watch the Weather—If there's a weather phenomenon that can ruin a paint job, Minneapolis-St. Paul will throw it at you. Thunderstorms and high winds are going to be your biggest enemy, so watch the forecast before you begin. And while humidity isn't a big problem in Minneapolis-St. Paul, be wary of painting if the outside humidity tops 70 percent, especially with latex-based paints since it can compromise the paint's ability to adhere properly to your siding.
Don't Work Dawn to Dusk—Give the morning sun a chance to warm things up and dry things off before you get going in the A.M., and always quit a few hours before sunset. The formation of dew when the sun goes down can ruin a good day's work in a matter of hours.
Minneapolis Home Painter Costs and Project Durations
If you research and prepare ahead of time and follow the rules mentioned above, you'll be fine if you choose to do it yourself. If you're thinking about hiring your job out, however, you're probably a lot more concerned with how much it's going to run, and how long it's going to take, then when to call it a day. ServiceMagic sends out post-project surveys to every Twin Cities homeowner that uses our referral service in order to find a painter so we can ensure that our customers get quality service, and we can collect valuable data. Using those surveys as a guide, we can give you a good idea of what you're getting into if you hire a Minneapolis house painter to do your interior or exterior work.
Hiring an Interior Minneapolis House Painter—For interior work, our data reveals an average cost of about $2,000 for a large-scale interior paint job. They can run as much as $5,000 and as little as $800, however, so you'll want to collect several bids before you hire to pin point exactly how much your home is going to cost you. As for how long it's going to take, three days is the norm, though small jobs can be finished in as little as a day, and the big ones can take as long as 10.
Hiring an Exterior Minneapolis Home Painter—If you're on the lookout for an exterior Minneapolis house painter, the figures really aren't that different. Based on our data, the average cost of exterior painting in Minneapolis-St.Paul runs $2,850, with a high of $7,000 and a low of $1,000. The average time you should expect a home painter in Minneapolis to be working on your home isn't much different than an interior job, either. Projects average three days start to finish, with a two-day minimum, and a 10-day max.
Deciding Whether to DIY or Hire a Minneapolis Home Painter
This is a tough decision, and ultimately you'll have to figure it out for yourself. Things to think about, however, include cost, how much time you have to work with, your expectations for the finished product, and how soon you want your job done. Obviously, a professional house painter in Minneapolis is going to get the job done much faster than you will (days instead of weeks), will probably do a better job, and you'll cut down on the inconvenience factor by more than you can imagine. The main benefit to doing it yourself, on the other hand, is saving money. That being said, hopefully the figures above will help you decide whether you need to keep your paint job in-house, or whether it makes more sense to preserve a little sanity and hire the job out. 
Matt Goering, formerly a carpenter and house painter, is a freelance writer for the home improvement industry who has published over 600 articles.
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