Are you looking for signs to repaint your exterior? A fresh coat of paint can greatly enhance the curb appeal and value of your home. However, there are instances where the signs it’s time to repaint your exterior go beyond the surface.
Sometimes, you have to look deeper at the actual structure of your home, such as the siding, roof, and gutters to determine if additional repairs are needed before you paint. In this blog post, we’ll explore the key areas to check for signs of damage that may indicate more than just a paint job is needed.
Signs You Need More Than Exterior Painting
Before a paint brush touches your home’s exterior, it’s important to check for these signs that additional repairs and tradespeople may be needed to get your home in tip-top shape before painting your exterior.
Rotted Wood
One of the key signs that your home’s exterior needs more than a fresh paint job is the presence of rotted wood on your siding. Rotted wood is typically made visible as a painted surface that is wrinkled or looks like a cavity is behind it. It will also show black discoloration from the moisture and fungus build up, which is a crucial issue that needs immediate repair before further damage ensues.
Cracked Caulking
The quality of your caulking plays a key role in protecting your home and the structure from moisture. Cheap caulking only stretches about 15%, while premium caulking stretches about 50-70%. For this reason, most of our customers opt for premium, high-quality caulking that provides longer-lasting protection from moisture.
Cracked caulking and peeling paint can create openings for water to get in, which leads to a moist environment that is the perfect breeding ground for mold, mildew, and fungus. This fungus can cause rot and decay in your wood siding.
When inspecting homes before exterior painting, we look for areas that are squishy, black, or have an empty cavity behind the paint film where fungus has started eating away and feeding on your wood. If this occurs, we recommend wood siding replacement before painting.
Peeling Paint
Peeling paint is more than an aesthetic issue as it points to signs of potential problems beneath the outer surface. We recommend removing peeling, cracking, or bubbling paint by scraping and sanding to create a solid surface to paint on top of. To better seal those bare areas of the wood or metal, apply a high-quality exterior primer first before you begin painting.
Read more about the most common paint problems on the exterior of your home in this blog post.
Roof and Gutters
Another sign that you may need more than exterior painting and prep work to improve your home exterior is damaged shingles and water damage in your home. Rain water that is not properly moved from your roof to the ground via gutters will cause premature failure of the paint. This may be a sign that your roof needs repaired, which we recommend doing before painting.
In this case, it’s best to contact a roofing company, gutter company, or both before painting. If you need both your roof and gutters repaired, we recommend starting with the roof followed by the gutters, and then moving forward with exterior painting.
Windows and Doors
If your windows and doors are rotted or damaged beyond repair, this can indicate that exterior painting alone may not be all that your home needs. We recommend contacting a window and door company to fix these areas before proceeding with your exterior painting.
The fact of the matter is, exterior paint doesn’t last forever. Therefore, before you begin your exterior painting project, it’s important to inspect your home for all of these signs to repaint your exterior, beyond just the paint. This will ensure your home is in the best shape possible and you can address any issues beforehand.
Look at all of the areas above to see if there are additional prep pieces, attention, or tradespeople that might need to be called before your paint company begins. Taking the time to assess your home’s structural elements will ensure it remains strong and sound for the long haul as well as laying the groundwork for a successful exterior transformation.
If you are ready to begin the exterior painting process in the Raleigh / Wake County, North Carolina area, visit our contact page to book your free consultation call with our team. We will begin by inspecting your home for these signs of damage and needed repair so we can ensure we are painting on a sound, solid exterior surface to give you the best results.
