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The Outlook, The Post, The Estacada News
Friday, September 13, 2013
fall home improvement
A9
By JIM HART
Pamplin Media Group
P
ainting contractor No-
lan Wagner of Sandy
says old, faded paint is
much less of a prob-
lem than exterior walls that
allow small amounts of water
to seep in.
Hairline cracks, he says, can
become big problems in a
short time.
Fall is the time of year to
take a close look at the outside
walls of a home, looking at the
cracks in corners, where two
siding boards form a butt joint,
where trim boards frame a
window, where caulking previ-
ously has been applied and
where areas in the siding pro-
vide access to electric current
for porch lights.
It is in those types of places,
Wagner says, where winter
weather will wreak havoc.
To be proactive, he says, cut
out all of the old, failed caulk-
ing and replace it with new
caulk. Then paint over it to
seal it from winter weather.
He talks about a home in
Gresham he had to work on
recently, a home where the
children were getting sick.
Eventually, the homeowner
discovered there was mold
growing inside the exterior
walls of a 3-year-old home.
That mold was the result of
moisture entering the home’s
interior at every opening to
the wall such as at light
switches, electric receptacles
and at the edges of windows
and doors.
Wagner says it doesn’t take
much moisture inside a closed
wall to cause the growth of
mold or mildew; and that rots
wood and makes people sick.
The solution in nearly every
case is to dry the wall’s interi-
or or replace it and seal all
cracks with caulking before
applying high quality paint.
According to building codes,
the home must have a mois-
ture seal (contractors call it a
shell) that includes a moisture
barrier over all outside walls
along with siding, flashing
over all windows, doors and
joints as well as caulking in-
fused into all cracks and
where any nail heads have
been set deeper than the sur-
face.
“The first place to look when
a family is having problems is
a caulking failure,” Wagner
said. “Recently, they’ve
changed the code, and there’s
a lot more flashing required.”
Wagner said homeowners
should look for any possibility
of water entering a wall above
a window or place where a
light is attached. Even if the
wall is completely sealed, ex-
cept for one small place, the
wall can be rotting inside with-
out the homeowner knowing
there is anything wrong.
Citing an example where a
small opening above a porch
light allowed water inside an
otherwise sealed wall, Wagner
said the wall inside was com-
pletely rotten within three
years.
Flashing, that wasn’t re-
quired when the home was
built, would have diverted the
water away from the small
opening, he said.
Painting
Advising this is a time of
year when homeowners might
want to consider painting a
home’s exterior, John Milward
reminds that the surface must
be extremely clean to allow
paint to adhere properly.
Milward owns and operates
Ace Heritage Hardware in
Sandy, which has a large selec-
tion of paint and accessories
and a number of long-term em-
ployees with enough knowl-
edge to offer advice.
“The most important thing
is to have a good surface to
paint,” Milward said. “That
may mean pressure washing
and letting it dry real well. It
also means painting primer on
spots that are showing bare
wood.”
When repainting, Milward
said the rule of thumb is that
you can put latex paint over
oil-based paint, but you should
not put oil over latex.
He also recommends a stain-
blocking latex primer, espe-
cially if the wood has knots.
“You just need a good, sound
surface to paint on,” Milward
said. “Prep is everything.”
Wagner says it does not pay
to skimp on the quality of
paint or on the primer. Both
types of paint are necessary
when covering bare wood.
Wagner recommends a finish
coat that comes with a 30-year
warranty.
Since labor is a major ex-
pense, it pays dividends to
avoid painting every six or
seven years by buying paint
that is designed to last for de-
cades.
But for do-it-yourselfers
who are not as likely to use a
spray method of applying
paint, Milward can supply all
the brushes and rollers that
are necessary to seal the mois-
ture out for the winter.
Caulk and primer are both
sealants, Wagner said, but
they don’t have protectants
against ultraviolet light, so
without the finish coat, they
will break down quickly.
The caulk, primer and finish
paint all protect the exterior
surface against the ravages of
sun and water. But in Oregon,
Wagner says, water is the
main concern.
“Moisture is the biggest con-
cern in Oregon, especially
with how wet our climate is,”
he said. “We only have (con-
cerns about) the sun three
months a year, but with mois-
ture it’s very important to seal
with caulking and primer to
keep water from penetrating
and causing mold and dry rot.”
Milward has some people
come in for paint and accesso-
ries who just have one exposed
wall to paint. He tells them to
prepare the wood with as
much care as if it was the en-
tire home.
The steps include cleaning,
scraping or brushing to re-
move loose paint, removing
old caulk, replacing caulk to
create a complete seal, prim-
ing the surface and applying
sufficient finish paint to com-
pletely seal the wall.
Inspecting and repairing the
home’s moisture seal regular-
ly, Wagner said, will add years
to the life of a home and re-
duce the overall expense of
maintaining a quality lifestyle.
For more information, con-
tact Wagner at 503-349-7475 or
Milward or his staff at 503-668-
8731.
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CONTRIBUTED
PHOTOs:
NOLAN WAGNER
Home’s
moisture
seal preserves healthy
environment
This view shows old caulking that has dried and cracked, exposing the
wall’s interior to moisture. This siding should be removed to be certain
there are no problems inside the wall.
Caulking is applied generously and pressed into all cracks to form a
seal that will not fail during the life of the paint that will be applied
over the caulking.
