AB15 Painting your house exterior
admin | Dec 23, 2011 | Comments 0
If you are a landlord and are thinking of painting your house then it is vital that you get Landlords insurance to protect your house from any damage.
Painting the outside of your home can be a little daunting and in fact it really is a major job. However if you are lucky you might just get away with some maintenance which will spruce up your house paintwork and so reduce the number of times you need to repaint the whole house. Whether you are able to get away with repainting the worst bits, or if you really do need to repaint it all, the following guidelines apply.
Timing the job is important. The best time for external painting is late spring or early summer and early autumn. You should avoid the hot summer months and the cold and wet ones. Both will ruin your hard work and investment.
Preparation is very important and before you start to paint you will need to ensure that the surface you are painting on is in good condition. If the previous paintwork is peeling, this will be because either the paint was applied on damp wood (or moisture has entered the wood subsequently) or it was applied on a greasy or glossy surface. You should remove all flaking paint with a wire brush followed by sanding smooth any sharp edges. If any bare wood shows though then this needs to be primed.
Blistering is another affect of moisture. Any blisters should be removed by scraping and the areas treated as above.
Crinkled paintwork is often caused by applying a second coat before the first one is properly dry. It can also occur if the painting was done in cold weather. If you come across this you will need to scrape off all the paint and prime the bare wood.
Sometimes you might come across chalking paint. Certain paints will form a chalky surface which is a mechanism to keep them looking good, but excessive chalking can occur. You will need to remove as much of the paint as possible and over-paint with a non-chalking paint.
Mould and mildew are frequent visitors and occur where there is a combination of shade and moisture. You will need to remove as much as you can be washing and then treat the area with fungicide followed by over-painting with a fungicidal paint.
