If you’re gearing up to repaint your home’s exterior, you’re probably feeling pretty excited about the prospect of radically transforming your house. However, before getting started, there’s one crucial step that you’ll want to take: the removal of your old paint. Though it might not seem like a huge deal, failing to remove existing paint can end up altering or even ruining your new coat of paint. Here’s what you need to know.

There are few home projects as exciting as exterior painting; it’s an opportunity to wholly transform and update your home, show off your tastes and preferences, and of course, boost your curb appeal which is great if you’re planning to sell. However, every home is different, and every paint job varies – meaning that the total cost of exterior home painting is never going to be the same from project to project. That said, there are certain factors that always play into the grand total. Here’s a closer look at a few of them, so you have a better idea of what it’ll cost to repaint your house.