Exterior Painting / Limiting contractor injury liability

[Music Lover]

In case you've ever noticed, Atlanta area homes are most often sided on 3 sides and well finished on the fronts. The reason is that there are not enough bricklayers to do so much work. And those 3 sides have to be painted every few years.

I don't get it...there are so many low/no maintenance options out there, why would anyone choose wood that has to be painted on a regular basis?

If you have a bungalow with low maintenance siding then all you have to do is maybe hose it off every now and then. My house is stucco on 3 sides with brick and vinyl siding on the front, as well as metal soffit and fascia. It's required zero painting or maintenance in the 23 years I've been here.

 

[JoeWras]

I don't get it...

$$$$$$$

Builders don't care about your maintenance.

 

[Music Lover]

$$$$$$$

Builders don't care about your maintenance.

I completely agree. But I'm also pretty sure that painted siding isn't the most cost effective option.

 

[JoeWras]

I completely agree. But I'm also pretty sure that painted siding isn't the most cost effective option.

Check the time and amount of workers it takes to hang siding (and then spray paint) versus laying a brick facade. Huge difference in labor. I'm not sure about materials, but the labor probably overwhelms. The builder wants to build it fast and cheap. Maintenance is your problem.

Some big box commercial buildings use fake-brick panels to get around the labor issue. They actually look pretty darn good! I don't think those fly in residential building though.

 

[Music Lover]

Check the time and amount of workers it takes to hang siding (and then spray paint) versus laying a brick facade. Huge difference in labor. I'm not sure about materials, but the labor probably overwhelms. The builder wants to build it fast and cheap. Maintenance is your problem.

Some big box commercial buildings use fake-brick panels to get around the labor issue. They actually look pretty darn good! I don't think those fly in residential building though.

Wood siding and brick aren't the only options. Stucco is inexpensive, as well as vinyl siding.

 

[JoeWras]

Wood siding and brick aren't the only options. Stucco is inexpensive, as well as vinyl siding.

Gotcha. This may be region specific.

In the SE, vinyl is considered low-end, whereas cement fiber siding (fake wood siding) is considered more upscale. So it is a statement of perceived value.

Stucco has its ups and downs. There's more acceptance in the deep south when applied to cinder block homes. In stick build country, it has had a huge set back after the DryVit fiasco (EIFS). You just don't see much of it going up around here.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I don't get it...there are so many low/no maintenance options out there, why would anyone choose wood that has to be painted on a regular basis?

If you have a bungalow with low maintenance siding then all you have to do is maybe hose it off every now and then. My house is stucco on 3 sides with brick and vinyl siding on the front, as well as metal soffit and fascia. It's required zero painting or maintenance in the 23 years I've been here.

Biggest issue in the metro ATL area is the red clay. It covers the bottom 3 feet of EVERYTHING used. I can't help but laugh to see some many transplants move in to the area and paint the nice red brick and nasty, ugly gray that will be red again in a few short years.

And stucco??! Worse material ever...the red clay LOVES to stick to it and you ain't getting it off, either. Generally speaking, stucco hasn't been used expansively in the area for years. Cement board is the cheaper alternative to brick and can last a very long time.

 

[Music Lover]

Gotcha. This may be region specific.

In the SE, vinyl is considered low-end, whereas cement fiber siding (fake wood siding) is considered more upscale. So it is a statement of perceived value.

Stucco has its ups and downs. There's more acceptance in the deep south when applied to cinder block homes. In stick build country, it has had a huge set back after the DryVit fiasco (EIFS). You just don't see much of it going up around here.

Yeah, most vinyl is cheap looking. Some is "okay" though.

I wasn't aware of any stucco issues...up here on the Canadian prairies it holds up extremely well. Often still in great shape 40 - 60 years later. The fact that it also holds up well in the deep south seems to suggest that it will work anywhere...other than the EIFS problems of course.

 

[Amethyst]

We had a two-story brick-front house with aluminum siding for nearly 30 years, and never, ever painted the siding. Had to hire someone to pressure-wash algae off the north side now and then, due to our trees getting big and shading it.

Our current house is almost 17 years old with stucco siding. I'm only planning to paint it because there are a lot of rust stains from the sprinklers (which I've since had adjusted so they don't hit the house). Also, the pool courtyard is painted a different color from the house; I want it all to be the same. Heck, I might just paint the courtyard walls, paint over the rust stains....naaah, may as well paint the whole thing.

I don't get it...there are so many low/no maintenance options out there, why would anyone choose wood that has to be painted on a regular basis?

.

 

[Amethyst]

Why? Do they not have grass or stone up against their house? Bare dirt against a house is always going to make a mess, no matter what color it is.

Biggest issue in the metro ATL area is the red clay. It covers the bottom 3 feet of EVERYTHING used. I can't help but laugh to see some many transplants move in to the area and paint the nice red brick and nasty, ugly gray that will be red again in a few short years.

A.

 

[zinger1457]

Stucco has its ups and downs. There's more acceptance in the deep south when applied to cinder block homes. In stick build country, it has had a huge set back after the DryVit fiasco (EIFS). You just don't see much of it going up around here.

Not sure the exact % but my guess is over 90% of site built homes in the SW are stick built homes with stucco. They hold up well, minor cracks are expected and repaired as needed. Had my +20 year old house painted 5 years ago, a few minor cracks repaired, still looks good as new.

 

[zinger1457]

Why? Do they not have grass or stone up against their house? Bare dirt against a house is always going to make a mess, no matter what color it is.

Yep, first thing just about everyone does around here in the SW is drop crushed rock around the perimeter of their stucco home to stop the splash stains.

 

[JoeWras]

I wasn't aware of any stucco issues...up here on the Canadian prairies it holds up extremely well. Often still in great shape 40 - 60 years later. The fact that it also holds up well in the deep south seems to suggest that it will work anywhere...other than the EIFS problems of course.

Not sure the exact % but my guess is over 90% of site built homes in the SW are stick built homes with stucco. They hold up well, minor cracks are expected and repaired as needed. Had my +20 year old house painted 5 years ago, a few minor cracks repaired, still looks good as new.

Stucco is an interesting beast. In the HUMID southeast, it has a checkered past. Deep south, they give up on building with sticks (2x4) due to moisture and termites and use cinder block, so they can apply stucco to that. (Don't shoot me, I'm talking in general. There are exceptions.) In the mid south, stick building is typical.

The problem with stucco, especially EIFS (fake stucco panels) is moisture retention. This can kill the 2x4's (sticks) behind it. This won't matter in the dry Canadian prairies or in the deep south with cinder block behind it. If you have sticks behind it, special precautions must be taken, i.e. it is more expensive to build.

Everything is regional. What is upscale one place may be considered a disaster somewhere else.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Why? Do they not have grass or stone up against their house? Bare dirt against a house is always going to make a mess, no matter what color it is.

It's just really very difficult to fight....even with grass, weed guard, stone...etc. and it stains.

 

[SecondCor521]

Stick built with vinyl or hardiboard siding around here. Brick, stone, or stucco if you want to signal or have wealth.

I ran into the same conundrum as OP a few years ago. I decided to paint it myself, which took longer (3 years vs 5 days XD) and exchanged the concern of someone else falling off a ladder to me falling off a ladder.

But I was careful, didn't fall, and got the thing painted for about $700 vs. $5000. And got it done the way I wanted it done.

 

[pb4uski]

Gotcha. This may be region specific.

In the SE, vinyl is considered low-end, whereas cement fiber siding (fake wood siding) is considered more upscale. So it is a statement of perceived value. ...

I'll agree that a lot of vinyl looks low-end, but we wanted no maintenance when we rebuilt out Vermont home in 2011, so we ended up upgrading to vinyl siding that looks like cedar shake siding. The other thing that I like about it is that it is much thicker than most clapboard vinyl siding. It looked good the day it was installed and still looks good 9 years later.

It isn't totally no maintenance though... every 8 years or so I need to spray the north side with deck wash, let it sit for a few minutes, and then pressure wash it off... but I can do that without getting on a ladder.

 

[Amethyst]

I was thinking about that today. There are cave paintings, like those ones of people's hands, that use that red earth pigment. They have lasted for 30,000 years!

It's just really very difficult to fight.... and it stains.

 

[Amethyst]

Bravo!

Rarely do I DIY to save money - my time is worth too much to me.

I do it because a) I know how to do that particular thing and b) nobody else will take the same care that I will.

But I was careful, didn't fall, and got the thing painted for about $700 vs. $5000. And got it done the way I wanted it done.

 

[Bamaman]

We're talking 3 sides of siding comparable to HardiPlank. HOA's don't allow vinyl siding in most neighborhoods and city/county building codes have to be followed. And the HardiPlank does require painting every 8-10 years.

It's also been many years since "stucco" homes, commonly called Dryvit, have been popular. The biggest problem was poor installation. Today, those type homes are not in favor.

My home was in one of the really nice Gwinnett County neighborhoods with 400 homes averaging 4,000 square feet. Had a builder bricked my home, it would have taken 5 bricklayers a minimum 1 month to finish the job. The front of my home was stacked real stone, however.

 

[Sunset]

...
In case you've ever noticed, Atlanta area homes are most often sided on 3 sides and well finished on the fronts. The reason is that there are not enough bricklayers to do so much work. And those 3 sides have to be painted every few years.
....

This is the way it is in Ottawa Ontario for new developments, except the reason given is simply that it is cheaper to put siding on 3 sides of the house and only have a brick front (which avoids a bunch of brick by having the picture/bay window and the front door).
In Ottawa Ontario, they use a lot of vinyl siding so no painting required.

Here our house is all vinyl siding, same for many neighbors. Of course our house is a tiny $200K house.