Owning the Golden Gate Bridge
It has been said that painting the Golden Gate Bridge is an endless task. You start at one end, paint across the bridge, and then start all over again back to the other end.
Rinse. Repeat.
Well, this is the same with an old wood house.
2014. The newly painted tower. Note the dark green base trim, just topping the stone. I love this detail. It was all freshly painted here. Ross happy.
2024. Ross unhappy. After a decade the paint largely failed on the base trim.
Arriving at the house today this jumped out at me. It looked bad. Very bad. I mean, the Cross House no longer looking crispy? Oh, the horror. So, with zero plans to do this when I woke up today, this task became All Important.
I hauled out a ladder. Found the disk sander (this took a half-hour), gathered up the sanding disks, extension cord, and vacuum, and went to work. And…ta-da!!!!!!!!…flaking paint removed!
And, ta-da!!!!!!!! Primer!
And, while everything (ladder, disk sander, etc,) was out, I checked over the water table trim, installed in 2017. And what did I encounter? Less than crispy. Zounds, more horror!
But, now all primed! Soon, all will look crispy again, and all will be right with the world. Whew! And, yes, I adore the scrollwork. Soooooo gorgeous!
Remember this?
When this is all done, I will still need to attend to the lap-siding adjacent to the big curved window, and window trim. This was never right (as I needed to get the new curved glass panel ordered and installed). But, I can now complete this task.
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This is why my house has been the same color for over 40 years. I just paint the section that needs it. If I change the color, I have to paint the entire house. As Ross would say ” Oh, the HORROR”
I have probably painted my entire house 3 times in the last 40 years. This years painting project is all three porch floors and steps. Last done in 2016.
Beautiful stonework on the tower base. What brand of paint did you use that failed? I’m painting my 1890 Victorian 9 colors, mostly 3 shades of blue & yellow, with subtle orange, coral, purple and teal accents, and it’s my 5th summer at it. But it hadn’t been painted for 50 years……
Oh, and I meant to say that I’m using Lowe’s Valspar satin finish paint, which is holding up very well here in the PNW. I painted one test section 12 years ago, and it looks just the same today. You might have more severe weather where you are, and snow/ice that freezes and thaws on horizontal surfaces, which might account for the paint failure….
Ross….. I learned the same lesson. Painted the house in 1995. Paint failed by 2000. Used the “best’ primer, best paint, two top coats….all done right. Still failed. Let it sit for nine years trying to figure out what to do. Found a product called Mad Dog Primer. It extends the life of the paint 3x. It goes on like watered down Elmers glue but it dries like a sticky note. It stretches when the house flexes and expands and the two top coats of paint (Behr Marquis) flexes with it. No more chalking, chipping, or alligator cracking. It’s been a godsend. I started painting it in 2010 and finished in 2018. It’s in excellent shape. I’ve decided to touch up some areas that get a lot of touching and physical abrasions but that’s about it.
So discouraging. Large portions of our porch need to be scraped, primed & painted again after 11 years. Never ending, at least the house is brick and all we have to worry about is the trim. At least you’re getting at it right away, so it’s not a major project. Hang in there Ross!
Since Barb hasn’t jumped in yet
“2014. Ross unhappy. After a decade the paint largely failed on the base trim.”
2024
You made me laugh! Bless you! Fixed! Thank you!
Oh my gosh, I’m so behind on reading these posts! Jay Howard, thanks for doing Ross a solid while I was under a rock somewhere . . . .
Perhaps specifically for the trim below the windows on the base of the tower, a custom metal sheath like the ones you’ve been capping the window header trim elsewhere on the house might be a thought. That corner of the house receives quite a bit of sun and precip.
You’d still have to paint it every now and then of course, but certainly not as often as with the existing wood.
Those projecting features are very tough conditions for paint. Almost as tough as a porch floor, but entirely exposed to the weather.
I’d say 10 years is pretty good life for paint there. At that rate, the typical areas on your vertical siding should be good for another 5 or 10 years.
I own one of those, albeit 1922. It was horrible. Painted like the inside of a baby’s diaper, #1 and #2, and paint peeling. They had power washed it and then painted it quick before it was dry getting it ready for the market. Didn’t help.
When I finally got the money I hired some good painters and they took over a month to prep and paint. They sanded off the loose paint and it was practically down to bare wood all over. It was properly primed, then properly painted with two coats of good quality paint. That paint job lasted over 15, almost 20 years. The second time the sanding didn’t go nearly as far because of the proper prep the first time. It was also primed and then painted with two coats of quality paint. That is the paint job still on it. It’s faded a bit but still going strong. I will probably have it painted again in 5 years.
If the wood is treated, as you are doing with the Carriage House, then primed properly , as you are doing with the Carriage House, then painted with a good quality paint, as you are doing with the Carriage House, you can get 10-20 years out of it, depending on conditions. My weather is milder than yours so my paint lasts longer. But yeah, you can usually put it on the calendar to repaint once every decade. Actually, except for those spots it doesn’t look that bad. Of course, photos can be more flattering than real life.
Ah, when done, the Cross House will look crisp again. Neighbors now have a lovely historic house to look at. Emporia is blessed to have you.