Exterior Painting SarasotaIf you are a Florida transplant or one of our winter residents, you have been trained to think in terms of “seasons” for exterior household maintenance. Since we don’t get snow – the last time was in 1953– and below-freezing weather is rarely an issue, the winter is typically thought to be the best time to paint the exterior of your home. If you’re doing it yourself, you’re probably right.

However, many of our winter residents have their homes painted while they are up north during the summer, and we don’t ever meet them until they return in the winter, long after the job is complete.The main problems that we face in the summer time in Florida for exterior work is heat, humidity, rain and hurricanes. While we obviously can’t paint the exterior of a home during a rain storm or hurricane, we can however, paint a house at any time of year. We love the Florida winter, but we don’t mind the heat, and we’re used to working around the unpredictable weather patterns of the Florida summer as well. In Florida, more than any other location in the U.S., making sure that the paint on your house is of superior quality, and applied properly, is more important than when to apply it. Any good painting contractor knows this.

Why Is It Exterior Paint Important?

Most Florida homes have exterior walls made of stucco. If the paint is applied unevenly, pin-sized areas of your outside walls are exposed to the outside elements – like rain, dust, mold and algae.

If we have nothing else in Florida, we have humidity, and humidity breeds mold; mold spores can set up housekeeping in the tiniest crevice imaginable. Sadly, when they do, they don’t remain outside. They creep into the porous openings in your masonry and migrate into your interior walls. Molds are one of the most common causes of respiratory illnesses in Florida.

One of the best ways to protect your home from infection from molds is to ensure that the exterior walls of your home are sealed with a quality paint. We use only Benjamin Moore paint because we have found that it holds up better, and the color lasts longer under the Florida sun than any other brand on the market. We also use rollers, not sprayers, because it is proven to be the best way to apply paint to stucco walls. Sprayers just cannot work the paint into the tiny holes and cracks in order to give you a solid application that will protect your home.

So “weather” you do it yourself, or hire a contractor, protect your home with quality paint and spend the extra time or money to make sure it’s done properly. Your investment will thank you for it.