How often exteriors really need doing
There is no single answer, because it depends far more on exposure than on age. As a rough guide in this part of Kent and East Sussex:
- Masonry and render: somewhere between five and ten years, depending on which way the wall faces and how sheltered it is.
- Exterior woodwork: three to five years. Timber is what fails first, every time.
- Metalwork, railings and gutters: five years or so, sooner if rust is showing through.
The south-west facing elevation almost always needs doing before the rest of the house. That is the side that takes the prevailing wind and driving rain, and it is entirely normal for one elevation to look tired while the others still look fine.
Exposure varies a lot even across a small area. A sheltered terrace in the middle of Tonbridge and an exposed detached house up on the ridge at Crowborough, which is the highest town in the High Weald National Landscape at 794 feet, are not on the same maintenance cycle at all.
The warning signs
Do not wait for the paint to look bad. By the time it looks obviously bad, the substrate underneath is usually already suffering. Look for:
- Chalking. Run your hand down the wall. If it comes away with a fine powder on it, the coating is breaking down.
- Hairline cracking or crazing in the paint film on render.
- Flaking or blistering, which usually means moisture is getting behind the coating.
- Bare or greying timber on window sills, fascias and barge boards.
- Soft timber. Press a screwdriver gently into a window sill. If it gives, that is rot, and paint will not fix it.
- Green or black growth on north-facing walls, which holds moisture against the surface.
The timber signs are the urgent ones. Repainting sound timber is straightforward. Replacing a rotten sill or a section of fascia costs considerably more, and it only got to that point because the paint failed and nobody noticed.
Best time of year
Late spring through early autumn is the sensible window. What actually matters is not the month but the conditions:
- Temperatures above roughly 5°C, and ideally comfortably above it.
- Surfaces genuinely dry, which after heavy rain can take a couple of days.
- A settled enough forecast to get the coats on with proper drying time between them.
Booking in early gets you the better slots. Everyone tries to book exterior work in the first stretch of good weather, and that is exactly when decorators are already committed.
Preparation is most of the job
On an exterior, preparation is not a step before the work. It is the work:
- Wash down to remove dirt, growth and chalking residue.
- Treat any growth rather than just painting over it.
- Rake out and fill cracks in render.
- Cut out and splice any rotten timber, then prime bare wood the same day it is exposed.
- Prime and undercoat properly before the topcoat.
Paint applied over a dirty, chalky or damp surface will not bond, regardless of how good the paint is. This is the single biggest difference between a repaint that lasts eight years and one that fails in two.
Getting it looked at
If you are not sure whether your exterior needs doing this year or can wait another one, it is worth having someone look at it properly. We will tell you honestly if it can wait, because there is no sense doing work a year before it is needed. Get in touch for a free quote.