Spring cometh and with it, come siding and painting.

The weather here is just like spring, it reached 86 degrees today. Correspondingly, I have seen an increase in requests for siding repair and exterior painting. This is to repair the damage of winter or winters and summers past, the Texas sun is hard on paint and the rains can do a number of the siding as well.

Due to this increase in requests I though it a good idea to explain some of the ins and outs of siding repairs and painting.

First we will discuss siding.
During the late seventies, all the eighties and even early nineties, siding was mostly a product called Masonite. There have been a large number of class-action lawsuits against the manufactures as it rots anywhere it was cut or had a nail put in it. Now do not get me wrong, I have it on my house and it is just fine. I am lucky as I keep my well painted and it is mostly in dry areas. I have seen it so bad, we had to replace or overlay all the old siding with new siding or cover it with vinyl siding.

So if you have Masonite and need repairs what are your options.
1. Repair the areas affected with any product you can get hold of that has the same or a similar style and profile. Cover the damage with trim if possible, IE Hide it.
2. Replace or overlay the entire siding with a new siding product.

Repair is usually the cheapest and can be at best a temporary fix. Sometimes it is impossible to find the profile of your current product in the exact size and shape. This can lead to the patched look or a quilt pattern look. But lets not forget to address the actual cause of the siding/trim rot. Was it water from a sprinkler aimed improperly, was it water from the roof ? Can adding gutters help? Can adding proper drainage help? This questions are the same for replace or overlay.

Replace or overlay works like this, repair the damaged or missing siding with OSB board, then overlay that with optional foam insulation sheets. This allows you to get insulation where there is none or add to what you already have. Once the areas are repaired and the optional insulation is applied you can overlay them with the new siding product.

This begs the question, what do I replace it with that will not rot?
The simple answer is with a concrete fiber board from James-Hardie. It does not rot, holds paint like a dream and is easy to install. Comes in a wide variety of styles and profiles for siding and trim. The only complaint I have it that it does not have profiles for some of the more popular Masonite profiles and thus cannot always be used for a seamless repair of the Masonite sidings. Now is James-Hardie the only concrete fiber board? No, there are others but they invented it and therefore are the best at it.

Vinyl siding never needs painted, it can be cleaned with a garden hose, it is weather and rot proof. It can even be installed with insulation in it or under it, to add more R-value to help with the raising cost of electricity.

There are other siding products out there and you may find they work better with your type of home or installation. Louisiana-Pacific makes several products they claim are better than the concrete fiber board, but they are still too new to really have been time an weather tested.

Now we can talk about paint.
There are too many companies out there that make paint, so pick the one your father used and stick with them. Not all paint is created equal, but there are things to look for. Warranty, company name, BBB complaints and quality. Sears has a good name for paint and so does Sherwin-Williams. If the quality of the paint is good, it will last, right? Wrong, if the surface is not prepared properly to accept the paint; and he paint is not applied properly, then you will not get the years out of the paint warranty and it will fade, chip or peel.

The proper preparation includes these steps:
Pressure wash surface to be painted - This removes dirt, grim and any loose bits of paint.
Scrap the areas that the bits of paint came of off and prime them. (This step take time)
Replace any bad siding, wood or trim, caulk it in and prime it. (some products come pre-primed)
Tighten up any loose boards, trim etc.
Remove and re-caulk all areas where the caulking failed.
Make sure temperature and humidity are right, not to hot, not to cold, not to humid.
Now you can paint and the paint will hold and last. Never thin your paint.

Spraying VS Brush and roller.
Spraying gives a nice even coat and with modern latex paints and with the right sprayer, this works great.
Brush and Roller in the right hands give a nice even coat, and can have the added benefit of "working the paint onto the surface". (The repeated brushing back and forth or in different directions to "work the paint" onto the surface.) This way often uses more paint thus you get a thicker coat. It is better, it really depends on who does the job and what type of material you are painting. Two coats of sprayed on paint work just as one coat of brushed in most cases.

What type of paint should I use?
Flat or Satin?
Flat can be chalky or have a white film of powder on it over time and may not repel water as well as Satin. Satin is the best paint, as it is washable and will repel water better than a flat paint.

Saving Energy

I just got this months National Geographic magazine in the mail and wow was I blown away with this article titled "Saving Energy". I have blogged and written a couple of nice presentations about ways to save money, but this really hit home. I am on the right track with my presentations and the suggestions contained therein.
Click the title to read the National Geographic article on the web.

Here are some simple facts from the article:
A gallon of gas adds 19.6 lbs of CO2 to the atmosphere
A Kilowatt-hour of electricity adds an average of 1.5 lbs of CO2
100 cubic feet of natural gas adds 12 lbs of CO2

The average American household produces 150lbs of CO2 a day

We really can save the planet by simply using less or making the most out of what we have by using it more efficiently. If we will commit to changing our life style a little, spending a few dollars to upgrade or replace worn out appliances. Replacing old style light bulbs with CFL's etc. We can reduce our carbon foot print as families and then as a nation. All of the ideas and suggestions presented in the article and my presentations will pay for themselves in time. You spend some now, but you will get it back later as the savings pile up. The real payoff is the reduction you will make to your CO2 output per week, per month and per year.
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single small foot step. May we all take small steps toward our goal, each one reducing our CO2 footprint and saving the money to pay for the next step.

Spring will soon be in the air and the trees will bloom.

When the trees in Texas bloom, so do the allergies. Your nose runs and your eyes water and you get the ladder out to clean the gutters. You maybe asking what one has to do with the other. The answer is the amount of leaf bud casings, flower debris, twigs and leafs that will soon fill up and clog your gutters after a spring storm. The pollen from the trees is bad enough, to add insult to injury the trees will shed twigs and all manner of debris onto your roof and this will wash into your gutters every time it rains.


To treat the allergies see your Doctor, to treat your gutters, call us. At Rainy Day Services we offer gutter repair, installation, cleaning and three ways to stop your gutters getting clogged with tree debris. Any of which can be retro-fitted onto your existing gutters, no need to replace your perfectly good gutters just to add leaf protection.


The three ways to stop debris getting into your gutter are:

• Leaf Screens (screens)
• Leaf Guards (solid cap)
• Rapidflow (gutter insert from Owens Corning)

If you have gutters you know how valuable they are at keeping you home and foundation dry. You also know the joys of cleaning them out and that there is no need to have to do that chore anymore with any one of the above products.

But why do I need gutters on my home? You may ask.

1. FOUNDATION PROTECTION – Limits the movement of active north Texas soils underneath the foundation by controlling the amount of water that enters at the foundation base.
2. MOISTURE CONTROL – Keeps crawl spaces and garages, dry and free from conditions that support mold and wood rot.
3. PROTECT BACK-FILL – Top soil around the foundation is the weakest link in the foundation moisture control, preventing soil erosion can prevent foundation shift.
4. SHIELD WINDOWS DOOR AND SIDING – Most durability issues arise from water intrusion though windows, doors and siding. With gutters you can direct water flow away from sensitive areas and protect your home.
5. PROTECT PLANTS AND SHRUBS – Standing water in flower beds can kill your plants and promote plant disease.
6. PROTECTS POOLS – Keeps unwanted debris from entering into the pool.
7. PREVENTS SPLASH BACK – Gutters help keep siding and masonry clean by preventing splash back of dirt and grass or other items that can stain or grow mold. It also keeps the rain water off the siding which can rot or crack.
8. DECORATIVE DETAIL – Gutters come is a wide variety of styles, colors and metals which can add pleasing detail while still being functional.
9. RAINWATER COLLECTION – Collecting rain water is the simplest “Green” way to water you lawn and is easy and inexpensive. Gutters help you to concentrate the water to rain barrels or other storage medium.

The number one reason people call us for a cutter installation, is their foundation company recommends it to help keep the foundation moisture level stable. Thus the doors stop sticking and the cracks do not reappear around doors and windows.

The number two reason is leaf protection, for the gutters they already have.

Some houses have gutters from the builder, but only on the front and back. Sometimes even this is just part of the front and part of the back. We can add only to the parts that do not have gutters and will customize your gutter system to fit your homes needs and budget.

We have 21 colors to choose from and we do copper. We do the standard OG gutters and 1/2 round gutters, we do square downspouts and round downspouts. There are even a number of very nice decorative elements available to make your gutters stand out from the crowd. Call us today for your free gutter estimate, designed by proven professionals. 866-596-2030