Painting your house exterior is a major project, and if you live around Sevierville, our mountain weather does not make it any easier. Between the humid summers down in the valleys and the freeze-thaw cycles up near the ridges, houses take a beating. Over the years running All-Star Painters, our team has heard just about every question a homeowner can ask about Exterior Painting in Sevierville, TN. We will clear up some of the most common ones right now.
How often do I actually need to paint my house in Sevierville?
Most wood siding around here needs a fresh coat of Exterior Painting every 5 to 7 years. If you have fiber cement like Hardie board, you can stretch that to 10 or even 12 years because it holds onto paint much better. But do not just go by the calendar. Walk around your house after a heavy spring storm. If you see cracking, chalking, or fading on the sides facing the afternoon sun, it is time for Exterior Painting in Sevierville.
Can you paint during our humid summer months?
Yes, but All-Star Painters has to watch the humidity and afternoon thunderstorms like a hawk. High moisture in the air stops paint from curing right, which leads to blistering and peeling down the road. We check the moisture content of the wood before touching a brush. If it is too damp, we wait. Rushing Exterior Painting in East Tennessee humidity is a waste of your hard-earned money.
What kind of prep work is really necessary?
Prep work is 90 percent of the job. If a painter spends 2 hours scraping and 2 days painting, run away. All-Star Painters spends days washing away mildew, scraping off loose paint, sanding rough edges, and caulking gaps. Down by the Little Pigeon River or in heavily wooded lots, mildew is a constant battle. If you do not kill those spores before painting, they will eat right through your new coat of Exterior Painting by next year.
Should I go with oil-based or latex paint for my exterior?
Almost always acrylic latex these days, specifically high-grade 100 percent acrylic. It stays flexible when temperatures swing wildly from a freezing January night to a scorching July afternoon. Oil-based paint used to be the standard, but it gets brittle and cracks under our mountain sun. All-Star Painters only uses oil on stubborn, bare-wood trouble spots where nothing else will stick for Exterior Painting in Sevierville.
How long will the project take from start to finish?
For an average single-family home in neighborhoods like English Mountain or down toward Kodak, figure on about 3 to 5 days for Exterior Painting. That includes power washing, drying time, scraping, priming, and 2 full coats of finish paint. Weather can throw a wrench in that timeline instantly, so All-Star Painters always builds a little buffer into our schedule for homes in Sevierville, TN.
Do I need to be home while your crew is working?
Not at all. Once we go over the color choices and game plan, you can head off to work or run errands. All-Star Painters just needs access to an outdoor water spigot and electricity, and we will ask that you keep your pets safely inside so they do not bolt out an open gate while we are moving ladders around during Exterior Painting.