Should You Paint Your Siding This Fall?
MI Digital Solution
Paint not only improves curb appeal but also increases the lifespan of siding. Learn more about when you should and shouldn’t paint your home’s exterior.
Paint not only improves curb appeal but also increases the lifespan of siding. Learn more about when you should and shouldn’t paint your home’s exterior.
Paint does more for a home than improve aesthetics. It can also improve the lifespan of your siding, especially for T1-11, cedar shake, and other wood siding, by providing an extra layer of protection against dust, dirt, rain, snow, ice, and UV rays.
Although exterior paint can offer numerous benefits, there are some use cases where we wouldn’t recommend it.
If your siding is already painted, but you’ve noticed it peeling or flaking, you need to have your home repainted. Peeling paint, which is often caused by DIY paint jobs, won’t fix itself and will lead to moisture intrusion. It’s important to note that with peeling paint, you can’t just paint over it. You must remove the old paint, perform any necessary repairs, and then apply paint.
Most Michigan homes are exposed to a variety of weather conditions, from extreme rain to dry and hot conditions. Paint creates a continuous film that prevents water, moisture, UV rays, and other elements from contacting and damaging siding.
Painting over siding with cracks, holes, and gaps doesn’t make the damage go away; it only hides it and potentially makes the problem worse while creating aesthetic issues. This is especially true with wood siding. While siding can be painted, it has to be in good condition first for the paint job to have any impact.
Many vinyl siding manufacturers bake in color, and aluminum siding always has a factory coat that can cause adhesion issues with most paints. In some cases, painting over pre-finished siding can void warranties, leading to difficult conversations with your insurance company when insurance repairs are needed.
Bottom line: Always check with your siding contractor before you paint your siding, especially if it was just installed.
In many cases, cleaning can eliminate most stains on brick. However, if certain stains were allowed to sit for a long time, especially those caused by smoke, water damage, and efflorescence, they can be difficult to remove, and should instead be painted over. The downside of painting brick is that you need to be confident in the color that you choose because it can be challenging to remove existing paint from brick without causing damage.
Additionally, it’s critical that brick painting is done by a professional, because if it’s done incorrectly, moisture can get trapped inside the wall system and lead to premature deterioration. We also don’t recommend painting over severely damaged or deteriorating brick. In those situations, the bricks need to be replaced.
Historic neighborhoods are focused on preservation over pure aesthetics, so it will be nearly impossible for you to paint your exterior unless the home was originally painted. In that situation, color matching will be critical.
With HOAs, exterior painting isn’t necessarily impossible, just more difficult to achieve. Most HOAs are strict in what exterior changes can be made to homes. You will need to submit a home improvement request to your board, which may be denied without explanation.
Factory finishes can fade over time, as can existing paint. Siding is the first focal point for most people and makes the biggest impression, so painting faded siding is a great immediate solution for boosting curb appeal.
However, as we mentioned earlier, it’s critical to remove old or damaged paint first. With damaged or faded factory finishes, especially on aluminum siding, primers are essential to ensuring a long-lasting paint job.
Every situation is unique—if you need an aesthetic upgrade and you’re unsure if exterior painting is the right decision for your home, turn to our experts at Imperial Painting. We’ve been helping homeowners in Shelby Township, MI, transform their homes for over three decades.
Visit our website to see some of our past projects, or contact us today to schedule a free consultation.
Macomb: (586) 412-9040
Oakland: (248) 275-5657