While Surrey painters typically can’t do much exterior painting in winter due to the weather, it’s a good time for homeowners to perform an exterior home inspection. The Lower Mainland’s wet fall and winter can be brutal on house exteriors. Inspecting your home in winter involves identifying trouble spots that may need repair before exterior painting, then prioritizing the work to be done.
Exterior Home Inspection Checklist
While all professional painters in Surrey will perform an inspection before providing an exterior painting estimate, many will only examine the areas you tell them you want painted. Blue Chip Painting will provide thorough paint inspection services, mainly for the purposes of painting estimates, but also to identify other maintenance issues that you may need to address before they become problematic. Whether you hire someone to inspect your home, or do it yourself, inspecting items on the checklist below will ensure you stay on top of common maintenance issues before they spiral out of control and become expensive problems!
Siding
For wood siding, look for areas of dampness, wood rot, water stains, mold and mildew stains, warping, chipped and peeling paint. For vinyl and aluminum siding, look for oxidation, which is often chalky and white. Pressure washing and cleaning with special solutions may be necessary before staining or painting wood siding. Vinyl and aluminum siding sometimes don’t require paint after cleaning, but can be painted with special paint if needed.
Stucco
Stucco can be attractive, but difficult to maintain. Stucco is notorious for wicking moisture which can cause water ingress or damage to substrates beneath the stucco. Look for water stains, mold, mildew, and areas of crumbling. Stucco often needs cleaning and/or minor maintenance repairs prior to painting.
Window casings, trim and sills
Look for peeling, cracking or bubbling paint. Check for signs of rot, mold and mildew. Check caulking for gaps or breakdown.
Stairs and railings
Check for wood rot, mold, mildew, loose boards, lifted nails, paint cracking or bubbling.
Porches and decks
Check for rot, lifted nails, mildew stains, fading and oxidized stain, peeling and cracking paint.
Concrete sidewalks and parking pads
As tough as concrete is, it needs to be maintained. Check for cracks and crumbling concrete, water stains, mold and mildew. If these small problems are fixed when noticed, concrete can last for several decades. Pressure washing, patching and occasional re-sealing are often enough. Sealant and painting with special concrete paint can prevent erosion and mildew. While some Surrey painters don’t like to deal with concrete, Blue Chip Painting does!
Wood Garden Architecture
Fences, trellises, arbors, pergolas, and pagodas are quite exposed to weather. Yearly maintenance is recommended to maintain their beauty and longevity. Often made of wood and finished with stain, they are susceptible to oxidation (greying) and are also susceptible to wood rot. Check for loose posts, rails, lifting nails, wood rot, fading and oxidation. If the wood has been painted, check for peeling, cracked and bubbling paint.
Need Painting in Surrey? Give Us a Shout!
Get a free exterior painting inspection and estimate from Blue Chip Painting. While most exterior painting is done in late spring or summer, now is a great time to plan.