Most homeowners will wonder when their house needs repainting. It’s one of the more common questions a contractor will hear. Whether your home has cedar clapboard, aluminum siding, or wood siding and trim, you’re eventually going to have to paint it. So, it's better to know about painting and decorating ideas.
A good house paint and proper application will last up to 8 years or more. Most people in the U.S. can expect to repaint their home every 5-7 years on average. When, exactly, to repaint depends upon several factors, not the least of which is whether you are ready for a change in look for your home.
Factors like the climate in your area, what type of paint (and application work) was used to paint your home the last time, and the type of material that makes up your home’s exterior are all part of the equation.
If you aren’t sure when your home was last painted or what was used and how it was done, then you will need to examine the exterior to find out what sort of shape it’s in. If you have wood siding on your home, for instance, and the paint at the bottom and around edges is beginning to flake, it’s probably time to start getting together the tools to paint your house. Likewise when the cedar finish begins to flake form clap board, it’s time for a new finish.
A home with aluminum siding that is beginning to fade, chip, or otherwise show signs of age is ready for a new coat of paint. Similar changes in appearance with concrete fiber also signal time for painting.
When the signs begin to appear, you are now on the clock. If the damage appearing is relatively minor (or is on aluminum), you can’t put off painting for another year if your budget won’t yet allow or the weather is soon going to turn harsh. Otherwise, you will need to get going on it quickly.
The longer you wait to repaint a deteriorating paint job, the more work it will take and the more likely you will have to incur the extra expense of replacing some parts of your home’s exterior. This is especially true of wooden trim, such as that around windows, which often takes the brunt of the weather with less to protect it.
In fact, in harsh climates, such as the colder states of Montana, Wyoming, and the Dakotas, many people will paint the trim on their homes every other year while painting their whole house every six or seven years. This is because the wooden trim takes a beating compared to the relatively flat and well-protected walls.
Some rules of thumb are:
A good house paint and proper application will last up to 8 years or more. Most people in the U.S. can expect to repaint their home every 5-7 years on average. When, exactly, to repaint depends upon several factors, not the least of which is whether you are ready for a change in look for your home.
Factors like the climate in your area, what type of paint (and application work) was used to paint your home the last time, and the type of material that makes up your home’s exterior are all part of the equation.
If you aren’t sure when your home was last painted or what was used and how it was done, then you will need to examine the exterior to find out what sort of shape it’s in. If you have wood siding on your home, for instance, and the paint at the bottom and around edges is beginning to flake, it’s probably time to start getting together the tools to paint your house. Likewise when the cedar finish begins to flake form clap board, it’s time for a new finish.
A home with aluminum siding that is beginning to fade, chip, or otherwise show signs of age is ready for a new coat of paint. Similar changes in appearance with concrete fiber also signal time for painting.
When the signs begin to appear, you are now on the clock. If the damage appearing is relatively minor (or is on aluminum), you can’t put off painting for another year if your budget won’t yet allow or the weather is soon going to turn harsh. Otherwise, you will need to get going on it quickly.
The longer you wait to repaint a deteriorating paint job, the more work it will take and the more likely you will have to incur the extra expense of replacing some parts of your home’s exterior. This is especially true of wooden trim, such as that around windows, which often takes the brunt of the weather with less to protect it.
In fact, in harsh climates, such as the colder states of Montana, Wyoming, and the Dakotas, many people will paint the trim on their homes every other year while painting their whole house every six or seven years. This is because the wooden trim takes a beating compared to the relatively flat and well-protected walls.
Some rules of thumb are:
- If you moved into your home when it was brand new, you will likely need to repaint in about five years because contractors routinely put only one coat of paint on the exterior, which means the under laying materials aren’t as well protected.
- If you live in an area with a lot of hot, low-humidity sunlight such as Arizona, you will likely have to repaint much more often than otherwise. Expect to repaint a wood-sided home every four or five years.
- If you live in an extremely harsh winter environment, such as the Dakotas, your home will require more maintenance to avoid repainting quite often. Especially, as mentioned, on trim and exposed corners.
- If your home has aluminum siding, you can expect to repaint it every 7-10 years if a good paint is used. Vinyl never needs repainting, but may fade with time and require replacing.
