When Should I Paint My Home's Exterior?
Exterior home painting is a major project, requiring plenty of time and resources. As such, it’s not practical to give your house a new coat of paint every year, even if you wanted to. That said, leaving your home’s current paint job alone for too long isn’t a good idea either. Weather conditions will gradually cause your paint job to fade, and if the damage gets bad enough, the inside of your home may suffer, too.
So, how often should you paint your home’s exterior? And when you do, what’s the best time of year and time of day to get it done? These are the questions we’ll explore in this article.
Rule of Thumb: Every 5-10 Years
Speaking broadly, homeowners should plan on hiring professional home painting services to coat their exterior about every five to ten years. If this seems like a loose rule, that’s because the frequency with which you should paint your home depends on various factors, like the material of your siding and the climate of your region. If you live in an area with mostly mild weather, your home’s paint job won’t take as much of a beating, so you can usually go longer between paint jobs. And if your home has wood siding, you might need to repaint every 3-7 years. Aluminum and stucco can usually go 5 or 6 years, and brick and synthetic materials may hold up as long as 15 years.
Again, these are just approximations. Your specific needs may vary from the estimated outlined above.
If You Notice Extensive Damage
If your home is showing visible signs of damage, you might want to paint your home’s exterior sooner rather than later. Of course, you should hire a contractor to make necessary repairs prior to painting. This might include filling cracks and holes with caulk, replacing or repairing rotted boards, and addressing moisture leaks. After your surfaces are fixed up, applying a new coat of exterior house paint will eliminate any signs of previous damage and repair work while offering a fresh protective layer to prevent further damage from occurring.
When You Plan on Selling
A fresh coat of paint is aesthetically pleasing, which is especially important if you plan on selling your home. Prospective buyers are more likely to notice and take interest in your home if it boasts a strong curb appeal. Not only that, but by hiring professional exterior house painters to coat your home before putting it on the market, you send a signal to buyers that you care about the property and that it’s worth taking care of. And, of course, a freshly painted home is worth more, so the money you spend on exterior painting (or at least some of it) can be recouped when you finally sell.
When There’s Plenty of Daylight and Moderate Weather
So, we’ve gone over the circumstances that might drive you to hire an exterior painting contractor. But when is the best time to have your home painted in terms of season and time of day? While many painting contractors work year-round, it often makes the most sense to wait until spring or fall to paint your home.
Following the potential devastation of winter, spring is a great time to assess your home’s condition, have it cleaned, and apply a fresh coat of paint that will last you several years. In most regions, spring weather is moderate in every sense and offers plenty of daylight, meaning painters can get more done in a day with fewer obstacles.
Summer is a popular painting season, too, and features the longest days, but keep in mind that the heat and excessive sunlight can affect your contractors and the paint itself for the worse. As for autumn, this time of year offers similar temperatures and conditions to spring. And if the summer sun has faded your home’s paint job, the fall is a good time to brighten it back up. Plus, you can prepare your home for the winter weather by painting it during this season.
Could your home’s exterior use an update? Let the pros at Nash Painting help you find the right time to get the job done. To learn more about us, our services, and our values, call us at 615-829-6858 today!