shingles | Crestwood Painting

Top 3 Things to NOT Caulk

Caulk kansas city painter crestwood — Sealing moisture out is perfect around doors and windows but sealing moisture in can grow mold and rot.

Caulk is, in terms of aesthetics, the most important part of prepping for exterior painting. It makes for a smooth, seamless appearance – no gaps between trim boards or hairline cracks in stucco. Caulk also protects from moisture infiltration.

Crack sealing (wood or stucco) should not be very noticeable. It’s often done poorly and looks like a finger dragged across a blob of caulk. Which is exactly the cave-man type of repair that is so common. Ideally, a detail-oriented painter will remove excess caulk with a damp rag for a neater appearance.

If you can seal moisture out you can also seal moisture in. So here are the top three places you do not want to seal:

Storm windows
Bottom edge
Soffits

Storm Windows

Sealing storm windows in solves one problem (heat loss / convection) and creates another, far worse problem (trapped moisture). Plus, there’s a much higher risk of damage on removal (say, for painting) of both the storm window itself and the window opening. There are usually weep holes or slots at the bottom edge of a storm window; they’re effective for water run-off but don’t help much with condensation. Sealing storms in leaves no path for condensation to escape. Please, be kind to your home and don’t caulk your storms in.

Bottom Edge

We’re talking about the bottom edge of clapboard siding and shake shingles. When (not if) moisture gets behind your home’s exterior sheathing it will need an outlet path or it will become a breeding ground for mold, mildew and wood-eating fungi. Yes, some siding boards may cup and warp; do not yield to temptation and caulk recklessly for the sake of appearance. You’ll solve one problem and create another – leave an outlet path.

Soffits

Your roof and gutters should be doing their job and directing water away. But sometimes they don’t and water goes where it shouldn’t. If you seal the bottom edges and joints of soffits and fascia trim you’ve effectively created a bathtub. Water will then travel where you don’t want it to or, maybe worse, it will fester and grow mold and mildew. As a general rule it’s best to follow the old adage “think like a raindrop” – if a raindrop continues its downward path will it wind up where you want it? Many contractors tout that they caulk “everything”, now you know that’s not quite the best policy. Want to know more about what not to caulk? Give us a call – we’d love to help.

Painting Cedar Shake Shingles

Cedar shake shingle painting — Cedar Shake shingles can split if they haven’t been cared for.

Cedar shake shingles can split and curl when not properly cared for. While replacing damaged shingles sounds straightforward, here’s what to look out for.

Shingle Thickness

This is pretty easy – shingles are either thin (~3/8″) or thick (~5/8″). And you don’t mix them – unless you’re in a real pinch. You can get away with using thin shingles in a thick shingle installation (it will be noticeable) but you really can’t go the other way around – your neighbors will talk.

Shingle Texture

There are two considerations here: texture of the entire wall and texture of individual shingles. If the shingles on the face of a house are all generally cupped (curled) you’ll want to be aware that installing a new, flat shingle may look out of place. Sometimes this solves one problem and creates another; at that point you’ll have to decide what you can live with.

The other texture consideration is with the shingles themselves: older shingles have often been painted 46 times and so much of the original texture has been lost. We’ve seen grooved shingles that have been painted smooth. New cedar shingles very often have two surface treatments: one side is relatively smooth while the other is generally grooved. Easy to match grooved with grooved; a bit of a trick when new smooth doesn’t match old smooth.

A new shingle may really be smooth but it may just as easily be very rough depending on where and how it was milled. Is matching texture important to you? Important enough to sand individual shingles when necessary?

So by now you’ve thrown up your hands and bellowed “Oiy!” – can’t blame you. But as painting professionals it’s up to us to set the expectation with our customers – what you can expect and also what you can’t. That way there are no unmet expectations. Give us a call if you think we might be able to help.

How Paint and Roof Colors Work Together

Paint colors roof kansas city painter — Roof color can be a factor when choosing paint colors.

Roof colors (foundations too) affect paint color choices. Color expert Diane Stewart atColor Sense Consulting gives her take on how to tackle this situation.

Sometimes my clients seem surprised when I point out that that their roof shingles are considered part of the exterior color scheme. Just like the undertones of brick or stonework, the color of the roof is part of the equation. It may be higher up, but it’s usually visible from the street level.

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How Much Does Exterior Painting Cost?

Hyde Park Kansas City exterior paint cost kansas city crestwood painting — This Hyde Park treasure cost about $8000 to paint.

After making the decision to paint the exterior of their home, Kansas City homeowners want to know about cost. The short answer is always “it depends” because there are so many factors involved.

Crestwood Painting has done a small ranch home in Westwood for $2200. We’ve also painted several large, older homes that ran about $15,000 and gem just off Ward Parkway was $24,000. In general, most homes are in the $6000 to $12,000 range. Here are some of the considerations:

Material – if we’re painting vinyl or aluminum siding it only needs to be washed. But cedar clapboards, on the other hand, require hand scraping of every square inch of exposed surface.
Prep – A home in poor condition requires more prep work than one in good condition. Prep work take time; more time certainly affects cost – something to keep in mind when considering an attractive lower price.
Colors I – Each color adds to the complexity of the overall project and each color means another trip up the ladder. A mid-century ranch house is fine with 3 colors; a classic Craftsman might require five colors to properly highlight the architectural details.
Smaller houses cost less to paint.
Colors II – Poor quality paint doesn’t cover very well. Some painters charge more for a color change (e.g. dark blue over white). If that’s the case you might ask that painter about product choice.
Details I – Shutters are often an accent color. If shutters can be easily removed there’s no problem; if plastic shutters are fixed with pound-in-never-come-out plastic anchors it might be necessary to leave them in place and paint around them.
Details II – Corbels, brackets and crown molding are all often painted an accent color. Each can make the whole more impressive and each of these features requires care and attention to bring out the overall look.