Exterior Paint Maintenance Every Homeowner Should Know

 Exterior Paint Maintenance You Must Know

 

If you’ve had your home painted two years ago or longer it’s time to check for damage and do simple but important maintenance to keep your paint job doing its job longer.

There are 3 types of damage easy to detect and fix but left untreated may cost you hundreds.

• Cracking or missing caulk around windows, doors, trim or between side boards. Caulk eventually uses elasticity when exposed to the elements or cracks when a home settles. This unavoidable damage WILL allow moisture to destroy your paint job.
• Dirt or other substances on your paint job. These are abrasive and corrosive and can compromise your paint job and usually appear on the bottom 10’ of the paint job.
• Loose or damaged siding boards or trim. Paint is a coating that prevents moisture and pests from destroying building materials. When a board is loose or obviously damaged the coating has been compromised.

We now offer annual maintenance services to extend the life of your paint job.

The cost of maintenance that extends the life of your paint job is significantly less than repainting your entire home. The more time your paint job does its job, the more money you can keep in your pocket. Each year at the end of Spring we offer a limited number of maintenance appointments.

Based on the damage we find during an inspection we can:

• Re-caulk all windows and doors.
• Re-caulk and touch-up paint gaps between side boards and trim.*
• Power wash up to 10’ high.
• Replace loose or damaged boards, touch-up paint, and caulk.*

Contact us to book your inspection NOW. Appointments for maintenance work are offered on a first-come-first-serve basis during a 1-2 week period at the end of Spring and is determined by forecasted weather.

*Note: Touch up paint may not be an exact match and “flashing” may occur due to the effects of the elements on your existing paint job. The match will be as close as possible and the cost is less than repainting the entire home.

Why Shouldn’t I Use Cheaper Paint?

What does cheaper paint have to do with fruits and veggies?

 

Let’ say you’re an athlete and your job is to perform. Do you think fueling yourself with fast food regularly would get you the best results or would slightly more expensive organic meat and produce be better?

Obviously, the better quality foods are the best choice. Fast food and much of our packaged food we buy in stores have things in them that make them less expensive: lower quality ingredients, fillers, man-made chemicals, and terrible preservatives.

The same can be said of paint for your home. Professionals use pro grade products for one primary reason: the results are predictable. The number of impurities are small. The ingredients are higher quality. The paint rolls, brushes, and sprays well without getting gunky. It covers and touches up well.

Inexpensive paints are like packaged and fast foods. We have used them—and will not use them in the future. They contain sediment and fillers that clog up professional paint pumps. They are thick and goopy or the opposite, thin and runny. The results they give are unpredictable at best and at worst are predictable (looking very thick).

Even for your DIY project we suggest visiting a professional paint store and paying a few more dollars for products that are far superior.

Was this article helpful? Please leave a comment below or share with your friends on Facebook.