Siding, trim, doors and shutters: gallons, primer, caulk and ladders, with lead-safe rules for older homes.
Answers
Sheet
Sheet A-1 · Exterior paint
50′ × 25′ house, 2 stories
PRO STEP
Paint
3 × 5-gal + 8 gal + 1 qt
23.25 gal, paint + primer
Siding
2634
sq ft
Trim
473
sq ft, incl. doors
Ladder
28 ft
top at 24 ft
83–125 h of work
Plan on dry days: wash day, then 1–2 days to dry, then a side of the house a day or so per coat.
Draft
The rules behind this Sheet are waiting for a licensed pro’s sign-off.
High walls: ladder work
The highest point is about 24 ft up, for a ladder of 28 ft — the riskiest part of the job. Set it 1 out for every 4 up on firm, level ground with a standoff, keep your belt buckle between the rails, and stay well clear of power lines. Many people hire out just the high walls and gables.
Find out when the house was built
Homes built before 1978 may have lead paint, and outside paint often had the most. Test before you scrape or sand (a lab test of chips, or a certified inspector). If lead is present: mist and scrape by hand, no power sanding without a HEPA shroud, no open flame, no heat gun at 1,100°F or more, and no pressure washer; plastic on the ground 10 ft out from the wall, windows and doors closed within 20 ft, chips bagged every day, kids and pets away. EPA’s RRP rule doesn’t cover owners working on their own home, but anyone you pay must be an EPA lead-safe certified firm — for outside work that disturbs more than 20 sq ft of paint — and rentals are covered.
Paint weather
Most exterior latex goes on from about 35–50°F up to 90°F, air and wall both, and needs those temperatures for at least 4 hours after (Behr’s exterior paints say 35–90°F; many paints need 50°F) — read the can. No rain or heavy dew on the way; paint the shady side and follow the sun around the house.
Drawing
Front and side
1
Siding 2634 sq ft after windows and doors, gables included.
2
Gable 2 × 78 sq ft.
3
Window 15 sq ft off the siding; casing and sill painted with the trim.
4
Fascia + soffit 156 ft of eaves and rakes, soffits 1′ deep.
5
Door Outside face and edges.
The back and the other side mirror these. Windows are spread around the house by wall length; yours will sit elsewhere.
What to buy
14 items
Save to your jobs to check things off in the store.
Paint
Exterior house paint
satin or flat, 2 coats
3 five-gallon buckets + 3 gallons
100% acrylic exterior latex for siding; the can lists coverage and the lowest temperature it goes on at.
Exterior trim and door paint
satin or semi-gloss, 2 coats
3 gallons
Satin or semi-gloss exterior acrylic for trim, fascia, soffits, doors and shutters.
Siding
Exterior primer (stain-blocking) · 1 coat, scraped spots
2 gallons
For bare wood and scraped spots; stain-blocking so cedar and redwood tannins don’t bleed through.
Trim
Exterior primer (stain-blocking) · 1 coat, scraped spots
1 quart
For bare wood and scraped spots; stain-blocking so cedar and redwood tannins don’t bleed through.
House wash concentrate
4 gallons
Cleans dirt, chalk and mildew off siding before paint; mix as the label says (a TSP substitute works too).
Sandpaper, 80 and 120 grit
80 + 120 grit
3 packs
Feathers scraped edges so they don’t show through the new paint.
Exterior wood filler
quart tub
1 tub
Fills gouges and holes in siding and trim; sandable and paintable outdoors.
Exterior sealant (paintable)
10.1 oz, paintable
9 tubes
Siliconized acrylic or elastomeric sealant rated for outdoors; stays flexible as siding moves.
Painter’s tape 1.41″ × 60 yd
1 roll
Masks trim and ceilings.
Canvas drop cloth 9×12
9×12 canvas
4
Doesn’t slide like plastic; reusable.
Plastic sheeting, 6-mil
6-mil, 10′ × 100′
2 rolls
Ground cover that catches paint chips under scraping so they can be bagged — lead-safe work needs it.
Roller covers 9″
½″ nap
4 covers
Nap length depends on wall texture.
4″ foam mini-roller
2
Smooth finish on doors and trim.
Tray liners
fits your tray
3
One per color.
Try a color on your house
Take a photo of the house, tap the siding, and see it in a new color. On your device, nothing uploaded.
Tools
You own 0 of 18 must-haves
Tap the ones you already own. That builds your Tool Shed as you go — no setup.
Must have
The job stalls without it.
Extension ladder (28 ft)
The highest point is about 24 ft up; a ladder of 28 ft reaches about 27 ft (Werner)
Ladder stabilizer (standoff)
Holds the ladder off the siding and gutters, and steadies it
Step ladder (6 ft)
First-floor trim, doors and soffits
Pump sprayer
Puts on the house wash
Carbide paint scraper
Peeling paint off fast
Putty knife
Filler and loose edges
Sanding sponges
Feathers the edges
Caulk gun
Dispenses caulk and adhesive.
9″ roller frame
Holds the roller cover.
Extension pole
Rolls the high siding from the ladder or the ground
2½″ angled sash brush
Cutting in and brushing out laps
2″ angled trim brush
Smaller brush for baseboards and casing.
5-gal bucket + roller grid
Box the paint: pour every gallon of a color into one bucket and mix
5-in-1 painter’s tool
Scraper, can opener, roller squeegee — the painter’s pocket knife.
Safety glasses
Scraping and overhead work
Work gloves
Tack strip, block and lumber shred hands.
Half-face respirator (P100)
For any scraping until the lead test is back
Lead-safe work kit
Sheeting, tape, wipes and bags for the cleanup
Nice to have
Faster or cleaner, not required.
Ladder leveler
Levels the ladder on sloped ground and steps
Random orbit sander
Only with a HEPA dust shroud on lead paint — or not at all
HEPA dust extractor
Lead: the daily cleanup and any power tool go through a HEPA vacuum
Order of work
83–125 h of work
01
Lead check first: test the old paint (lab-tested chips, or a certified inspector) before any scraping or sanding.
Check first
Pre-1978 home: test for lead before you sand or scrape.
02
Wash the house top-down with house wash and a garden hose — no pressure washer on old paint; rinse, then let it dry a day or two.
Check first
Forecast checked: dry days ahead for washing, drying and every coat.
Wait 24–48 h — siding dries after washing
Wet wood and stucco hold water behind the paint: give it a day or two of dry weather before you scrape, prime or paint.
03
Scrape loose and peeling paint wet, by hand, over the plastic ground cover, feather the edges with sandpaper, and fill gouges and holes with exterior filler.
04
Spot-prime the bare spots, one coat.
Wait 1–24 h — primer dries before sealant and paint
Latex primers: an hour or a few; oil-based and stain-blocking primers: often overnight — see the can.
05
Seal the gaps with exterior sealant: around windows and doors, along corner boards and trim joints — never the drip gaps under siding laps.
Check first
Sealant only at trim joints and around openings — the bottom edges of lap siding stay open to drain.
Wait 1–24 h — sealant skins over before paint
Most paintable exterior sealants take paint in an hour or a few; some say 24 h, and cold slows them — the tube decides.
06
Cover plants and walks with drop cloths; take down lights, house numbers and shutters where you can.
07
Soffits and fascia first: they’re the highest, and drips land on unpainted siding.
08
Body: one side of the house at a time, top down, out of direct sun, brushing the laps and rolling the faces; finish whole boards or sections so the edges stay wet. Recoat once the first coat is dry to recoat — see the can.
Check first
Wall and air in the can’s temperature range for the next 4 hours, no rain or dew coming, and you’re on the shady side.
Wait 2–16 h — first coat dries before the next
Exterior latex: often 2–4 h when warm (Behr says 2 h at room temperature), much longer when it’s cool or damp — see the can. Tannin-rich woods like cedar want 12–16 h between coats.
09
Trim last: window and door trim, doors, brushed and mini-rolled, two coats.
10
Last coat: no rain or dew on it for at least 4 hours (the can says how long). Then pull tape, rehang what you took down, and label a can for touch-ups.
Wait 4–12 h — last coat stays dry
Keep rain and heavy dew off it: most exterior latex needs about 4 hours in its temperature range; cool, damp days take longer.
Mistakes that ruin the job
4 mistakes
1
Painting over dirt, chalk or mildew
Paint peels off the dust, and mildew grows back through it. Wash, rinse and let it dry first.
2
Painting in the sun or before dew
Paint flashes, laps and blisters in direct sun; late-day dew leaves streaks and surfactant drips. Follow the shade.
3
Sealing the drip gaps
Caulking the bottom edges of lap siding traps water behind it. Seal joints at trim, not the laps.
4
Dry-scraping or power-washing old paint
It spreads lead dust and chips into the soil where kids play. Test first, then work wet over plastic.
Plan it
The load
To haul
360 lb
from the store to the room
Helpers
0
a solo job
Heaviest
Exterior house paint · 18 gal · 198 lb
Plastic sheeting, 6-mil · 2 rolls · 60 lb
House wash concentrate · 4 gal · 36 lb
When you’ll finish
Pick when you can start and how many hours you have.
Hours you can work
Each weekday evening
0
h
Each weekend day
8
h
Saved for every Sheet. Waits run overnight and on days off; work only fills the hours you have.
DIY vs hiring it out
Estimate
Typical US store prices and labor rates, not a quote. A real price can differ a lot.