Have you ever really noticed the specific factors that make a building look unkempt? We have recently purchased a beautiful Victorian building built way back in 1902 when pride and care was put into the building process. The quality of the craftsmanship and building work is just superb even a century later.

Why then does the property look so neglected?

It’s simple: no amount of quality craftsmanship 'behind the scenes' can hide the fact that the property hasn’t been painted for at least 15 years. As a result, the property currently looks neglected, and a lot of avoidable restoration work will need to be completed simply because the building's paintwork has been neglected for a substantial period of time.

A freshly painted building looks clean, the exterior isn’t faded and it even smells new. As the new appearance disappears, so does the protection provided by paint. In my opinion, painting your scheme is the most important means of avoiding unnecessary maintenance work down the line, keeping your scheme looking ship shape and retaining its market value.

To make sure your building does not fall into disrepair you have to know what types of paint and coating protection your scheme has, why it must be maintained, how to maintain it, how often to maintain it and who to call. I also suggest having a written plan to maintain the surfaces that protect your home’s appearance and condition.

Often, it is realised that a maintenance plan is needed when it is too late and damage has already occurred. The purpose of this article is to draw attention to maintenance issues and provide basic information to help prevent avoidable and expensive problems from occurring.

What is paint and where should it be applied?

There are many different types of paints used to cover the various surfaces of the building envelope. Paints improve the visual appearance of the building and protect the underlying plastered surface from the damaging effects of the sun, wind and rain. It also helps prevent corrosion and damp from occurring.

The appropriate product must be used for each application or you will not get the protection the building needs to keep looking new and stay in good physical condition.

Why must painted surfaces be maintained?

Paints don’t last forever and must be maintained and restored when they have deteriorated due to exposure to the sun, rain, hot and cold temperatures, bird activity, people-inflicted damage and other destructive forces.

An aging and neglected building typically displays many reasons why you should maintain the paint-work in a timely fashion. These reasons include:

1. Appearance

   The colours are faded and not consistent due to exposure to the ultra-violet rays of the sun. Flakes and blisters can occur making the building even less appealing.

2. Wetting and drying of the building parts

   Plastered surfaces that are not protected by paint swells, shrinks and results in cracking and possibly water entering further into the wall.

3. Spalling

   When the concrete surrounding steel reinforcement bars is not protected from the elements with paint, the steel reinforcement bars will eventually start to corrode and lose strength as well as force the concrete surrounding the steel to crack and bulge.

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