Mobile Home Exterior Makeovers | All About Paint
No doubt, sometime in your mobile home journey, you’ve noticed the exterior of a mobile home. Maybe it’s yours, or maybe it belongs to someone else. You’ve possibly noted that the outside looked spiffy, and kept the design in mind for a later time. On the other hand, perhaps you noticed how ugly it looked.
Do you ever notice yourself not liking the exterior of your mobile home? We hope so, because today, we’re going to look at some solutions for “unhappy looking houses” and how to fix them by painting the outsides. That’s right, you can paint your mobile home. Generally, while some folks have hired someone to do it for them, others have done it themselves, and you can too! This is the first article in a series related to mobile home exterior makeovers, and we’re excited to get started.
Let’s take a look at a few different situations where people have painted the exterior of their mobile home.
Where there’s a will, there’s a way
Generally, taking on a task like painting a mobile home is going to take time and a good amount of willpower. And that’s exactly what Geneva and her husband “Buzz” had. On her blog, My Heart’s Song, Geneva explains that, when they first purchased their mobile home, the first thing she thought of was painting the exterior. Which is why she didn’t waste any time in getting on the project.
Because she and her husband couldn’t get a professional power-washer to come to wash the house, they cleaned it themselves, by hand, with a brush. They also started out painting their house by hand but found that it was too difficult. Subsequently, they switched to an airless sprayer and were extremely happy with the results.
Enjoying these old years
Our second example of folks who painted their mobile home’s exterior has quite a happy ending. The Miele’s lived in Upstate New York on a hobby farm, and after receiving an inheritance, bought a mobile home in the heart of The Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. Susie Miele wasn’t so sure about the mobile home at first, but she learned not to judge a book by its cover. The Miele’s first order of business was to repaint the siding on their new home.
In this case, the siding being repainted was metal, so they decided to paint with brushes and rollers. But first, as is always smart to do, they washed the siding thoroughly. Furthermore, because the siding was metal, the Miele’s used this specific paint geared towards metal. As a result, the Miele’s made a not-so-attractive house, into a quaint mobile home, fit for a king. In reaction to their exterior painting and renovations, Susie said, “I saw what can be done and thought wow that’s not so bad after all! The cost of living will be cut way down and hubby can retire and maybe we can start enjoying these old years.”
Can it be done?
The McGee family remodeled their home for more than 15 years before they ever considered painting their mobile home siding. Others had told them that painting siding was a bad idea, and would look terrible. But the McGee’s weren’t about to be stopped! In the end, they found a painter and had him come for an estimate. And he was all for it.
According to the McGees, he gave them excellent advice, telling them which painting products he’d used before, and gave them after-care suggestions. And even though he was a professional, his work outline wasn’t much different. The house was washed, windows and doors sealed off, and top, bottom, and side edges next to the windows and doors were painted by hand. Next, the rest of the house was painted with a paint sprayer. After everything was finished, the McGees were overjoyed with their new look, and couldn’t have been happier.
It’s your turn
Now that we’ve looked at a few different painting stories, it’s time to look at a basic overview of what happened in the process. When we’re done, it will be time for you to find your paintbrush, and get to work!
A fairly simplistic list of “to-dos”
- Pick your paint. The most important part of picking paint is getting a color you like. Once you’ve found out what that color is, do online research, or ask someone in a home improvement store what kind of paint is best.
- Wash the house. Hiring a power washer is great if you have the money. If not, a scrub brush, some soapy water, and a bit of elbow grease will do the trick. And don’t forget to let it dry before you start painting.
- Tape off and/or cover windows and doors. Generally, not everyone does this, but if you happen to be a crazy painter, you might want to protect your windows and doors.
- Paint! Assuming that you have paint, your house is dry, and you’re not hiring someone, it’s time to get to work! Be careful, and have fun.
New look, same great mobile home
Now that we’ve learned how to paint the outside of your house, it’s time to get to work! Once you’ve finished your outside job, get some ideas for indoor summer themes by reading this article. It’s never too late to change your home’s look.