Ask The Painter: Erase the Effects of Storm Damage to Your Home

Summer is in full swing and it’s time for homeowners to focus on much needed exterior home maintenance projects. Although Texas did not experience a long and hard winter, we experienced increasingly turbulent weather patterns with excessive winds, hail storms, even tornados leaving storm damage to the exterior wood trim of your home. Suddenly you find yourself realizing the repairs may be a bit more involved that you anticipated. Whatever your concerns the professional contractors at Southern Painting are ready to erase the effects of weather related damage, efficiently and cost effectively.

Storm damage causes damage you can immediately see, but it is not the only cause of destruction to the exterior of your home. Exposure to weather in general causes split or rotting wood with peeling stain or paint to wood trim or fascia. Windows and doors not protected from the elements tend to wear out and need repair more often than recessed doors with overhangs. The fascia on your home may have rotted because it was not sealed properly. Gutter leaks and misaligned sprinkler heads repeatedly hammering the same areas of your exterior walls create problems from constant moisture and water penetration.

Southern Painting considers that a low cost, quick patch is not always the best remedy. It is important to get to the root of the problem before the appropriate measures can take place to ensure not only is the damage repaired but preventative measures are taken to lengthen the life of your home exterior. After a careful inspection of the entire damaged area, our contractors are better prepared to help you determine the right treatment and product needed to complete your home maintenance project.

For instance, we may elect to apply bondo on areas no more than 1.5 inches in diameter to repair the smaller areas of damage to wood. However, consider the potential problems involving window seals and wood trim, such as those in Figure 1.

One look makes it clear that simply scraping the paint and putting caulk or bondo-type products into the rotted areas will not fix the real problem and end up being only a temporary repair. The wood trim continues to degrade over time and a smaller project becomes costly and more involved down the road. In this particular case the proper repair is to completely remove the rotted wood trim and completely seal the edges. Next we would smooth out the exposed area and apply a primer to the surface to fully prepare it for the final coat of premium paint or stain.

In Figure 2, it is easy to see that the paint is worn and has allowed moisture to permeate the siding. Don’t kid yourself; this is not a home maintenance project with an easy “fix.” You might think that just scraping away the loose wood, patching it with filler, and painting over it would be enough, but long-term your home is still at risk. Our contractors never paint over rotted materials and use premium grade materials to effect repairs of all surfaces and trim. We also use products designed for the surfaces involved. We are careful to take into account storm damage, normal weather exposure, age of your home, alterations or repairs previously performed, and more when considering the scope of a project and the materials needed. Finally, we use only quality primers and paints that contain fungicides and mildew retardants, followed by the application of the proper coats of paint or stain. This kind of professional care extends the life of both exterior and interior surfaces of your home and ensures your satisfaction.

Now is the time to start scheduling those home maintenance projects and Southern Painting is ready to work with you! Whether it’s paint peeling, blistering, or flaking, on window or door lintels, exterior doors, decks and fences, or other exterior stained surfaces, we take pride in our work. Our confidence is backed by our fully transferable, Southern Painting 3 Year Limited Labor Warranty. So, call us today and let us help you erase any storm damage or just plain weather aging you have experienced as a part of your next home maintenance project!