How Often Should I Get Exterior Painting Done?

Nothing can give the outside of your home a fresh look quite as quickly and impressively as a fresh coat of paint. Whether the paint on the exterior of your home is fading, chipping or cracking, it can bring down the curb appeal of your home. But if you’re looking to sell your home, or enjoy living there and just want to make it look nicer, exterior house painting is a job that needs to be done.

Besides wanting to know what season to do it in, another question that comes up often during the subject of exterior painting is how often you should do it. The answer to this question varies because it depends on a number of factors; such as the exterior finish of your home, your location and the quality of both the preparation and paint aspect of your last paint job.

Additionally when deciding how often you should paint your home’s exterior, you might think about things like your personal preference, if you’ll be selling your home shortly after, or how much of the wood under the paint is exposed and vulnerable and how much upkeep you regularly do.

As with most issues that are home related, if you find a bunch of answers that could apply to you, but you still aren’t sure about your own situation, it’s always a good idea to consult with the local professionals. If you don’t know, with the subject being their job, they’ll know the effects of your specific location, exterior finish and previous job quality on your current need for a paint job.

Another note is that if you seek out the help of professionals, not only to ask about when to paint your exterior, but to have them paint it, you can usually go a bit longer in between repainting.

But before we get to that point, let’s take a look at the things that can affect the lifespan of your paint job and see what the general consensus is.

Exterior Finish

How often you need to repaint your building can depend mostly on what was used to construct it. Some materials can go longer in between paintings while others will need to be painted more often. For example, wood siding should be repainted fairly often, but a surface like cement can withstand stress for a longer period of time.

If you’re looking for a general rule of thumb for different housing materials with the most benefit to you and your home, wood siding should be repainted every 3 to 7 years, or stained every 4. Aluminum is fine to be repainted every 5 years, and stucco homes can last from 5 to 6 years before they’ll need another paint job.

Some other materials won’t need to be touched up as often, with cement fiber siding needing painting only once in between 10 to 15 years. Your unpainted bricks don’t need to be touched up other than the trim. For them a simple cleaning will do, but if you do decide to paint them it will last anywhere from 15 to 20 years before you have to repaint it.

And again, if you don’t really know what kind of materials your exterior consist of, call the professionals and have them come do a free consultation; they’ll know what you’re dealing with.

Location of Your Home

Another factor that plays a large part in how long you can go in between exterior paintings is the location of your home and the weather that it deals with on a daily basis. Location is important to your home because you want to be in a good neighborhood and close to good schools and work. It’s also important because where your home is determines what kind of weather you’ll have on a regular basis and what kind of weather will happen to the exterior of your home.

For example, the sun can be a major issue when it comes to how long you can get away with not repainting the exterior of your home. Ultraviolet radiation can quickly fade your paint, bleach your paint and cause a decent amount of chemical bound breakdown. So living in hot, sunny areas, like Florida, with an unsheltered home, your paint won’t last as long before fading, cracking and peeling and it will be prone to bubbling.

Other climate conditions like extreme humidity, frequent rain and storms, blowing sand, or salty ocean breezes will also quickly age your paint causing it to soften and swell. Living here requires a lot more exterior upkeep than elsewhere. Beach homes could require painting as often as once a year.

Quality of the Job

The quality of your previous paint job can affect the need for your home to be repainted in two ways. The first way it can speed up the need to repaint is if a job is done that isn’t quality or didn’t use quality materials. The difference between flaky and peeling 4 year old paint jobs and jobs done 8 years ago that still look brand new are the quality of the paint used, the preparation that went in to the job before hand and the maintenance work that’s been done. (Yes, exterior paint jobs require maintenance.)

The second way it can affect your need for repainting is if the current job is currently taken care of before having the new one done. A layer of grime between your new paint job and your home won’t allow the paint to properly adhere to your exterior walls.

Preparation is a big deal when it comes to long-lasting, beautiful paint jobs. This means old paint, dirt, grease and everything else is removed from the house. Repairs must be made and a primer applied. Then in good weather quality, fade resistant paint has to be applied with multiple coats.

Sometimes if you can’t get your home painted right away, the quickest parts to show wear and tear can be easily be painted for a quick refresher. These parts are the trim around windows and doors and will need repainting every couple of years.

Personal Preference

Obviously painting your home regularly as recommended will do you and your home’s exterior good, But if you want to do it sooner than recommended that’s fine too. There are many reasons why you might decide to not wait until your home needs a definite painting. Maybe you’re preparing to sell your home and a different color will sell better, or maybe you want to increase your home’s curb appeal by painting it within the most recent color trends. Regardless of what your reasons may be, you are the home owner and you’re well within your rights to paint your home whenever you feel like it.

Exterior Painting Questions

Hopefully now you have a general idea of how often you should have your exterior painted and to be honest, that’s about all that you need to know. In looking for and hiring professionals to take care of your exterior painting needs, you can easily ask them questions about how often to repaint your exterior with knowledge of your home and its own set of unique requirements. If your home is looking like it needs a fresh coat of paint, give the professionals a call and set up a repainting schedule.

We offer free painting estimates! To get your free estimate or if you want to learn more about our Orlando exterior painting company, contact us here or call us today at 407.256.8610.