The benefits of painting the exterior of your home
Aside from looking aesthetically pleasing and adding curb appeal, painting the exterior of your home has some very practical benefits.
As we have undertaken a significant number of exterior painting jobs this year, we thought we would share a few of those benefits.
Here are some compelling reasons to paint the exterior of your home.
Keeps moisture out
Wood is very absorbent and just loves it when it rains. Unfortunately, wood and water don’t mix too well and the moisture breaks down the structure of the wood.
If you have wood siding or exposed timber on the outside of your house, you need to either paint it or treat it.
Painting provides a moisture barrier that repels water. As long as the paint has been applied properly and the proper exterior paint used, moisture won’t be able to penetrate the wood, keeping it looking better for longer.
Helps prevent mold and mildew
Aside from direct damage from moisture, untreated wood or poorly painted exterior wood can also encourage mold and mildew.
Both require dark, damp spaces to grow, which the inside of wood can provide. While most mold and mildew are harmless, some can cause irritation and exacerbate conditions like asthma.
Plus, it looks terrible!
Making sure exterior painting provides full coverage with no gaps reduces the places mold and mildew can take hold.
Helps prevent insect damage
We’re not the only ones who finds your home cozy and warm. Insects like living in our homes too. Most of them are completely harmless and you’ll hardly ever see them, others can be more harmful.
Exterior painting requires sealing as many gaps and crevices as possible throughout the entire outside of your house. That paint should be complemented by caulking or sealants to remove as many entrances as possible to help keep your home bug free.
You’ll never completely rid your home of bugs by painting, but the harder you make it for them to find a way in, the fewer bugs you’ll have to contend with.
Part of property maintenance
Keep wooden sidings painted and they will last much longer. Paint brick, concrete, plaster or stucco and there’s an extra layer of protection against the elements.
Whatever your property is made of, painting it is an essential part of home maintenance.
As they say ‘prevention is always better than cure’. Painting your property regularly should prevent you having to replace rotten wood, cracked plaster or stucco or damaged brickwork.
Painting is cheaper than replacing or repairing the exterior of your property and spending a little on professional painters is going to be much cheaper than the alternative!
Something nice to come home to
Very few homeowners are ambivalent about the curb appeal of their home. Whether it’s to keep the neighborhood looking nice, keeping up with the Joneses or wanting to come home to a nice looking home, the benefit of aesthetics should not be understated.
After a long day at work, exhausting road trip or school run, what’s nicer than pulling up to a clean, tidy, inviting home?