Maximize The Life Of Your Exterior Paint Job
How To Maximize The Life Of
Exterior Painting in Seattle, WA
These Steps Will Help You Keep Your Local
Home Looking Its Best As Years Go By
At Amsberry Painting, we know you care about your home. You want it to look its best and hold up as long as possible. And when it comes to exterior painting in Seattle, we’ve got you covered.
When you boil it down, keeping your wood siding in prime condition is as simple as small maintenance efforts extend over time. Our maintenance tips and tricks cover the full spectrum. With their help, you can get the longest possible life out of your current or future paint job.
Examine Your Exterior Paint During Home Inspections
A home inspection is easy. It requires slipping on a jacket and taking a walk around the exterior of your Seattle home.
Take a look at each side of the house and look closely for anything out of the ordinary. That includes problems such as loose siding boards or shingles, nails that are sticking up, open caulk lines, raw wood, and chipping paint.
We recommend inspecting your home at least once a year. It may help to schedule inspections on your calendar as a convenient reminder.
Tips For Tackling Common Home Maintenance Issues
with Exterior Painting in Greater Eastside
What if you notice condition issues during your inspection? It’s time to address them ASAP. Solutions for the most common issues include:
Loose Exterior Siding and Protruding Nails
Notice any loose siding boards or nails sticking up? You can correct these issues by resetting the protruding nails.
Just lightly hammer the nails flush with the siding boards. Be careful not to use too much force, as this can cause unsightly hammerhead indentations. If necessary, touch up the area with primer and paint.
Warped Exterior Siding Boards
If a siding board is loose due to warping, it may be time for you to replace sections of your siding. You can ask a siding contractor to inspect your siding and create a plan of action for you if this is the case.
Bare Patches With No Exterior Paint
See any bare patches where the raw wood is exposed? Brush a bit of primer on the area, then add a coat or two of paint.
In the greater Seattle area, the best time to assess and touch up your home is July. This ensures you will not trap moisture inside trouble areas in your siding.
Peeling or Chipping Exterior Paint
Wood siding swells in the winter due to moisture in the air and shrinks in the summer due to the dryer air. This puts pressure on the paint over many years and can cause paint to lift, crack, or peel. By performing yearly inspections and following touch-up procedures, you will prevent long-term or sometimes permanent damage to your siding.
You’ll probably find more chipping and peeling on the south-facing side of your home due to more intense sun exposure. If the affected areas are small, you can use the following four-step process to address them:
Step 1: Use a paint scraper (which can be purchased at your local paint or hardware store) to lightly scrape off the worst of the peeling paint. The paint will typically continue flaking off, so just get the worst of it and call it good.
Step 2: Use a section of 80-220 grit sandpaper (depending on the roughness of your siding) to sand down the area you just scraped. The goal is to create a gradual transition from raw wood to painted areas in order to avoid more peeling in the future.
Step 3: Prime the area of raw wood exposed by your scraping and sanding. Be sure to use the appropriate primer for your siding.
For example, if you have tight-knot cedar siding, you should use a slow-dry oil primer. If you have composite siding like LP or Weyerhaeuser, use a bonding primer. Both types of primer can be found at your local paint store.
Step 4: Paint the area using one or two coats of the paint originally used on your house. Note that depending on the time since your last paint job, the paint on your house may differ in color from the fresh paint you apply. This is due to normal color pigment fading.
A typical paint job lasts 7-10 years. If you have large spans of failing paint and it’s been more than seven years since your last paint job, we advise waiting until your next full exterior painting project to fix the issue.
Addressing Mold and Mildew on Exterior Painting in Seattle, WA
In the Pacific Northwest, mold and mildew growth on home exteriors is common. That’s no surprise given the amount of rain we get.
See any mold or mildew on your home’s exterior surfaces? You can lightly wash off the growth by applying a small amount of water/bleach solution to the area and then rinsing the area with a garden hose.
The water-to-bleach ratio we recommend is five parts water to every one part bleach. For small areas, this solution can be applied using a sponge (make sure to wear rubber gloves to protect your hands).
For larger areas, put the solution into a two-gallon garden sprayer and spray it onto the shingles or siding. The time frame between applying the solution and washing it off should be between 10 and 15 minutes. If you would like assistance in this area, we offer professional pressure washing services!
Make Amsberry Painting Your Trusted Local Resource
So there you go! You are now equipped to care for your home exterior and get the longest possible life out of your paint job. Here’s to years of great-looking and high-functioning exterior paint jobs the world over!
Is it time for you to schedule a new exterior painting project in greater Seattle? Call Amsberry Painting today at (425) 485-7381 for your free project estimate. We’re always ready to help you keep your local home in top condition!