Three Reasons Why You Should Leave The Painting Of Your Home's Wooden Siding Up To The Experts

If you have wooden clapboard siding, you know how often you need to maintain the painted or stained panels. The hot sun can cause the paint to dry out, fade and peel over time, making your home look very unkempt. If you think you would like to repaint your home's exterior yourself, you may want to rethink that. Here are three reasons why leaving this job up to exterior painters and experts is a smarter move.

One Person Cannot Complete the Job in a Weekend

Some homeowners make the honest mistake of thinking that they can repaint the entire exteriors of their homes in a weekend. Unfortunately, it is not the painting itself that prevents them from accomplishing such a feat--it is the prep work. Wood siding has an entirely different preparation process than say, painting over vinyl siding. What you need are several painters, each taking on certain tasks at different stages of the process. For example, two or three painters will spend a couple of days scraping and sanding off all of the peeling paint, while other painters begin washing the wood and then sanding it smooth. The painting itself is really the last step when painting your home's exterior.

The Painters Can Perform Small Repairs on the Siding as They Go

If you have a board curling up or warping, the painting contractor can fix the problem so that when the paint is finally applied the end result looks smooth. Usually a couple of nails will tap the board back down into place. If the contractor notices that you have some mold or mildew growing on the siding, he or she can recommend some specialty paint that will kill mold and mildew and cover any related stains as it is applied to these areas.

You May Not Be Able to Do This Job When You Get Older

Even if you do have the time, the energy and the will to paint your home's wooden exterior yourself, this is not a task you want to tackle when you go beyond age seventy. The constant climbing up and down of ladders to reach areas way above your head begins to lose its appeal as you get older. If you already have an established relationship with some exterior painters, you can rely on them to continue this painting and home maintenance process for as long as they are in business.  

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