In this post, you will find a list of all the home exterior common problems and find out how we can fix them !
| Problem | Where is it found? | What’s happening and will happen? | Solution | Benefits |
| Peeling | Door Trim, Garage Trim, Railings, Posts | Moisture usually sits here and breaks down the paint. Now that the paint is peeling off, moisture can get into the wood and damage the wood, leading to rotting boards which can only be replaced. | Scrape, sand, prime. | Scraping gets all the bad paint off. Sanding creates surface area and “bite” for a better bond. Primer protects better than paint, and also adheres better to wood. It creates a great protection and will last longer. |
| Fading | Sides that get the most sun. Typically the South and West sides | The sun beats down on the paint, breaking down the resin in the paint. Resin is the hardener in the paint. So the side loses its protection, and can lead to boards beginning to warp. You can only fix warped boards by replacing them. | Power wash and use a quality paint. Recommend a 2nd coat or a coat of primer for fading sides | We power wash to get the chalking paint off the house to have a good surface to paint on. Using our liquid vinyl paint, we give it a thick coat to protect it from the sun. Since this side gets the most sun, a 2nd coat or a coat of primer will increase the longevity of the paint job. |
| Cracking | Joints where siding boards meet trim boards, or where trim boards meet trim boards. Around windows and doors | Contractors usually use an inexpensive caulking. As temperatures change the house moves and can crack the caulking. Once there is a crack, moisture gets into the crack, and runs down the back of the board where it is unprotected. This leads to the board warping away from the side of the house. In that case, it will be replaced. | Re caulk using a 35 year siliconized acrylic caulking. Wipe it with a finger or a wet rag to have it fill the crack. |
Re caulking the crack using a higher quality caulking will stop moisture from getting behind there. Higher quality caulking means it will flex with the house and not crack. It will last longer. You won’t need to worry about moisture getting behind these boards, and it will even save you on your heating bills. |
| Nail Holes | On the siding where it was nailed in | Moisture sits in the small nail hole so the siding around that area will begin to swell. Like a wet notebook, the pages get wrinkly and swell up. The same thing happens here with the siding. | Caulk the nail holes. Fill them with caulking so no more moisture will sit in those holes. | We can’t fix the damage that has already been done, but we can prevent further damage by caulking the nail hole. This will keep moisture running down the side of the house, instead of sitting in this hole swelling the siding. |
| Peeling Siding | Underneath siding boards. Usually North side of house/whatever sides don’t get sunlight | Since this side doesn’t get a lot of sun, moisture stays here longer. It breaks the paint down underneath the siding boards. Also, most contractors don’t apply paint directly underneath the siding board, so it easily breaks down. Once the paint has broken down, it begins to swell up. It can quickly lead to rotting siding boards. The moisture creeps further and further in. | Sand down the peeling siding. It has to be an even surface. Then we prime it to reseal it. When we paint, we make sure to spray the bottom of the boards to make sure this doesn’t happen again. | If we don’t sand down the siding, it won’t even hold any paint and this problem will be back in a year. So we sand it down. Since the siding is already damaged, paint doesn’t adhere very well, so we need to do a good coat of primer to seal the board up before applying paint. Once we’ve sanded it, and sealed it up with primer, it’s ready for a new coat of paint. If we do this properly, you can count on your boards being protected. |
