Painting outside walls

Telmor · 08-02-2010, 21:45

I had the outside of my house painted just over two years ago,and was told that it would last about ten years, but after less than a year I noticed small cracks appearing in the paint. Other things were happening in my life so I didn't get round to calling the decorator back. Now there are great big sheets of paint peeling off and it looks awful. After many attempts, I finally got a response from the chap who did it. He said that the old paint underneath mustn't have had a stabiliser under it, so that when he painted over the old paint, it would just peel off sooner or later, is this correct? Does anyone on here know much about this, can I challenge him with a good argument about it? I'm really fed up, I paid him in cash, plied him and his mate with tea, biscuits and sandwiches, gave them a decent tip at the end, and can't really afford to have to shell out a second time to have it remedied. Although I paid cash, I do have the typed quote he gave me beforehand, can this be used as evidence? Thanks for any advice you can give me.

DIY Guy · 08-02-2010, 22:33

Nope, this is rubbish. Its his job as the decorator to know what he is painting over. If your render/brickwork did not have stebiliser on it then your old paint would have been flaking just as badly, and if it was, then he should have known full well to stabilise the surface before painting.

If there was any doubt at all, then it would have been best to stabilise it anyway after proper preparation by removing all loose/flakey paiint and giving the surface a good rub down with some mild glass paper and then cleaning with something like sugar soap before applying stabiliser.

The problem with stabiliser is that its very expensive, pretty much twice the cost of the paint with a small 5L tin costing around £20+ for the decent brands, but trade prices will be cheaper.

Trade paints are better too if you know how to thin them down properly, you pay a little bit more per-litre than you would in B&Q, but the paints are a lot thicker because the B&Q stuff is already watered down.

I'd be asking the decorator to repaint the place again, no fee, as he should have spotted it needed stabilsing if he had done the correct prep work, giving the surface a good rub-down and wash would reveal any loose/flakey paint, and if there wasnt any, or if the surface was VERY pourous, then it should have been stabilised.

By the way Telmor, welcome to the forum, a hi and an introduction are often welcomed when chatting to new people...

Telmor · 09-02-2010, 09:33

Thanks and hi DIY Guy, you reply was very helpful, it was good to hear some sound information from someone who knows what they're talking about. This guy gave the most reasonable quote at the time, I'd had two others which were crazy prices, this is Reigate and I think the decorators think everyone is rich down here, definitely not so! However, maybe I should have gone for one of the more expensive, maybe they would have done a better job of it.
I'm a total amateur at DIY, though being an old bird, I've done all of my own decoration in the house since I was young, I never had the kind of money needed to get an expert in, but the results have always been reasonable. This is a great site, found it last night when looking for info on painting outside, so I'm very grateful and glad to have found it. Thanks again

DIY Guy · 09-02-2010, 15:37

Very welcome...

The reason the others may have been expensive is because if you stabilise the walls first, it means your having to add-in at least 1+ extra day because everything then has to be painted an extra time, and given 16 hours to dry.

So joe blogs might do 2 coats of paint in 1 or 2 days and leave it, whereas a good decorator will spend at least 1 day or more on preparation, 1 day stabilsing, then 1+ day applying 2 coats of paint.

Anytime you get any quotes or estimates, dont be afraid to ask for an exact breakdown of how they reach that figure, in WRITING so you can review it later after they have gone, and review it beside others, and tell them thats what you want it for too, this encourages them to detail absolutely everything.