Housepainting

[TheProject]

I've got an opportunity with my house to get my property tax abated for 25 years if I make a certain dollar amount of improvements, and fix a list of things provided by the inspector. One of the things I've got to do to get the abatement is paint the house, which it's in dire need of anyway.

I went out looking yesterday, and the guy at Home Depot suggested using 1/4 to 1/2 cup of linseed oil in the primer, and hitting the raw wood with that before painting. He said it would help draw the primer into the wood, and that the paint will last longer that way. Some of the wood is in pretty bad shape (it's a very old house), but I don't have the cash right now to pull off all the clapboards and replace them.

Anyway....does anyone have any input on brands or types of paint? I get a discount at Sherwin Williams that makes their price about the same as Home Depot for a higher-end Glidden or Behr.

 

[from zero]

You should paint a bit portrait of the Tick on the side of your house.

SPOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!

 

[TheProject]

You should paint a bit portrait of the Tick on the side of your house.

SPOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!

I would do something in the way of a mural, but I don't think that'd fly with the historical society.

After all, they veto'd the huge Autobot symbol on the north side.

 

[from zero]

Pfft. What a bunch of pussies.

Man, the Tick rules. Your avatar is bringing back quality memories of that show. That shit was hilarious.

 

[TheProject]

Pfft. What a bunch of pussies.

Man, the Tick rules. Your avatar is bringing back quality memories of that show. That shit was hilarious.

Tell me about it.

I wish they'd release the cartoon on DVD...the live action show is ok, but the cartoon was much better.

 

[FreeballinDC]

Go with the Sherman Williams. I repainted my porch with their pant, and so far, so good.

The interior of my house was painted with their paint, and it's lasted pretty well.

 

[Zebo]

I would rather take an ass whipping than paint.....

But I'd go with the Sherman Williams. As good as any.

 

[Y_lifter]

http://www.factsfacts.com/MyHomeRepair/exteriorPaint.htm

SW or BM

 

[TheProject]

http://www.factsfacts.com/MyHomeRepair/exteriorPaint.htm

SW or BM

I dunno, they seem to think the SW stuff has really gone downhill. I've used and like the Behr stuff for interior, but don't know anything about their exterior.

 

[Y_lifter]

The only thing going for SW is your discount...

*****

I don't know what to think about that respected, nationally known, consumer product rating magazine's paint ratings. They are very different every time a new rating comes out. I try to summarize the '93 and 2000 ratings further down so, you can see for yourself but, this table gives some examples of the scatter of top brand paints:


Paint 1993 2000
Pratt & Lambert Accolade Very Best Below Average
Benjamin Moore Middle of 28 paints Very Best
Sherwin-Williams High Low


With this kind of scatter I'm about to conclude their specific paint ratings are pretty meaningless. If their explanation for this scatter is, "Paint companies change their formulas accounting for the differing results." I say, it takes 5-10 years to test them and to report results. If the paints are changing while the test is going on, by the time the test results are available you can't buy the paint that was tested anyway.

If I were choosing an exterior paint I would pick the best paint from the top two brands listed in the table above, or a brand named California which has shown up high in their last three ratings. Though there's a lot of scatter from rating-to-rating, over time these brands tend to fall in the top ratings, and (not including California) they're the brands most often recommended on the alt.home.repair news group.

Though I used it a few years ago, I regret it and I would no longer choose Sherwin-Williams.

 

[beastboy]

Something tells me you have met the Blight Inspector.

house-o-skank

 

[Y_lifter]

Also you said you are going to need to replace wood/siding eventually,
which means a repaint in a few years anyway..
So are you really into painting it and cost, or long lasting high $ paint ?

 

[TheProject]

The discount on the SW paint basically makes it the same price as the higher-end Glidden or Behr paint.

I'm honestly not sure which direction I'm going at this point. If I can paint the house and have it hold up for 5 years, then I may go ahead and go with better quality. I think the linseed oil/primer idea may give me a little extra time before I have to tear off siding. If it looks like it's a lost cause regardless then I may buy some cheap white paint, cover as needed, and then plan on a major overhaul in a year or two.

 

[The Shadow]

Behr

 

[FreeballinDC]

If it looks like it's a lost cause regardless then I may buy some cheap white paint, cover as needed, and then plan on a major overhaul in a year or two.

That is the best idea you've put on this thread so far, just do it cheap, then save up for a big exterior renovation to replace the siding.

 

[Y_lifter]

On the super cheap ?
Do they have color wheel paint stores up there ?

Most tract house builders use it because covers OK,
looks great for 3 years or so and is Uber cheap per gallon.