Does Painting a Historic Exterior Require Special Treatment?

23 Jul 2020 Painting Services

If you own a historic home in the Vancouver area and are thinking about updating the exterior, it is important to first find out if painting a historic exterior requires special treatment. By consulting a professional painting company that has experience working on historic homes like Dunbar Painting, you will be able to ensure that your historic home’s exterior is being properly maintained.

Preparation for Painting a Historic Exterior

Before painting the exterior of a historic home, a professional painter will:

Clean the Exterior

A reputable painting company will thoroughly clean any areas on the home’s exterior that are going to be painted. The condition of the home will determine if the professional painter will either pressure wash or soft wash the exterior. In some cases, if the condition of the home is particularly bad, the painter may decide to hand wash the exterior instead.

Repair Damaged Surfaces

If the home has damaged sections on the exterior, a carpenter will be brought in to assess the rotten wood and to come up with a plan on how to best proceed with fixing the damaged surfaces. All carpentry work for repairing damaged surfaces on the exterior of a historic home is offered at an additional charge.

Remove Peeling Paint

Any peeling paint on the exterior of the historic home will need to be removed. A professional painter will sand down the paint’s edges until it is no longer peeling.

Caulk the Trim

A professional painter will caulk the trim anywhere the vertical trim meets the horizontal trim, as well as other areas where pieces of the trim meet, in order to prevent moisture from seeping into the home.

Painting a Historic Exterior

Once the exterior of the historic home has been properly prepared, a professional painter will:

Prime and Paint the Exterior

Depending on the era your historic home was built in, there may be some restrictions as to what colours can be used to paint the house’s exterior. Once a permitted colour has been chosen, all areas of bare wood, metal rust, hardie board, and high gloss surfaces will be primed to ensure that they are properly sealed and to help prevent any adhesion issues. The house’s siding will then be spray painted with two coats of the chosen paint.

Paint the Trim and Doors

While the trim and doors on most homes are painted using a roller and brush, larger historic homes that feature a lot of architectural trim are often spray painted.

If you would like to learn more about whether or not painting a historic home requires special treatment, or if you are interested in their exterior painting services, please contact Dunbar Painting at 604-788-3382 or by filling out a contact form on their website.