Complete exterior painting project

Day 1, Preparation

Al always, we started by tackling the most challenging and time consuming portions of the project. On this house, we started on the south side (chimney saide) and the front of the house. this is where the weather has been beating down on the siding and has left the siding in fairly poor shape. We started by masking windows, and some fencing, before moving on to sanding and primer.

Our solution:

Fiber disk sanding all the areas where paint is loose and chipping off. A fiber disk sander is not to be confused with a sander. This machine dose not smooth out the loose paint, it rips it off the house, and it also removes about 1/32″ of bad wood from the surface of the surface of the siding, leaving us with fresh wood, ready for primer.

Fiber disk sanding to remove loose or chipping paint from cedar siding

Primer

All sanded areas are primed with our Zinsser exterior oil based primer. This is the mother of all primers. It penetrates the wood and becomes one with it. It is similar to “super glue”, with protective properties. This primer also replenishes essential moisture back into the dry cedar and balances the PH of the substrate. Primer must be rolled on, and never sprayed, to make sure it penetrates into the surface and not just sit on top on it. By rolling, we force the primer into all microscopic moisture pockets that would otherwise hold water every time it rains, or every time we have high humidity, which is pretty much all the time in this area.

Verge Boards

We know all the spots where moisture causes the paint to fail. This includes end of verge boards. We give all these areas a special treatment to make sure they age at the same rate as the rest of the house so our home-owners do not end up with a house that looks great on one side, and horrible on the weather side.

Like most homes in the Northwest, this verge board has pretty badly weathered ends. This loose paint looks ugly, but it also holds more moisture under the loose/chipping paint. The loose paint keeps the moisture from drying out.

Our fiber disk sanders removed all the lose paint from this trim board, leaving us with nearly new cedar. Oil based primer was later applied to seal the board, and the visible crack will be caulked once the primer is cured.

after 2 coats of Benjamin Moore MoorGlo

Chimney

This chimney was is fairly poor condition. It is not uncommon for chimneys to go bad in the northwest. Unfortunately most previous painters neglect this area, simply because it is high up and home-owners do not go up to inspect the work. We climb up and give the chimney the same special treatment as the all other weathered portions of the house.

Back of the chimney – Obviously neglected by previous painters, has received the same preparation treatment as other weathered portions of the house.

Siding: Caulked after primer and 2 coats of Benjamin Moore paint was back rolled to make sure the material is forced into the siding. Trim was hand painted 2 coats with brush and roller.

Garage

Garage wall was also in very bad shape, so we gave it our special preparation treatment.

8AM

4PM

Applying the second coat

Back brushing knows no height. It has to be done, specially in the upper portions since they get the most abuse from the elements.

NOTE: There is plenty of white bird droppings that resemble paint. It is everywhere…what are they eating 🙂

Garage window option

The window trim on the garage doors could be painted trim color to somewhat match the windows on the house?

Plan for June 11, 2013

Finish masking fence, windows, roof. Cover front porch, rear patio, plants. Inspect areas prepped on Monday and complete as necessary. Caulk all gaps, cracks, joints, nail holes, or any other area where moisture can get in. Begin painting hopefully by 10AM. We hope to have 2 coats sprayed and back-rolled on the siding, and begin painting the trim by the end of our day 2. Finishing the entire project by Wednesday is possible but not guaranteed 🙂

Plan for Tomorrow (June 13th, 2013)

Cover up entire rear patio and patio furniture, mask 2 upper bedroom windows, Paint back of the house, complete trim on the right side, trim in back, Apply 2-3 coats of Benjamin Moore MoorGlow to front door and front door casing. Put back house numbers, house lights, furniture, etc. Clean up equipment, use garden blower to clean up entire property including roof, patios, driveways, etc.

Project completed (June 13, 2013)

Thank you for hiring Elegant Painting to paint your beautiful home. we had a great time working for you guys. We only lost 1/2 day due to weather but the finish product was not effected and we hope you are pleased with the results 🙂