Most common exterior paint problems

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Wall Coating for a Hampton Property with exterior paint problems

Exterior paints have to be made of hardier stuff than their interior relatives. They have to be able to endure everything the weather can throw at them – whether that’s freezing cold or blisteringly hot temperatures, adverse weather conditions or even the more mundane, everyday occurrences of buffeting wind and rain. Because of these combative conditions, there are a lot of things that can cause exterior wall paint to deteriorate and a whole range of technical terms to describe them. To walk you through a few of these issues, the reasons why they appear, and how to ensure they never reappear, we have produced this post that sheds some light on two of the most common exterior paint problems.

Alligatoring

Alligatoring sounds a lot more exciting than the effect it actually describes, but it is nonetheless an apt comparison. It’s named after the reptile skin-like impression due to the effect it leaves on your home’s exterior. It causes the exterior to crack haphazardly into deep grooves, in much the same pattern as you’d expect to see on an alligator’s back.

Usually, alligatoring is the result of two incompatible paints being applied over one another; a glossy or hard oil enamel directly over a latex-based paint for example. It can also occur when the second layer of paint is applied before the first one has had enough time to fully dry. Oil paints, in particular, are especially vulnerable to alligatoring. Over time, they gradually lose their elasticity, making them susceptible to fluctuations in temperature.

Efflorescence

Efflorescence is the chemical term for white, powdery salt deposits that materialise on a painted surface. When water gets into a surface, salts from the brick or concrete dissolve. When the water later evaporates, these salts reappear on the outside of the surface as crystalline deposits. The solution to this problem is simple: keep water out of your home’s walls.

The solution?

Alligatoring and efflorescence might seem like quite disparate issues, but their genesis can be ascribed to the same root problem: a lack of due diligence on the part of the person doing the painting. Either they didn’t use the right kind of paint or their method of application was incorrect.

Rather than shouldering this responsibility yourself, or hiring someone without a track record of success, you should instead turn to an experienced and reputable exterior wall coatings company to complete the job. With a skilled team adept at handling a range of exterior wall painting projects efficiently, All Weather Coating is just that. Get in touch today to organise a site visit.

An Alternative to On-going Maintenance

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London Wall Coating Service in Loughton

 

Maintaining a flawless home exterior can be an extremely trying task. The weather ensures that demands on the homeowner are always precipitously high. Regular upkeep will remedy damage for a time, but it won’t stop it from returning. Without a more comprehensive solution, the spectre of damage will continue to haunt your home. All Weather Coating’s weatherproof coatings, backed by a 25-year guarantee, have been able to provide homeowners throughout London and its surrounding areas with a prolonged period of respite.  To walk you through the alternative to on-going maintenance, we have put together this post.

The problems

Every conceivable kind of weather can harm your home’s exterior. It doesn’t matter whether it’s sun, snow, sleet, ice, wind or rain; they’re all capable of inflicting damage. The UK experiences the full gamut of the elements, making it no surprise that UK homeowners suffer from an equally broad range of problems. There are, however, a few issues that stand out as being more commonplace than others: cracked render, penetrating damp, and of course, general wear and tear (which covers all fractures, scrapes, and scratches). Repairing cracked render, resolving a damp problem and rejuvenating a tired surface are well within All Weather Coating’s capabilities.

The process

All Weather Coating is uncompromising in its attention to detail. The meticulousness of their approach is encapsulated in the very first step of their application process – the survey stage. After liaising with a member of their team to arrange a site visit, a group will be dispatched to scrutinize your home’s exterior for flaws and vulnerabilities. With every scrape and scratch documented, their team of experts, further down the line, are able to carry out their repairs without running the risk of overlooking even a single blemish.

In its entirety, the All Weather Coating process is too large detail in this blog post, but to summarise; it involves a repair stage, a cleaning stage and a waterproofing stage followed by the application of the weatherproof coatings themselves. You can read about the whole process here.

The results

The difference in a property before and after a visit from All Weather Coating is startling. The transformative impact of the wall coating process is catalogued here. As well as curing any existing issues, the All Weather Coating process improves the exterior of your home’s durability. Going forward, it will be able to weather the elements and emerge unscathed, resigning the days of constantly working to keep your home’s exterior intact to history. The 25-year guarantee that accompanies the application of their exterior wall coatings is evidence of the strength of the company’s belief in the quality of their service and the materials they use.

Questions?

To organise a site visit, contact us by email or phone. Similarly, if you have any unresolved questions at all, please do not hesitate to get in touch. A member of All Weather Coating’s team will be more than happy to field any queries or concerns. Hopefully, we’ll be hearing from you shortly!

How to boost the value of your home with external wall coatings

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Boosting house values with exterior wall coatings

Have you ever considered making some changes to your home to increase its value? Almost all of us have, but very few of us take steps to actually realise these ambitions. It is understandable though; where there’s money on the line there is a genuine element of risk involved.

Investing your hard-earned cash into a project that doesn’t pay dividends is nothing short of disastrous. To prove the old adage ‘you’ve got to spend money to make money’ true, we have put together this list of ways you can boost the value of your home.

Identifying and remedying existing problems

Increasing the value of your property starts with identifying any existing issues. No one wants to buy a property plagued by problems. Once they’ve been identified, whatever they may be: damp-prone walls, missing roof tiles, or an unkempt garden, they need to be rectified as quickly as possible. If damp has been a persistent issue, it is an issue that needs prioritising.

Penetrating damp can very quickly lay waste to your home. If it does manage to infiltrate your home’s defences, a sodden floor is the very least of your problems. Damp, at its worst, can even cause respiratory problems.

To ward off damp and its ill-effects, it is well worth considering applying external wall coatings. Weatherproof and designed to last for at least 25 years, they are an extremely effective way to shore up your home’s defences and keep damp out of your home.

Make the most of space

The single most effective way to add value to your home is to simply make better use of the space available to you. There are a number of different ways to do so: loft conversions and kitchen extensions are just two of many.  In the UK though, one of the most wasteful uses of space is a garage. 90% of British garages don’t even contain a car, making their overhaul one of the best ways to boost the value of your home. Swapping out a garage for more living space is ideal for bettering the way your home uses space.

Sometimes, it is even worth sacrificing some of the aesthetic appeals of your home for a practical purpose. In an area where parking is at a premium, it can be a worthwhile move to forsake your garden in favour of a driveway. Providing potential buyers with something that is in great demand is a financially astute move.

The importance of colour

Everyone is aware that the appearance of a property is undoubtedly a defining factor in determining its worth. Even so, you’d be surprised how much of an impact something as little as the colour of an exterior can play in creating value. In the US, greige (grey and beige) exteriors sold for $1526 more on average. Meanwhile, brown (medium brown, taupe or stucco) exteriors sold for $1970 less on average. Subtle tonal differences can actually play a pivotal role.

Combat mechanical weathering with external wall coatings

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The weather exerts a constant pressure on your home’s exterior – a pressure it is expected to be able to withstand. Physical weathering and chemical weathering are both means by which the weather can inflict damage on your home.

Protecting your home from this dual threat is ordinarily far from straightforward task. All Weather Coating, however, have developed a startlingly effective countermeasure that consistently bats away anything the weather has to throw at it. To introduce you to this weathering panacea, as well as the variety of risks the weather poses to your home, we have produced this short guide to combatting mechanical weathering.

Mechanical weathering

Also known as physical weathering, mechanical weathering essentially buffets your home until it begins to disintegrate. Thermal stress weathering and frost weathering are two of the most common forms of mechanical weathering.

Thermal stress weathering

As you can probably guess from the name, thermal stress exerts its influence over a surface through heat. It isn’t just the intensity of heat that causes damage though; it is the rapid and continued cycling between high and low temperatures. High temperatures cause the surface to expand while low temperatures cause it to contract. This cycle of expansion and contraction causes the surface to fracture, most commonly by exfoliation, where the layers peel off one by one.

Frost weathering

Frost weathering, on the other hand, is equally reliant on swings in temperature to function but it affects your home’s walls in an entirely different manner. Frost weathering is the collective name for a number of different ice-related weathering processes: frost shattering, frost-wedging and freeze-thaw weathering. Freeze-thaw weathering begins when water seeps into a fracture in the brick. At night, when the temperature plummets and drops below zero, the water freezes and expands, further opening the fracture. The next day, when the temperature rises above zero, the ice melts, leaving behind a larger fracture than the one that was there the previous day.

How to prevent mechanical weathering from affecting your home

All Weather Coating’s approach to servicing your home is exhaustive and all-encompassing. The survey that is the opening act of our process ensures that any vulnerability – no matter how minuscule or seemingly obscured it may be – is identified. Because of this, any opportunity that the weather may have been able to exploit to damage your home is firmly extinguished.

Once these minor fractures have been rectified using special bonding primers and render, the surface can then be covered in a waterproof coating. Thanks to our highly skilled staff and a pump that carefully regulates the ratio of air to wall coating, our external wall coatings are applied with unerring precision. Our weatherproof coatings are imbued with hydrophobic silicone, which ensures that your home’s exterior is impervious to the advances of rain.

With All Weather Coating on side, you can rest assured that your home’s exterior is protected from mechanical weathering. Our 25-year guarantee is a testament to this!

What makes All Weather Coating Different?

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All Weather Coating

Searching for the most effective method to paint your home’s exterior can be a trying task. There is a wealth of information about the topic available online but how can you possibly whittle such an extensive list of options down to one? In this post, we’re going to cover the differences between DIY and professional approaches to painting the outside of a home, as well as the things that separate our own services from those of our competitors.

Why enlist the services of a company instead of taking a DIY approach?

If you’ve successfully painted your bathroom or kitchen before, don’t expect painting the entire exterior of your home to be a similarly straightforward experience. It isn’t as simple as picking up a can of waterproof paint, setting up a ladder and putting the time in. You need the right materials and a comprehensive understanding of the task ahead. Without these essentials, you are setting yourself up to fail.

The sole redeeming quality of taking the amateur approach is financial in nature. Materials aside, you don’t have to fork over any of your hard-earned cash to another party. And while this might seem like a financially astute move for the moment, long-term, it is far from sensible. An inexperienced, ill-informed and ill-equipped painter can only hope to accomplish little more than adequacy, leaving your home vulnerable to costly complications further down the line.

Why All Weather Coating?

All Weather Coating’s experience, know-how and quality have helped distinguish itself from its competitors. An independent, family-run business that has been serving customers in London and the Home Counties for almost two decades, All Weather Coating is a well-established wall coatings service.

Over the course of their time breathing new life into UK properties, All Weather Coating accrued a knowledgeable and experienced staff, all expertly trained in the use of advanced application equipment. Thanks to this, All Weather Coating is extremely well placed to paint your home’s exterior flawlessly.

Another reason All Weather Coating’s services have proved so popular is the guarantees that accompany any work they do complete. Their wall coating service is backed by a 25-year guarantee. Confidence in the durability of the external wall paint they use, the equipment they use to apply it, as well as the staff that carries out the work has made All Weather Coating a highly respected company.

The All Weather Coating application process

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At All Weather Coating, we try to be as transparent as possible about the work that we do. Where possible, we like to give prospective customers a clear picture of our process. One of the ways that we can accomplish this is through our blog. That is why we have decided to lay out our application process in its entirety – from start to finish. Armed with this information, prospective customers have a better understanding of how our wall coating service unfolds and what to expect when the time comes to treat their own home. Without further delay then, here is how we apply textured exterior wall coatings to a home.

Calling us or sending us an email is enough to get the ball rolling, and before long, we will send a team out to your residence to conduct a full survey. Our team will slowly make their way around the affected area, taking care to note any faults or flaws. After consulting with you to get your thoughts on what kind of change you’d like to see in your property, we create a plan of the work that is to be completed.

As with any project, preparation is key – and we certainly don’t neglect its importance at All Weather Coating. We go to great lengths to ensure that unaffected parts of the home aren’t inadvertently damaged or covered in paint. Paths and gardens are protected by dustsheets; doors, windows, gutters and walls with paper and tape.

Once we are satisfied that the rest of your home is sufficiently out of harm’s way, we can start repairing cracks in external rendered walls. Using the original survey as a guide, our team will locate all noted faults. Small cracks are then filled in with adhesive epoxy resin while bigger cracks are patched up using a combination of bonding primers and sand and cement mixture. Previously rendered sections of the wall are treated in the same way to ensure a uniform finish – with bonding primers, sand and cement mixture. If it is a pebbledash wall we are dealing with, we spray grit into the treated surface to maintain consistency throughout. Damaged pointing is raked out and replaced.

The repair work having been completed, it is then time to clean the treated surface. Over time, grime, moss and algae accumulates on exterior walls. To rid your home of this unwelcome build-up, we use a wire brush. In the same way, flaking paint is removed.

After exterior wall repair and the cleaning process have concluded, our exterior house painters can then begin waterproofing your home using external wall coatings in a colour and texture of your choice. Outfitted with specialist equipment that allows the ratio of coating to air to be controlled, our experienced team will apply weatherproof coatings to your home’s exterior with great precision, resulting in a flawless finish. Once the masking has been removed, the process is complete.

To speak to one of our team about our wall coating service, you can contact us by phone, email or through this contact form.

Why exterior wall coatings?

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Our wall coating service is our primary offering here at All Weather Coating. An amalgamation of the finest weather resistant materials, available in a range of colours and textures, our exterior wall coatings are extremely popular – but why are so many homeowners across the UK picking us over our competitors?

A weatherproof coating that works properly is a rarity. Over our years of fitting homes with exterior wall coatings though, we have been able to not only perfect our product but the method of application too. Our painting services, based in London, have consistently fulfilled our promises of a durable, impeccable-looking finish.

Appearance

The most immediately identifiable impact of an exterior wall coating service is a visual one. Beaten and battered over the years by the turbulent British weather, it doesn’t take all that long for an ill-protected exterior to begin to fade and wear away.

A vibrant, beaming exterior can very easily wane into a feeble, sickly, shadow of what it once was. With the help of a weatherproof coating service however, your home’s exterior can be restored to its former glory.

If you’d rather head in another direction aesthetically, we can accommodate that too. Whether the home exterior of your dreams is red, yellow, green, pink or somewhere in between, you can rest assured that you will find the perfect colour and textured exterior wall coatings for you at All Weather Coating.

Durability

Underlying the startling visual impact of our wall coatings is a vital protective quality – the importance of which cannot be overstated. Without a sturdy exterior, a home is exceptionally vulnerable. Infiltrating your home’s walls to ruin your interior, the likelihood of penetrating damp affecting your home is dramatically increased by a poorly outfitted exterior. Owing to the presence of hydrophobic silicone, our external wall paint is more than capable of repelling unwanted moisture.

In Britain, where rain is far from uncommon, it is fair to say that your home’s exterior needs to be able to endure its fair share of rain and emerge out the other side unscathed. Because of its weather resistant qualities, our external house painting service is able to make your home durable and impervious to damp.

Money-saving

The costs associated with treating and curing dampness can be prohibitively expensive, and by pre-empting the onset of damp with a precautionary preventative measure like damp-proofing paint for exterior walls, you can avoid these costs. While there is a short-term initial outlay involved with acquiring protective wall coatings, long-term, their preservative quality means you will save money. A testament to our confidence in the longevity of our wall coatings is our guarantee that they will last 25 years.

Overall then, the appeal of external wall coatings can be characterised in three primary ways.

Appearance-wise, an exterior wall coating service can really refresh and rejuvenate a tired-looking home exterior. Waterproof coatings’ ability to bolster your home’s durability is perhaps even more crucial. By helping your home stave off damp and other associated ills, the application of a resin wall coating can save you money long-term too.

To rejuvenate and refresh your home’s exterior, get in touch with us today.

Types of exterior wall paints compared

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Finished exterior wall paints

There are a number of reasons for repainting your home’s exterior. If you are thinking purely aesthetically, perhaps your current exterior is looking worn to the point of necessitating a refresh. Alternatively, it could simply be that you have decided on a change of colour. Curative reasons are far more time sensitive.

Cracked render in itself, is a massive vulnerability. Left unaddressed, it can catalyse the infiltration of damp into your home, potentially causing thousands of pounds of damage in the process. Irrespective of the reason for doing so, you want to be sure that you end up with the best possible result – a great-looking and extremely durable exterior paint finish. To that end, we are here to help.

In this post, we have assessed the merits of different types of exterior wall paints.

Masonry waterproofing paint

Typically, standard exterior paint isn’t up to scratch. Characterised by an underwhelming finish, and more importantly, poor durability, standard water-resistant paint simply will not be able to protect your home long-term.

Unlike our own wall coatings, typical waterproofing paint won’t adequately coat your home. Most water-resistant paints only provide surface-level protection; they sit on top of brickwork instead of really meshing and integrating with the surface.

Weatherproof paint

In contrast to the kind of ‘weatherproof’ paint you can expect to pick up from your local retailer, weatherproof paint from All Weather Coating actually contains all of the components it needs to make it completely resistant to anything the weather can throw at it. Wall coatings owe their impressive ability to repel water to the silicone that is the bedrock/foundation of their chemical makeup.

Silicone is hydrophobic, making it adept at repelling water. Thanks to how lightweight it is, it can easily be fused to a substance to endow it with high water resistance – and this is the case with the best waterproof paint – our own.

Application process

The weakness of home exteriors can stem as much from the method of application as the product itself. External house painting by hand makes it incredibly difficult to comprehensively cover a surface in a uniform fashion. Certain segments will be covered in too much paint, others in too little.

The only certainty is that the final product will be spotty and underwhelming. At All Weather Coating, however, our application process is tried and tested. Over our 15 years of operation, our application process has been tweaked and refined – to the point where it gives a flawless finish time after time. Operated by one of our trained professionals, we use a highly sophisticated pump that carefully regulates the volume of air to paint with extreme accuracy. Applied correctly, a wall coating is given the best opportunity possible to properly protect your home’s exterior.

Colour

Even the most durable house paint from the best exterior paint brand, may not be available in a broad enough range of colours to make them a viable choice for your own home. At All Weather Coating, we have external wall coverings in a diverse array of tones and textures, giving you the freedom to select a coating that matches your home perfectly.

To make a start on painting your home’s exterior, you can get in touch with us by phone, email or through this contact form.

Why you shouldn’t paint your home’s exterior on your own

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waterproof paint

DIY tasks range from the simple and straightforward to the drawn-out and difficult. Painting your home’s exterior with a water repellent coating definitely falls into the latter category. And while painting your home’s interior is definitely achievable, its difficulty pales in comparison to painting your home’s exterior – there are just too many pitfalls. With hopes of explaining just how difficult applying waterproof paint is, and contrasting and comparing it with the effectiveness of a professional service, we have put together this informational post. From the financial considerations you have to make before starting to apply weather seal paint to the outer surface of your home, to how long you can expect your hard work to pay dividends for, you will find everything you need to know here.

Doesn’t make sense from a financial standpoint

From a financial perspective, it may be tempting to take the DIY approach. Surely all you need is a tin of paint and you are ready to go? Unfortunately, it simply couldn’t be further from the truth. Applying a coat of paint to your home sounds simple but is actually a laborious process that requires the best weatherproof paint and a detailed understanding of the right methods and techniques. Without this, before you even consider the substandard final product you are likely to be left with, you have to also consider the unintended ill effects – it is somewhat of an inevitability that stray flecks of paint will end up on windows, walls and doors that it wasn’t supposed to. You can incur additional financial damage you hadn’t predicted beforehand, all without accomplishing your task competently.

Likely to result in a less durable finish

Typical masonry paints aren’t capable of fortifying your home’s exterior for an extended period of time. They don’t have the necessary chemical makeup to resist the weather. Weather proof paint wall coatings meanwhile, as well as being many, many times thicker than conventional exterior masonry paint, are also imbued with the latest in weather-resistive technology – silicone. To ensure you have the correct waterproof paint product for your home, as well as the right people applying it, you need to enlist the services of wall coatings specialists.

End result is inferior

In summary, not entrusting the entire process to a professional service is a mistake. From start to finish, you can rest assured that the every single step is executed to perfection. With a wealth of expertise that stems from close to twenty years of applying damp proof paint for exterior walls for homeowners throughout the UK, the All Weather Coating team can provide a comprehensive service that meets all of your requirements. A half-baked DIY approach simply cannot match the thoroughness of a professional one, leaving you frustrated with the amount of time and effort you invested and ultimately disappointed with the end result.

Get in touch today to hire an exterior wall coatings service

For an exterior painting service you can rely on, get in touch with All Weather Coating by phone or email – or even use the contact form on our website. After getting in touch, our team of professionals will survey your property and put together a plan that suits you. We hope to hear from you soon!

How to repair a pebble dash wall

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Pebble Dash Repair London

Since its last sustained period of popularity post-war, public opinion of pebbledash has only deteriorated. A 2014 survey conducted by Go Compare found that a pebble dash exterior is considered one of the most off-putting features of a property – with 31% of all those who were surveyed declaring it undesirable.

If you are of the same opinion, you are going to want to find a way of removing and replacing pebbledash or, at the very least, improving it somehow. In this blog post, we outline the best ways to paint, render and repair pebbledash.

How much does it cost to pebbledash a house?

Before beginning any project, you first want to have a solid understanding of the financial commitment involved. In the case of pebbledash, costs can vary wildly depending on the kind of work you are having completed. Tearing down pebbledash and replacing it with another more desirable material can cost thousands of pounds.

A simple repainting can be more financially palatable. From one wall coating company to another, costs for an identical project can differ significantly. With All Weather Coating though, you can rest assured that you will receive the best possible price.

After arranging a site visit, our expert team will assess your property, your problem, and how you want to go about solving it, to put together a competitive fee that you will agree is both fair and affordable.

Why is pebble dash rendering so difficult to repair or replace?

Pebbledash (or roughcast) render can be extremely tricky to repair – especially if attempted without the necessary blend of experience and equipment. The same thing that makes pebbledash so resistant to weather is the same thing that makes pebbledash so difficult to remove and repair.

Composed of a mixture of lime, sand, gravel, cement, and a collection of small pebbles or stones, this amalgamation of hard-wearing materials comes together to create a thrown together but bulky exterior surface. Because the stones and pebbles are literally thrown into the mixture, they are the first to fall away as time passes – resulting in a fragmented surface.

Covering pebbledash with a fresh coat of paint is therefore insufficient. So too, is attempting to render over pebbledash – not only because it is difficult to recreate the same tone and texture of the fallen away pebbles, but also because it would be an extremely trying task to fill in the missing parts like a jigsaw.

How to repair roughcast render

So, if pebbledash can’t realistically be removed, or replaced with another layer of pebbledash, what is the best way to go about repairing a sub-par pebbledash surface?

The simple answer is exterior wall coatings from All Weather Coating. Even with the best masonry paint for pebbledash, painting pebbledash would ordinarily be a hopeless endeavor. Exterior weatherproof wall coatings change all that though.

From All Weather Coating, our external wall coatings are more than twenty times thicker than typical paint and are infused with water-resistant silicone – making them the perfect cure for a patchy pebbledash surface. With a method we have honed and refined over time, our team has had years and years of experience repairing pebbledash exteriors.

Equipped with a state-of-the-art pump that ensures our exterior weatherproof wall coatings are applied perfectly uniformly, you can rest assured that our pebbledash repair service (unlike that of other pebbledash removal companies in London) will result in a home exterior you can be proud of.