Mrs M is an elderly lady who owns and lives in a weatherboard house in Remuera.
The exterior of her house was in need of attention, and repainting was a major project for her. She enlisted her brother and sister in law’s help to choose the right painting contractor and select the new exterior colours.
Mrs M is a careful decision maker. Therefore, it was important to ensure that she felt heard, empowered with information, and not rushed into a decision. She chose Wall Treats to undertake her repaint.
About this property
Due to the terrain of the land on which the house sits, we needed to set up scaffolding to access a section of the house. A small section of the house was already painted; the remaining surfaces were stained.
Initially, Mrs M was eager to replicate the same look. Like many homeowners who have properties with stained surfaces, she was worried that the character of her house would change too much with a different finish.
We place utmost importance on maintaining client relationships through clear, honest communication. Therefore, it is vital to us that we enable informed decisions. We don’t want to rush ahead with a job at the expense of the client’s satisfaction with the end result! Whilst we understood Mrs M’s desire to retain the look of her house, we felt it important that she understood key considerations with re-staining exterior timber.
We also arranged for Mrs M and her brother to view another cedar-clad property that had been painted and was previously stained. This viewing enabled Mrs M and her brother to assess the quality of Wall Treats’ workmanship and afforded them a chance to speak with our clients about their experience.
Key considerations with re-staining exterior timber
Cedar weathers at different rates. This means that the existing stain will be darker in some areas and lighter in others. If we were to apply the same number of coats of stain to the surfaces, it is unlikely that the finish would be uniform. In fact, the result can look patchy, as weathered cedar absorbs the stain at different rates. Any stain that the timber cannot absorb will run.
The western and northern elevations generally weather at a faster pace than the eastern and southern elevations. Therefore, there will be large-scale differences in finish. This is because the northern and western aspects are more exposed to the weather elements in New Zealand.
Where your property is multi-storey, scaffolding is necessary to access the upper levels. This is a health and safety requirement. Depending on the size and structure of your property, scaffolding can range from a four to five-figure investment. Best practice is to re-stain every two to three summers. Paint should last between five to 10 years depending on the paint colour that you choose. The darker the paint colour, the lower the life expectancy of the paint finish. Re-staining every two to three summers means that the scaffolding is required that frequently too. Conversely, a high quality paint finish should last between eight to 10 years. Scaffolding would only need to be set up each time a repaint is needed.
Stain colours become progressively restricted. If you choose to re-stain, we will need to apply a stain colour that is darker than the one already there. With painting, your colour palette is limitless.
Lastly, we are unable to offer the Master Painters New Zealand five year workmanship guarantee if you choose to re-stain cedar boards. Because of the difficulties of re-staining this substrate, the guarantee specifically excludes this type of work. However, if you choose to paint the cedar boards, then we can offer the guarantee.
After several conversations with our team and her family members, Mrs M decided to proceed with Wall Treats’ suggestion to repaint the entire house.
The outcome
As Mrs M’s confidence with Wall Treats grew, she became even more courageous with her decision-making. We arranged for a Resene Colour Consultant to create two bespoke exterior colour schemes for Mrs M to consider.
The first scheme retained the stained cedar joinery that Mrs M expressed she wished to keep.
The second scheme involved a more modern colour palette which included painting the cedar joinery.
We were all pleasantly surprised when Mrs M decided to proceed with the bolder second scheme! We are so pleased she did as it certainly took the appearance of her lovely home to the next level.
Mrs M has been so happy with her exterior painting outcome that she has referred Wall Treats to her neighbour and her step grandson. She has also expressed interest in engaging Wall Treats to repaint the interior of her house in the near future.
We love a happy client! Working with Mrs M reinforced for the Wall Treats team the importance of careful communication to ensure that we get it right the first time and produce a result that everyone loves.
About Wall Treats
Wall Treats’ team of professional Auckland painters is led by Master Painter Daniel Zapata. We are committed to delivering top-quality workmanship, proactive communication, and beautiful, lasting results on each one of our house painting projects.
To request a consultation, call us on 0800 008 168.
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