House painting

[gerry maddenParticipant @gerrymadden53711]

I really need to consider painting my house this year. Its conventional construction with a brick outer skin and a cement skim. The cement is not coming away from the brick but the paint is beginning to peel off the skim is a few places.  Re-painting would be the obvious thing to do but at my time of life I would rather it didnt start to look tired in 6 years and need doing badly in 8~10.

I’ve therefor been wondering about alternatives and a company has offered an acrylic resin, plus UV resistant and hydrophobic coatings. Of course it sounds wonderful. It’s expensive too …but if it all lasts as long as they claim, the price could be justified.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating…so does anyone else here have long-term (or even short-term!) experience of these type of coatings ?

Gerry

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

My Daughter is in a similar situation and I have been doing a bit of research. Have you considered elastomeric or extra high performance paint paint as an option? They are more expensive than standard paint but can be applied in a similar way. According to the adverts you should get at least 15 years our of them, maybe a lot more. Maybe worth checking out.

https://paintersworld.co.uk/painters-advice/best-masonry-paint

Extra-Flex

When I last had my house woodwork painted (ladder not safe for me now!) I insisted that the painter used one part International Yacht Toplac enamel instead of his usual trade exterior variety. He was initially reluctant but after the first couple of hours he was full of praises for the way it went on. My view was that if it is formulated for the topsides of yachts in a marine environment then it’s going to last a lot longer then Dulux from your DiY store and so it has proved. OK it is more expensive but the labour cost is the same and the extra cost of the paint is marginal when set against its longevity.

Hopefully the same effect can be achieved with the masonry paints mentioned above. (there are others).

Colin

 

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Be wary of new companies and fancy new products. Will they be there in two years when it starts to fail? Their example house if they show you one will have been very carefully prepared and executed and having got a load of orders they may start using the cheapest jobbing labourer they can find.
Non-breathing ‘waterproof’ plastic seals are only any good until a pinhole lets some moisture in – then the peeling starts
One trick is to look at where the current coating is showing its age. Note (photo) that and see if you can devise a split shade painting scheme that would mean in the future only that area needed the recoat. eg a bay window or even downpipe provides a split point.

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Good advice. Best to stick to conventional proved solutions and if you can afford it go for the top quality options. I previously had my own boat so was well aware of the proven quality of International Paints.

If you choose a fancy new treatment which fails prematurely then not only might the original suppliers have gone bust, you may be faced with having to completely strip off the old coating before you can start again.

Colin

[HOWARDTParticipant @howardt]

My daughter had a new extension  covered with a coloured resin render about six years ago and it doesn’t show any sign of ageing.  All walls appear unchanged from the initial application even with one being fully south facing.

[Bazyle]

On Bazyle Said:

Be wary of new companies and fancy new products. Will they be there in two years when it starts to fail? Their example house if they show you one will have been very carefully prepared and executed and having got a load of orders they may start using the cheapest jobbing labourer they can find.
Non-breathing ‘waterproof’ plastic seals are only any good until a pinhole lets some moisture in – then the peeling starts
One trick is to look at where the current coating is showing its age. Note (photo) that and see if you can devise a split shade painting scheme that would mean in the future only that area needed the recoat. eg a bay window or even downpipe provides a split point.

I agree regarding the danger of non-breathing paint.  Yacht varnish is formulated to be waterproof for as long as possible to prevent water entering from the outside. House walls should allow water vapour from the inside to permeate through the wall.  It might be OK to insert a vapour barrier on the inside of all the external walls, but that’s likely to be a challenge!

Most brick houses are not treated on the outside to prevent the entry of water but rely on good workmanship to prevent significant quantities of water entering and passing through the wall.  In due course the wall dries out naturally.

[Paul LousickParticipant @paullousick59116]

What type of MODEL house do you have ?

[Paul Lousick]

On Paul Lousick Said:

What type of MODEL house do you have ?

A 12″ to the foot model 😀

[Bo’sunParticipant @bosun58570]

Dulux Weathershield Masonry Paint has been great on a south facing gabel.  12 years, and it still looks good as new.  Having said that, if it now has a so called “environmentally friendly” formula, it’s probably rubbish.  As has been said though, beware of new fangled claims.  Perhaps, better the devil you know.

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Yes, ‘environmentally friendly’ often means ‘ less effective’.

Colin

[Grindstone CowboyParticipant @grindstonecowboy]

I’ve always had good results with Leyland Pliolite Resin-Based Masonry Paint.

Rob

[vic neweyParticipant @vicnewey60017]

I always used Sandtex masonry paint as far back as the 1960’s and l would expect it is still a good option, it contains silica and on the cottage we had then it never peeled off

[Bo’sunParticipant @bosun58570]

Apologies, just a slight thread diversion.  Haven’t used Sandtex masonry paint, but their exterior gloss paint has proved excellent on south facing window frames.  However, I seem to recall it may now be water based, and from my experience with WB finishes, they dry too quickly.  Quite a pain when painting tricky window frames.

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

All the Sandtex paints seem to be ‘quick dry’ now but some are more durable than others.

The more you pay the longer it is likely to last in a given situation.

Colin

[Author]

Posts