Siding Problems: Vinyl vs. Exterior Painting

Friday, September 30th, 2016 by Chris Zorzy

Is it time to paint the house again? You might be saying, “We just painted 4–5 years ago and we are already back at it again! Why don’t these paint jobs last as long as they used to?”

There are many questions to be asked to answer that question but there are some reasons why your home does not hold paint as long as it used to:

1. Did you get a good prep job the last time around?
2. On older homes, the old lead paint is breaking down at the base
3. Some homes don’t even last one or two years because the home has an extreme moisture problem
4. Some homes, especially older homes, don’t breathe as well with so many layers of paint and these layers of paint create a moisture problem

Many other issues make painting the exterior of your home less and less attractive. This is why we are big believers in vinyl siding.

I started my company in 1982 as a painting contractor and know these problems well. By 1992, I started offering vinyl siding mostly because I recognize homes that don’t hold paint well. No matter how well we prepared them to be painted, they would peel. I felt I was doing a great service to my customers by offering vinyl siding.

Of course, not everyone wanted to make the investment in vinyl siding over painting, especially in our historic New England towns like Topsfield, Newburyport or Salem. I believe it was cheaper in the long run to vinyl side vs. paint but some customers still wanted to paint. I would actually decline these jobs knowing I could not deliver the quality of a long lasting paint job and I can’t tell you how many of these people finally hired me after several years of paint failures.

Now, I have been in business for more than 30 years and I still believe vinyl siding is the best investment you can make for the exterior of your home. If you are interested in siding your house, give us a call for a free estimate.