TO PAINT NOW, OR TO PAINT LATER

    Here is a question we have been asked throughout our 38 years in the painting business. To alter Shakespeare’s famous phrase just a bit:

TO PAINT NOW, OR TO PAINT LATER

    Here is a general timeline that works well.  Wood and wrought iron should be painted every 5-6 years.  Stucco is a different story.  It should be painted every 10-12 years, since it doesn’t deteriorate as fast as wood or metal.

    The topic that we are asked about the most is wood.  Wood is a naturally strong, long-lasting and beautiful building material, when it’s protected.  We generally use paint to protect wood.  This is where I come in.  If you wait too long after the last time your wood was painted, it begins to enter into a downward spiral that ends with your wood turning into dirt.  Long before that, your wood will look like it needs to be painted.  It starts peeling, flaking and cracking.  This means it has entered the dirt spiral.  It is safer to paint by the book (every 5 or 6 years on average) than it is to take the following risk.

    We recently painted an HOA that waited too long to protect their wood.  The paint job cost $18,000 and the cost to repair/replace the bad wood that was found throughout the building was an additional $38,000, yikes!  The majority of this carpentry work could have been avoided if they had painted on a regular schedule.

    The lesson learned:  Don’t let your wood slide down that dirt spiral!  Paint on the outside of a building is not merely adornment.  It preserves your property value and your largest investment which can save you money in the long-run.

    If your wood or any other surfaces look like they need to be painted or better yet, if  per the timeline above it is time to paint, give us a call. Estimates are free!  

    I‘m Greg Lewis, the President of Ferris Painting.  If you would like a free painting estimate, Click here to contact us today!.