It can be appealing not to hire a roof painting specialist and rather select the DIY approach to roof painting. Is that a sensible thing to do? It seems like a straightforward task, but as an amateur, you may omit many problems. Your roof will be a different colour when you’re finished, but is that all there is to roof painting?
Hiring a roof painting specialist may be a sensible home improvement that will add value to your home.
Things to consider before D.I.Y roof painting
If your roof is a single story roof, and the slope is not too steep, D.I.Y roof painting can seem like a great plan.
Before designating a paint colour, go inspect your roof. Then speculate about hiring professional roof painters.
Here are several reasons why:
- The roof must be meticulously chemical cleaned before you apply the paint.
- The roof may have leaks or structural damage that require repairs.
- Painting a roof is not as straightforward as it appears.
- Do you know how to utilise airless spray roof equipment?
- How safe are you when moving around on the roof?
- Will the Roof pitch create a safety issue?
Usually, a roof painting specialist will chemically clean the roof before they coat it. As they clean the roof, they will search for areas that require repair. As they have years of practice, they can find trouble areas on the roof you might overlook.
Painting a roof requires a concise approach and is not as straightforward as it might appear. Roofs are best painted with airless spray equipment, which won’t leave brush strokes and is quicker than the conventional hand painting method, saving you money, less labour. Roof painters know how to use the spray gun equipment and won’t leave runs or paint areas that shouldn’t be painted. An amateur will be working at heights and will have to concentrate on their work. One slip can cause a serious injury or even death. Roof painters know what they are doing and know how to work safely on roofs.
Coating a steep-pitched roof
Coating a steep-pitched roof may require equipment that will be more expensive for you to hire than professional painters. A steep-pitched roof can’t be walked on and a hoist may be required. It is unlikely the person who rents you the hoist or the person operating it will want an amateur inside the hoist.
They will want someone with experience using the hoist because a hoist is not as simple to use as one might expect. It must be precisely located to allow the painter to paint a section of the roof and then must be moved to the next section. Someone with experience can help the hoist driver move the hoist. An amateur will have to rely on the driver and the driver can’t see all they need to see to position the hoist precisely.
Basically, as an amateur, you don’t know how to do the detail work. This can involve coating the eaves or fascia a specific colour and painting guttering. If you just coat the roof, the eaves and guttering may look cheap in contrast.
Professional roof painters are accustomed to the details and know the steps to take to make every detail turn out correctly. They have the background required to work safely and efficiently at heights and they know their limits. An amateur might force their limits and a disaster can occur. Even an accident like spilling paint can add hours to the work and a further serious mishap could land you in the hospital.
Why the details require professional work
Detail work may involve more than just painting the eaves or guttering. It may involve painting other parts of the house like window frames or decorative features. These jobs must be done on a ladder or sloping surface. A roof painting specialist is accustomed to working on a ladder or on a sloping surface and knows exactly what they need to know about painting details.
If they are an experienced roof painter, they have the necessary skill to do even fine detailed work correctly.
You may argue that you only need to paint the roof, but after the roof is painted, the eaves or fascia may not be the correct colour or they may look shabby next to a new coat of paint.
Choosing a Specialist Roof painter
Before you decide to tackle roof painting as a D.I.Y project, obtain quotes from professional roof painters and find out how much they will quote.
Add your costs up and compare the costs of having a roof professionally painted. In the Western Cape, Roof cleaning has been affected by water restrictions and one has to resort to chemical roof cleaning.
- Do you know what products to use?
- Are those products safe to handle?
Also, remember the roof will become slippery when it’s wet. You may use the incorrect chemicals and damage the roof and you may not know all the safety measures to apply.
Why a Specialist Roof Painter is worth the cost!
When you think about it and compare costs, requesting the services of a roof painting specialist can be comparatively inexpensive and you won’t be risking an accident or mishap as opposed to trying DIY roof painting yourself. Make sure you hire a roof painter who has a good reputation in your area and can provide you with references and show you roofs they have previously painted.
When you get quotes for roof painting, ask if the roof painting specialist can also paint eaves, fascias, and guttering. They will charge more for these services but will itemise these services in their quotation so that you may compare apples with apples.
To obtain a more accurate quotation, inform roof painters of the following:
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- How many square metres they require to paint
- Whether the roof is a single story roof or a double story roof
- The steepness of the roof pitch
- If there are different areas to paint rather than a straightforward roof
- If there are any roof access problems
- What the substrate of the roof is.
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