Siding Repair and Replacements

This topic deals with the deterioration and major causes to exterior siding which has been seen countless times throughout Colorado. What appears to be nails sunk further into wood siding, maybe because nailgun pressures were set too high, is not the case at all. Also appears siding has "Thickened" towards the bottom of each board, or another word to describe, is swelled out.

First, if left unanswered, you will be finding yourself replacing entire siding, when a little bit of precaution could have prevented. What is going on here is the exterior needed to be painted a few years after it was built. New home contractors only require a "Fog coat" paint job, that will typically last 3 years max. After that, the exterior surfaces are running on borrowed time.
After the "Fog coat" has broken down, the nail heads are left exposed. Rain and snow finds it's way around the nail shafts (least resistance) into the inner pressed wood man-made siding, typically Masonite™. Masonite is a great material when protected, but not worth it's weight if not cared for. Moisture seeps into shafts, causing the siding to swell. Nails that hold siding in place do not move, siding does! Siding is continually swelling, nails appear to sink deeper and deeper, but siding is swelling outwards.

There is a way to stop this, and I've seen many homes who had an attempt to repair, used the wrong material all together. Yes, the moisture was stopped, but guess what? As the paint aged, what was left was a POKE A DOTTED house. Using a latex caulk filling in nail holes is the worst thing you can do even if you plan on staying or moving. Someone is eventually see these small dots, as caulking does not break down to a flat finish as paint does. This can be seen standing to the side, looking down the exterior on an aged paint job.

What we use, that protects from moisture, and becomes the same sheen over time is Exterior Spackling. It goes on and dries to a flat finish. This is important, because when a Semi-gloss or Satin finish (most widely used) becomes aged, it flatens out, and spackling will not flash out, being all the same sheen. Satin finishes cover caulking nicely at first, matching with caulking sheen, but over the years, the two are entirely different.

We hope you call us here at Eco Paint Specialist's, but if you don't, insist on Exterior Spackling filling in those unsightly nail-head holes, because eventually you'll wished you had.
Cal Phillips/Eco Paint Specialist's/303.591.4978 http://www.ecopaintspecialists.com/ or~ Painting Denver