How To Paint The Gable End of a House?

The ridged roof looks antique and beautiful, especially because of the gable end. However, to paint a gable end can be a tricky task if not too hectic. You need to take care of the basics and set your foot right before picking up the paintbrush. Unlike other walls, gable ends have mostly triangular ends and some of them can be a good height if the house is double or triple storey. You need to make the right setup and only the experienced ones should perform the task. If you are a beginner, try to cover the gable ends in the end after painting the rest of the house to get a better idea. Here are some pro tips that might help you achieve your task. 

How to set up the ladder before painting?

If the gable end of your house is at some height and you need to set up the ladder, here are some of the basics that you must keep in mind while setting it up.

• The ladder you choose to use must be in good condition. You need to check if all the side rails and rungs are properly aligned or not and if the overall mechanism looks intact. In case of any protruding nails or bolts, you must get them fixed or replaced.
• Try to get an extension ladder so that you can adjust it as high as you want. In case you use a shorter ladder, you may have to stretch to paint the ends that might get risky. The pro tip says to hold the ladder with one hand and use another to paint the gable end.

• Ladders can be a good choice only for plain grounds. In case you have a house on sloping ground, it is advised to use ladder levelers. These levelers help you adjust the base of your ladder. Further, make sure you do not keep it either higher or lower than the area you want to paint. It is very important to keep your back straight while painting to avoid any mishap.

After you are done with setting up the ladder, the next important point of consideration is the brush you use. Here are some pro tips and what type of brush you should use and how to use to get the best possible results.

Pro-tips for using a brush while painting a gable end

It is completely up to you if you want to use a sprayer or a paintbrush to paint the gable end of your house. However, whichever one you use, make sure you can easily reach the gable ends to paint it. In case you cannot set up a ladder or even after setting some ends become hard to reach, there is still a solution for it and that is extension tools. These extension tools include paintbrush and sprayer extension build especially to help you reach distant corners of the gable ends effortlessly.

The paintbrush extension is basically a long extended handle that you can attach to the brush securely. It helps you extend the reach of the brush. On the other hand, the sprayer extension is nothing but a metal tube that is lightweight. You can easily attach it to the spray gun and increase your reach for spraying the wall.

The process of painting

After you make all the setup for painting your gable end be it installing the ladder or extending your paintbrush, you are all set to make your home beautiful. The next important step is to prepare the wall for new paint. Here’s how you can do it effortlessly.

• Select the color

Selecting the right color is very important. For this, you can either use the color that you have used for the rest of the walls or take suggestions from friends and family. Picking up a light color can be helpful if you live in a warm environment. Every color has its own specialty so choose as per your preference.

• Inspect the gable end

The next important step is to carefully inspect the wall. Inspecting is important to figure out any distortion on the wall. There may be cracks, broken brick, dry paint, or cement drops in case of a rendered wall. Make sure you inspect it well before proceeding.

• Remove the dust

After inspecting, you need to clean the wall properly to remove all the dust and debris for the best results. You can use sandpaper to smoothen the wall and clean it perfectly. 

• Fix the issues

You might notice a few issues while inspecting the wall like cracks which you can fill using epoxy fillers. After it gets dry, rub it with sandpaper. In case the cement has washed away, you can render it again and proceed with the further process after it gets dry.

• Cover the surrounding areas

Before you begin the painting process, it is very essential to cover all those areas around the gable end that you do not wish to paint. It may include the windows and their frame, the roof ends, etc. using drop cloth or brown paper and masking tape, you can stick them on these areas. If you are spray painting, then this process becomes more important. Measure the areas you want to cover, cut the brown paper accordingly and stick it using masking tape.

• Prime it up

Choosing to use primer on the gable ends before painting is up to you. You can skip this process. However, primer helps in better finishing and easy painting. Also, it keeps the paint intact for a longer period of time.

• Paint 

The last and final process is to paint the gable end. Dip your brush in the paint and roll it over the walls to get the next finishing. Make sure to dip as often as required to cut on extra effort and paint it well.

So, this is how you can set up and paint the gable ends of your house. If you have windows in the gable ends, you may not require ladders. However, if it is required, do not miss out on being extremely careful.