By Jason Moore, Shaker Painting, Inc.
It goes without saying that a new paint job can make your community look sharp and clean. However, it is more than simply a fresh coat of paint. There are a number of benefits to painting your community that go beyond a color refresh. It can bring a community together and help fight crime!
One of the most important reasons to keep up with regular painting is that it seals and protects buildings from the weather. Paint not only waterproofs your surfaces to repel rain and snow, but it also protects from the intense Colorado sun which can cause materials to become brittle and fail. Caulking cracks and sealing gaps around windows, doors, or other areas will improve insulation as well. This helps reduce utility costs and improves the longevity of the substrates on the exterior of your building.
When should you paint? Different building materials require different maintenance intervals. For instance, wooden decks (or any horizontal surface for that matter) take quite a beating from snow, ice, rain, and of course, hail. Because of this regular exposure to the elements, wooden decks typically require staining or painting every 2-3 years to protect the wood from warping, rotting, and cracking.
Painted metal surfaces in your community (like metal railings) also require painting at a more regular interval, usually every 3-4 years. Metal surfaces are more susceptible to extreme temperature swings (especially in Colorado) which cause paint to fail at a higher rate than a more insulated surface.
It is recommended that most other substrates like siding, trim, brick (if already painted), or stucco be painted every 5-7 years to protect the building materials and keep the community’s appearance up to standards.
A well-kept exterior is vital for increasing values and community pride. When homeowners take pride in their property, they share a common goal: keep things looking nice! When people share a goal, they work together. When they work together, standards and norms are set in the community. This positive ripple effect can also work in the opposite way as explained by the Broken Windows Theory.
The Broken Windows Theory states that visible signs of crime (say, a broken window) create an environment that encourages more crime (more broken windows, graffiti). This can lead to further disorder including serious crimes (like arson and theft).
When applied to communities, this means that visible signs of building damage (rotted siding, etc) can create an environment (community standards or lack-thereof) that encourages further damage or lack of maintenance within the community. It projects a message of “we don’t care and we’re not watching.” In short, a community with a clean and welcoming appearance will attract quality homeowners who will assist with and expect to maintain their home's appearance with regular maintenance.
In the long run, keeping up with painting maintenance costs much less on average than if exterior materials are allowed to fail. Without proper maintenance, wood and siding rots, cracks, and fails at a significantly higher rate. Replacing these materials can get quite costly and become a financial and safety risk for the community. Regular painting maintenance at the proper intervals will save the community money, and allow you to spend your money wisely on other things homeowners are concerned about.
Maintaining an orderly appearance in your community not only can attract better homeowners, but also increases your neighborhood’s curb appeal. Having desirable curb appeal increases home values within your community, which everyone can agree on. As the real estate market in Colorado continues its upward trend, having a properly maintained home is something any realtor will tell you is important to maintaining and increasing home values.
In conclusion, painting within your community regularly is an important aspect of routine maintenance. It will improve the longevity of your buildings, save homeowners money on their utility bills, and significantly save the community's money in the long run. It will also keep the neighborhood safe and looking attractive, maintain curb appeal, and might just make those board meetings run smoother!
Shaker Painting Inc. is a locally owned and operated paint contractor in the Denver Metro and Front Range area. Shaker has a reputation for quality, professionalism, reliability, and thoughtfulness that has kept them in business since its founding in 1999. Find out how they’re more than a fresh coat at shakerpainting.com.
