Exterior Painting

Painting or staining the exterior of your home is one of the most important and time-consuming aspects of home maintenance. The professionals at Rent-A-Son recognize this, and we are proficient in each aspect of exterior painting from start to finish. We abide by and seek to emphasize to our client's the "3 P's," when undertaking any painting project: Preparation, Precipitation, and Paint selection.

Preparation

Inadequate surface preparation is the primary reason that exterior application fail prematurely (the Cape is a harsh and veritable climate). We are diligent about appropriating the requisite time to clean all services of mildew, mold, and dirt. We scrape, sand problems areas, sand all remaining surfaces, repair or replace wood rot, spot prime areas of bare wood, and caulk all seams and voids.

Finally, we also take the time to plan our overall approach for each project. Addressing accessibility challenges ahead of time allow us minimize or obviate damage to perimeter plantings and safely execute the work for the duration of the project. Only after completing these critical steps in a meticulous manner does the painting begin.

Precipitation

We are committed to meeting the scheduled start and finish timelines that we specify in our proposals; however, we do not ever do so when there is a question as to whether surfaces are appropriately dry. Paint or stain applied to surfaces when they are not fully dried is unprofessional. Doing so will likely result in future problems and Rent-A-Son will not adhere to a time schedule that will jeopardize the integrity of the project.

Trim, shingles, callboards, etc. can often "feel" dry to the touch, even though the interior integrity of the wood may be saturated. After prolonged periods of rain, we rely on moisture meters to provide us with objective readings as to inherent moisture content of wood surfaces. We will not resume work until these readings are at optimal levels. We also take care not to expose more wood during the prep phase of the work than we can realistically apply primer to in the instances of questionable forecasts.

Paint

The choice of paint or stain products, its respective composition, and the manner with which it is applied are the final keys to a successful exterior application. We prefer to use Benjamin Moore, Sherman Williams, or Cabot's products, as we find these manufactures to have sound products.

Our choice of an oil or latex base is job dependent, and for waterfront and labor intensive (deck railing balusters) we also may suggest marine paint. Marine paint is more labor intensive to apply and is more expensive per gallon; however, our experience has shown that it has a greater durability and longevity than traditional applications.