Your Raleigh House Painting Maintenance Schedule
A good house paint schedule consists of annual house washes, touching up cracks, and peeling paint. Maintaining a routine will increase the lifespan of your paint finish. The average home exterior in Raleigh is painted every 4 to 8 years. However, the national average is every 5 to 10years.
Many factors influence how long your exterior paint job lasts. These factors include the paint quality, the surface type, and its condition. The age of your home, the number of coats, and exposure to weather are also important to consider.
Exterior stains, whitewashing, and other faux finishes degrade sooner than thick exterior coatings.
House Painting Regimens to Follow
The best maintenance advice to make your exterior paint job last longer is to keep surfaces sealed and painted. Do not wait too long between paint jobs. Repainting your home is far less expensive than you think. It reduces replacements and repairs.
Your Maintenance Schedule Between Paint Jobs
- Power wash every 12 months, preferably during warmer weather after pollen season.
- Check the home for cracks and peeling paint every 18 months. Never leave wood unpainted or unsealed.
- Restain decks and fences every year.
- If areas are starting to fail, it’s a sign that it is time to repaint the entire home. Widespread paint failure is a sign that you have waited too long. It will cost more to repaint due to extra labor costs and materials to prepare the surface.
Paint Quality
Using thick paint from leading manufacturers like Sherwin-Williams and Benjamin Moore is the single best thing you can do. These paints include SW Emerald and Duration. Benjamin Moore Aura and Regal Select High-Build are some of the best exterior paints.
Flat paints provide less protection than satin and gloss finishes. Additionally, dark colors are affected by UV and do not last as long.
Surface Type
Answering how long paint should last is a broad question without knowing the surface.
Wood vs. PVC: Painted PVC trim will last much longer than wood, ranging from 8 to 12 years. Wood breaks down over time. To stop moisture damage, it needs regular painting. We recommend painting wood trim every 4 to 8 years for added protection.
Brick: Painted brick homes retain paint conditions for 8 to 15 years.
Stucco: Stucco has more texture and is a little more porous than brick. Stucco needs to be painted every 6 to 12 years.
Aluminum Siding: Adhesion is the biggest challenge when painting aluminum. Cracking and peeling paint can start as early as 10 years. However, when the right paint is used, most painted aluminum will last from 15 to 20 years.
Vinyl Siding: Painting vinyl is the cheapest and most effective way to preserve it after it has aged. Despite the incorrect DIY recommendation by amateurs, vinyl siding is best sprayed and will last 12 to 18 years when done correctly.
Hardieplank Siding: Fiber cement siding needs painting more often than most think, despite how it’s marketed. Areas exposed to water need repainting every 5 to 7 years. Otherwise, larger walls on higher ground can be painted 7 to 10 years.
Cedar Siding: Cedar is an aromatic wood and is best stained every 5 to 8 years. Painted cedar will last longer, averaging 8 to 12 years.
Surface Condition
The older a home is, the average lifespan for each painted surface decreases by 8% every 10 years. Additionally, older homes with several coats of paint from previous paint jobs often face paint failures. Each time a house is painted, the undercoat is more likely to break loose, resulting in peeling, chipping, or bubbling paint. This is especially a concern if previous painters used cheap materials.
Waiting too long to paint will also affect future paint coatings. In painting, you are never better than what you are painting over. Like a chain, the weakest link causes everything else to fail. So, one previous coat can cause everything above it to fail.
Never paint over oxidation or chalky paint. Use a primer and proper preparation to ensure a solid surface that is paint-ready.
Number of Coats
Two is better than one in most cases. And it is certainly the case for exterior house painting. However, the primer coat does not count. The best practice is always to use a primer when painting any surface for the first time.
Weather Exposure
UV, humidity, heat, and rain all reduce paint life in different ways. Combining all of these elements will reduce the life of paint by over 52%. Extensive exposure to water and moisture is the most problematic. Water transfer from saturated soil and rooflines is the most common.
Check painted foundations and painted brick steps for moisture and ground efflorescence before painting. Create transition trim for siding transitions between the siding and rooflines. Siding that is close to the ground or a deck should also be checked and painted more often.
The Quality of the Service Matters
Everyone knows there are good painters and bad ones. But what does this mean, and how do you detect it? It’s all about honesty and the details. A good painter will take the time to find the best solutions and processes.
A good painter is worth their weight in gold. A high-quality paint job will last much longer and save money over time. For premium painting services in Raleigh, Cary, or the Triangle that you can count on, call us for a free house painting quote today! 919-426-4928
