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A house’s color quite determines the style and beauty of the house. Exterior painting is more than just a choice of your favorite color. It is a fundamental part of the success in the creation or renovation of each building for its decorative function, and for the function of protection and resistance to the action of time and atmospheric agents.
Waterproofing and breathability determine a different degree of comfort inside and outside the homes.
The external painting falls within the definition of ordinary maintenance interventions contained in the consolidated construction law, which defines ordinary maintenance interventions as “building interventions concerning repairs, renewal, and replacement of building finishes.” This type of involvement falls into rehabilitation and conservative rehabilitation works.
It can be made with different techniques and equally varied materials, each of which can restore its aesthetic impact or perform a specific function. For example, some paints can be better than others, thermally and acoustically insulate a building.
In general, external painting is always needed. Otherwise, the building would appear incomplete, almost unfinished, with the plaster exposed to the elements.
But there are two exceptions.
- Stone walls: The aesthetic approach is entirely different and is based precisely on the visual characteristics of the stone, which give the building a rustic yet elegant appearance.
- Walls with exposed brick: The painting would compromise the aesthetic impact of the wall, which is based precisely on the exposure of the bricks.
External painting: the legislation
No permit is required to paint the exterior walls. These interventions fall into the “ordinary maintenance” category and, therefore, free building. But, even in this case, there are exceptions.
- Landscape and architectural constraints: Some municipal administrations reserve the right to link private interventions to the territory’s needs. Before starting the painting work, it is essential to inquire about the existence of a “Color Plan” at the Single Office of the Building, a regulation establishing the colors and types of plaster that can be used.
- Condominium dwellings: In this case, the painting interventions could disturb the quiet of the condominium and affect the appearance of the common parts, among which the facade stands out. Therefore, the authorization of the condominium assembly is required before painting the external walls of your home.
Plaster and types of finish for exterior painting
There are two main types of finishes:
- Smooth: A simple finish that allows you to have a perfectly smooth wall. It needs a paint base diluted with water which can be followed by painting.
- In relief: It has a rough surface. It is important to apply a coat of fixative so that the paint, which must be quartz or siloxane, adheres well to achieve it.
The choice of typologies depends solely on the preferred style.
Before proceeding with the exterior painting, it is essential to install scaffolding to facilitate all operations. This is a series of obligations to ensure compliance with the legislation regarding safety at work.
The entire intervention’s difficulty depends on the surface’s state and the work required to repair any damage before starting with the actual painting.
The initial phase consists of removing the plaster’s damaged or deteriorated parts with a chisel. It continues by eliminating the dust and cleaning the entire area. Finally, everything is finished with the grouting of any holes or cracks on the wall. However, the plaster is applied as a base for the painting if necessary.
External painting: techniques and materials
External silicate painting
It is an excellent alternative to the classic lime-based exterior paint. It is based on potassium silicate and inorganic pigments. The substantial difference with lime-based outdoor paints is that they are water-repellent and breathable simultaneously.
External silicate paints are impervious to water and permeable to vapor, making them highly durable over time and resistant to rain or any other atmospheric agent.
Suitable for the restoration of new buildings, this type of paint can be applied in areas with high smog and in areas exposed to high humidity.
In this case, glazing is used, with the silicate completely replacing the milk of lime.
External lime painting
It is the oldest and most used ever. A dilution of lime and water, composed of borax, casein, and natural earth, with no chemical agent, toxic or plastic element, makes lime paint a raw material.
It is breathable, resistant to sudden changes in temperature, and ideal for wall insulation. These are just some of the characteristics of this paint: being a natural biocide, the walls painted with this paint will also be resistant to mold and parasites.
It is a balanced, inexpensive solution with a more than satisfactory functional-aesthetic result. It is applied with the glazing technique: three coats of paint are spread, the first of which is preparatory and based on lime milk only.
Resin-based exterior painting
It’s composed entirely of inorganic resins subject to polymerization, with the addition of pigments (especially for colors other than white). It is the paint capable of giving the best and most varied aesthetic impact, although it gives way a little to alternatives in terms of thermal insulation.
External quartz painting
It is composed of water, synthetic resins, and tiny grains of quartz, giving the paint an excellent filling capacity (ideal for any irregular walls) and strong resistance.
Quartz paints are water-repellent, ideal for walls of houses exposed to atmospheric agents (such as high humidity), resistant over time, and suitable for decorations on terraces and balconies.
Epoxy and polyurethane paints
The epoxy paints are two-component chemically drying with a suitable hardener. They have a high abrasion resistance. It is necessary to use abrasive paper or sandblast to remove them. They have excellent adhesion power and can be repainted.
On the other hand, polyurethane varnishes are bicomponent, and their drying takes place through the evaporation of the solvent. They are resistant to abrasion and solvents. They hardly turn yellow, so they retain their original color. They are suitable for both indoors and outdoors.
Continuous plastic coating
Based on pigmented acrylic binders of the orange peel or fine dripped type with pigments loaded with fine and medium quartz sand. Or it is based on pigmented acrylic binders such as shaved, scratched, or smooth pigmented spatula.
