Exterior Painters Commonly Missed Areas

Your Exterior Painters Are Missing These Areas

When areas are left unpainted or improperly prepared, it will lead to wood rot and costly repairs. But the untold truth is that an exterior painter will often leave areas unpainted that you may not be aware of. 

Some of these unpainted areas are hard to reach and often not visible, but still are important to protect! We will reveal those areas and explain the consequences of leaving these areas exposed! 

Exterior painting is a relatively quick process compared to other forms of painting, but the application details are just as important. In many ways, proper exterior paint preparation paired with detailed and complete paint coverage is more critical in outdoor applications. 

When you consider highering an exterior painter or, if you are considering painting a house yourself, it’s essential to ensure the service is detailed and complete. But that statement alone may not mean what you think.

Exterior Painters Miss Corner Board Edges

The underside or cut edge of wood corner boards is commonly missed by exterior painters. As the water sheds down a corner board, residual water will curl over the exposed edge and absorb into the wood. The wood will start to split and eventually lead to complete rot over time. 

The easiest way to eliminate corner board rot is to paint the underside of the board. Caulking can also be used to seal the bottom of corner boards in hard-to-reach areas.

Be sure to inquire about how these areas will be addressed and point them out before hiring your exterior painter so that these areas are not overlooked. 

Painting Wooden Window Sash Edges

While wooden windows may look great, they will ultimately fail over time. However, when your windows are painted professionally and with detail, they will last a bit longer. Well, what does that mean?

Window sills provide a 10 – 15 degree angle to divert water. But as water runs down the lower section of a double-hung window, the bottom edge of the window collects water. For this reason, this area is where a wooden window will most commonly fail if left unpainted. 

However, when the bottom edge of a window sash is painted, the potential for wood rot is significantly reduced. So, painting this area has a massive impact on wooden windows’ durability and total lifespan, no matter how well-built the window is. 

Wooden window units are expensive. So, making sure they are painted is essential and could save you thousands of dollars.

Painting Siding Edges On A House

Does your home have a roofline that contains wood or fiber cement siding? If so, the exposed cut edges must be sealed to prevent water from wicking into the siding, which causes siding delamination. 

Although these areas are problematic for exterior painters to access, not painting exposed or cut edges of siding could result in complete siding replacements. Here are a few ways painters and installers can resolve the issue.

First, the cut edges of the siding should be primed during installation. Another good addition or alternative practice is for exterior painters to caulk the exposed edges when they cannot reach them with a brush or paint sprayer.  

In summary, if the edges of your home siding are either delaminating or exposed, they should be addressed with either paint, primer, or caulking. 

Hand brushing siding will conclusively help mitigate siding delamination if it’s already underway. Spraying is a better option if the siding is not showing signs of separation. 

Painting Under Exterior Window Nosing

So, as a bonus, we decided to include this area because, among many places, it is essential to paint in its entirety. But this area is significant because of how often it is missed and how costly it is to replace. 

Exterior trim is known to expand and contract, and this is especially true for window trim. It may not be as noticeable, but window nosing needs painting and sealing underneath just as much as any other area.

Premium exterior caulking will expand and contract at a rate that permits such movement without cracking. If you add a couple of thick coats of paint, the trim around your windows will hold up even better over time. 

Exterior Painting Additional Areas of Consideration

So, we have covered four significant areas that house painters typically overlook. But there are a few more notable mentions related to exterior painting applications and durability to consider. 

Quality paint, caulk, and primers are critical to exterior paint coatings, withstanding the influx of temperatures and increased moisture levels without cracking or failing. At its core, long-lasting water-based exterior paint and caulk must be thick and flexible to hold up over time. 

No matter how detailed an exterior painter is, poor materials will lead to future damage. Always use a primer containing high solids when painting over raw wood. Also, make sure to let treated lumber properly dry out before painting.

Conclusion

All siding and wood trim edges should be painted and never left exposed to the elements. This seemingly simple detail will significantly reduce your maintenance costs when thoroughly executed. 

So, the gist is that exterior house painters will often merely “face out” trim, missing the edges. But hopefully, we have done more than expose flaws in exterior paint production!

Hopefully, we have placed value on the quality of professional painting services, demonstrated how quality and detailed service will save you money in the long run, and enabled you to hold your painters accountable.

There is so much to learn about the painting and home improvement industry!

View more articles similar to this one to learn more tips and secrets! Be sure to view, share, or engage in our social media channels.