Posted on May 21, 2018 in Building Maintenance
When painting exterior walls, safe access is of paramount importance, so consider hiring fixed scaffolding if you need to work at height. Always use paint that is specified for exterior use – for walls the most commonly used paint is exterior emulsion, which is generally called masonry paint.
Most masonry paint is water-based, but for areas of the country that get particularly bad weather, such as exposed seaside areas, you can get an oil-based masonry paint which has greater durability. Although we have never had any problems just using the standard water-based masonry paint, as long as the walls are given the required preparation.
When painting exterior walls any algae or mould on the external walls must be treated with a fungicidal solution and washed down before any paint is applied. Most exterior paints do contain fungicide, but, in areas of extensive growth, a fungicidal wash is appropriate preparation.
- Any flaky paint must be removed and the surface cleaned down. A pressure washer is the ideal tool for cleaning off the surface and for rinsing down after applying a fungicidal wash.
- Cracks in render should be filled with an exterior filler. Mix as directed and use a filling knife to press the filler firmly in place.
- Allow the filler to go off (partially set) and then use a sponge to smooth off the surface. This reduces the need to sand off excess filler when dry.
- Any powdery surfaces must be treated with a stabilising solution. This binds the surface making it in a good condition to accept paint.
- Once preparation is complete, a roller is ideal for applying paint. However, on rough render surfaces, a large brush is the best tool.
- A brush is also required for finishing off (cutting in) around the edges neatly and precisely, such as next to doors or windows, or where the wall meets the ground.
Exterior painting tips
When estimating quantities for exterior painting, be guided by the coverage rates supplied by the paint manufacturer. This can differ greatly from brand to brand, and is also dependent on whether you are painting a bare masonry surface or a previously painted one.
When painting bare masonry, the first coat will always take much more paint than the second. Some manufacturers recommend diluting the first coat but then you do risk requiring three coats for good coverage when two coats of full strength paint will always cover well.
Painting exterior walls is a messy business. If you are not painting your woodwork and windows, you must take care to dust sheet them to protect from paint overspray (vital for upvc windows). Using masking tape around frames is a good method and combining this with plastic dust sheets taped over the main part of the window will provide good protection.
If you are painting the windows and woodwork, then you do not need to be too precise when cutting in onto the frames. In fact a small overlap is ideal as this makes painting much quicker, and then gives a good edge to cut in the window/wood paint onto. For much more on this topic, see my guide – ‘Painting exterior wood’.
For information on our painting services please visit Protech Painting and Decorating Solutions or call one of our friendly team on 0845 604 1288.
Our Guarantee To You
We created the Protech guarantee because we want you to put your trust in our engineer’s. Under this minimum two year guarantee, if anything goes wrong as a direct result of the work our engineers perform in your home or business, we will return to inspect the problem. If the fault is found to be due to our engineer’s work, we’ll fix the problem with no cost to you.
Categories
- Building Maintenance
- Cleaning
- Electrical
- Gardening
- General Info
- Our Service
- Pest
- Security
- Uncategorized
- Waste Solutions
Archive
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- August 2023
- April 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- October 2014
- May 2013
- April 2013
- November 2011
- September 2011
- June 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010