How to know that it’s time to paint the exterior of your house

After a long, hot summer when the exterior of your home took a real beating, it may be time to repaint those walls, especially if it’s five years or more since the house was painted.

Yes, it’s a huge, expensive job, but if you wait seven or eight years between paint jobs, the summer sun and monsoon rains and wind might devastate your home’s walls and cause repair issues that will be expensive to fix.

If you’re not convinced you need to repaint, check out the following areas of your house and you’ll understand the possible problems:

• Walk around your house and look for cracks or splits in wood siding. They need to be patched before they become big problems. Are the panels on the siding beginning to bow out or bend?

• Inspect the fascia boards – the flat pieces of wood below the edge of your roof. Sometimes your entire patio cover is done in wood framing as well. If you see dark areas, it may actually be a sign that the wooden boards are rotting. If you see rot or mold or peeling paint, you may need to replace the fascia board before repainting

• If your home is covered in stucco, you can check the paint job by rubbing a dark towel over the stucco on the south and west sides of your house. If you see chalking paint coming off, it’s a sign your paint is turning to dust. Sometimes just rubbing your hand on the stucco, the paint will come off.

• Inspect the stucco for cracks around windows and cracks by the corners of the house and along the foundation.

• Look for bare concrete or peeling paint on the foundation of your home.=

• You may have ceilings covered with drywall on your patio roof or in the entryway at the front door. Inspect them for tape seams coming loose, cracks appearing or texture breaking off. Don’t hose them down if they’re dirty. You need to have them repaired and repainted.

• It’s a good idea to take a close look as well at the walls and fencing in your yard to see if it needs repainting as well.

Make a list of any special problem areas to show painters who come to give you estimates.

They may have a handyman on staff who can do the repairs or they can recommend someone who will do the job for you before they paint. Many times fascia boards will need replacing before the painting takes place.