Have you been walking up to your home lately and noticed maybe your homes paint doesn't pop like it used to? Or maybe it just looks a little faded in some areas? Many homeowners don't want to take on the financial hit to repaint their home exterior. Unfortunately, letting your homes exterior go unpainted a few extra years longer than when it is due tends to make things significantly worse and more costly over time. The problem lies in the question, "how do I know when I need to repaint my home's exterior?" We wanted to answer that question for you here!
Here are the 5 top signs that your home's exterior is ready for a repaint.
Your paint is fading: Faded paint by itself isn't terrible. But it can make your house look tired for lack of a better term. Faded paint is more of an eye sore than anything and it likely isn't causing or allowing any damage to happen to your home. But to prevent your home from becoming the focal point of the neighborhood due to faded paint, it is worth looking into getting your home repainted.
There are gaps: Gaps tend to form around door frames, windows, and at siding seams around your home when the paint and caulking has been worn down and needs some love. When you have these gaps, moisture has the opportunity to penetrate your homes exterior walls and potentially cause some damage to your home. If you are starting to see some gaps around the exterior of your home, it is likely time to repaint.
Cracked caulking: Caulking is the main sealer around joints of siding, doors, windows, etc. around the exterior of your home that prevent any of the elements from making it into your homes walls. Over time, caulking tends to get worn down by the elements and it starts to separate from the joints and crack open. Take a walk around the outside of your home and inspect the joints. If you are noticing cracked caulking, it is time for a repaint.
Paint is showing wear and tear: If your paint is showing signs of physical wear and tear, it is time to repaint your homes exterior. There are a few common signs of wear and tear for exterior paint that are dead giveaways to your home needing to be repainted. Those signs are, bubbling, cracking, peeling, or scrapes and tears in the paint. These signs mean that the paint is now starting to physically separate from the home and it is time to get it fixed before it gets any worse. Not tending to this will allow for the elements to easily cause damage to your home.
Time: The last one on the list typically doesn't have any physical obvious signs that it is needed. Time. Paint doesn't last forever and over time your paint loses its quality and while there are no physical signs yet, paint needs to be redone after a certain period of time. The time between exterior paint jobs varies depending on the material that is on the exterior of your home. Exteriors should be painted every 5 to 10 years, depending on the quality of paint and craftsmanship it was painted with last time.
Here are some guidelines based on exterior surface:
Wood surfaces need to be painted every 3 to 7 years.
Aluminum siding needs to be painted about every 5 years.
Stucco should be repainted every 5 to 6 years.
Maybe you don't know the last time your home was painted because you haven't lived in the home long enough. Or maybe you just forgot, and that's okay! Use your best judgment to determine if your home needs to be repainted. Or if you are not entirely confident in what the answer is, it is always a safe bet to call your local trusted painting contractor and have them do an inspection on your exterior paint to give you as much information as possible so that you can make an educated decision as a homeowner to whether or not you want to repaint your home.
If you are in Northern Nevada, specifically, Reno, Sparks, Incline Village or surrounding areas and you are looking for help on getting your homes exterior repainted, at Paramount Craftsman Services our team of home remodeling experts are here to help you in the decision making process. If you would like more information on how we can help you and you want to see our process, visit our website by clicking here!