Older Homes May Need Siding Repairs Before Painting

The warming weather has us thinking about exterior painting.  First, it’s important to get your house ready to paint. If you live in an older house, this may require some carpentry.   Matthews Painting has a lot of experience painting historical homes in Kosciusko County towns like North Webster and Warsaw. Nothing matches the look of real wood, but Northern Indiana weather can take its toll on these old homes.   Because it is wood, clapboard is vulnerable to insect infestations, wet and dry rot, algae, mold, mildew, cracking and bowing if not regularly maintained.   The good news is that most of these issues can be prevented and even resolved with proper caulking and painting.

Though regular professional painting can help maintain the clapboard siding for years, you will sometimes have to replace some portions of the siding if maintenance has been inconsistent.  Since historical homes have had generations of owners, chances are good that the exterior painting has not always been kept up to date. If this is so, you will have to make some repairs.

Our residential exterior painters always begin a project with a thorough inspection of the clapboard siding for loose or bad boards.   Rotten clapboards need to be replaced and loose boards need to be re-nailed prior to any further work being performed.   If you have deep gouges, they’ll need to be filled with exterior-grade spackling.   Spot-prime each gouge with high-quality exterior primer, which will adhere well to the wood and provide a good surface for the filler to adhere to. Once the primer dries, fill the gouge with spackling.  Deeper holes may require two applications.  After sanding it down, apply primer again to hide the spackling repairs.

If your clapboard is badly damaged and the wood has lost its integrity, replacing those portions is critical in maintaining a weather resistant exterior envelope. Fortunately, our professional painters have the tools and experience needed to do this well, and keep your siding in good shape.  Of course you will first need to remove the old, damaged clapboard.  There are subtle techniques required to do this without damaging the sound clapboard around it since they are nailed together.

Once the damaged pieces are removed, you need to scrape off any caulk that may be on the remaining clapboard so those surfaces are well prepped.  The wood quality of some old clapboard is worth preserving, but at times it is easier to remove whole sections so that the new siding will blend together well. It depends on how well your new siding resembles your old. This has to be determined on a case by case basis and we work closely with homeowners to determine which option will be best for you.

To extend the longevity of your new siding, prime it on all sides before installing.  Give it plenty of time to dry.  Once the new clapboard is secure, be sure to caulk it well. Wipe excess caulk away with a wet rag before it dries. Once the caulk has dried, you are ready to move forward on the paint job.  Caulking is one of the great secrets of home maintenance.  A quality caulk job – preventing moisture from getting into nooks and crannies – can add years to your exterior siding, trim, doors and windows.  Our exterior painting professionals will check all your caulking as a part of painting prep.  It is important to monitor your caulk on a regular basis and it may need to be refreshed between paint jobs.

Matthews Painting offers the carpentry expertise to repair damaged clapboard.  So if you are considering an exterior paint job,  be sure to contact us to do it right.