Good quality paint improves the look of your home. It also guards the house against hostile weather conditions such as rain, and it also protects your home from harmful insects. Paint can also add a personal style to the house.
How regularly you should repaint will depend on various factors. To know if you should repaint the exterior of the house, examine the main walls, trim, sidings and any other outer portions of the house.
If you are experiencing any of the following factors discussed below, it is time to repaint the exterior portion of your home.
a) Chipped Paint.
Chipped paint makes the house look dilapidated or rundown, even when you are maintaining the interior part of the house.
Harmful insects can reside in the chipped portions of the paint.
Also, water can seep into the wall or the timber and cause rot. Where the exterior part consists of wood, water can get into the wood and cause extensive damage which can lead to costly repair works. It is not desirable.
b) Dirt.
The exterior paint can become dirty after a prolonged period. Mud gets splashed onto the wall of the house, during heavy rains, and over time, the color of the paint on the lower part of the wall may not be evident due to the mud.
Other than mud, other causes of dirt buildup on the wall include children writing on the wall and hostile weather conditions.
c) Mold.
How can you tell if mold is growing in the paint? First, if you see black, green or brown spots on the wall. The cause of such marks is most likely due to growing mold. Second, if there is a musty smell on the paint, such a scent is indicative of mold. Third, if the paint is slimy when you touch, the slipperiness could be due to growing mold.
Mold tends to grow on paint in places with high humidity and spots where water is leaking on the wall. If a leaking tap or gutter is causing the mold, you need to fix the drain or the tap before repainting the wall.
Oil paints and paints containing titanium dioxide are more susceptible to mold. Therefore, if you live in a humid area, you should avoid such colors.
d) Faded paint.
Sunlight is one of the leading factors that cause the paint color to fade. Other contributing factors that cause paint to fade include nitric acid, oxygen, and ozone. These gasses react with the paint elements, and as a result, the paint loses its original shade.
Red and yellow paints tend to fade more rapidly than other colors.
e) Chalking.
You can determine if your paint is chalking by running your finger through the painted wall. If your finger has a chalk-like residue, it means that your paint is chalking.
Paint chalking is an indication that your paint has begun to deteriorate, and it needs to be repainted.
f) Preference change.
Although the exterior parts may not have any of the previously mentioned issues, you may still need to repaint if you no longer love the paint color on the outer surface or you are just bored by the existing paint color on the wall.
Similarly, if the previous paint job was done poorly, you may need to repaint. For instance, if you painted one coat instead of the two coats recommended by the paint manufacturer or if you paint a poor quality paint the paint could already be showing the signs mentioned above, and you might need to redo the paint job.
Additionally, if your paint is chipped, chalked, faded and it contains dirt or mold, or you need a change, then it is time to paint the exterior of your home.
