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While painting can certainly change the look of a chimney, you should think twice about giving your brick chimney the old landlord special.

Painting brick is porous, meaning it’s full of tiny holes that can soak up moisture. Those holes also allow it to dry, though. So, when you paint it, you trap any moisture inside, providing an opportunity for mold, mildew, and water damage.

Paint also shows wear faster than naked brick. This means that once you paint a brick surface, you’ll have to keep painting it to maintain a clean look. A paint job is also harder to undo on brick because of its porous nature. Once you paint it, it’s hard to go back without some serious power washing—another added cost.

Satin paint applied to walls is best done with a roller to get a smooth, even surface. Rollers are designed to apply paint evenly and efficiently. Using a roller will save you some time because it’s about twice as fast as brushing on your paint. For trim like door frames and window frames, use a brush to apply satin paint to ensure you get into all the nooks and crannies.

Painting over cracks without repairing them first will simply lead to needing to fix them later. They will reappear in short order. Usually, just a bit of spackle and a putty knife before painting will do the trick. However, if there are significant cracks, find the source of the problem and fix it before moving forward.

One gallon of paint can usually cover up to 400 square feet. Therefore, painting a one- or two-car garage door typically requires one gallon of paint, which should give you enough for the two to three coats experts recommend for this job. However, if you're painting a lighter color over a darker color, you might need more. Using primer can decrease the total number of coats of paint you need.