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John Sez:
By John Harris, Belcaro Paint, Paint Chemist
Some of the exterior building materials used to build homes can actually cause paint problems. Some knowledge here may help give you more hope for keeping your paint on.
Some synthetic lap siding materials are manufactured by combining cellulose materials with glue or binders and compressing this mixture into what resembles wood boards. If these boards are properly primed and painted, they may last for many years. The problem with these synthetic boards occurs when one of its untreated surfaces is wet. Water will eventually enter and swell the cellulose and create an area where paint will constantly fail. Homes constructed with this lap siding usually show problems on the lower boards, nearer the ground. Each board has a bottom edge that also needs to be primed and painted. As painting progresses, the bottom edge of the boards is not clearly visible, so this surface is often left bare. To further accelerate damage to these lower boards, snow, packed against the house provides a continuous source of water during a slow melt.
We recommend you inspect the bottom edge of the lower boards on a lap siding structure using a mirror to be sure all edges have been properly primed and painted.
Another problem in the construction of our buildings is a board that has become severly cracked or is warped. It may be more effective for you to just replace that bad board rather than to keep hoping paint will repair it.
If you ever want to know more about paint than meets the eye, let me know and we will have a chat.
Belcaro Paint & Decorating Center, Inc.
5475 Leetsdale Dr., Denver, CO 80246
303-757-5435
email us
Belcaro website
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