Painting Solutions has a team of experts who know how to properly protect a home’s exterior finish

By Mary Malik

Is it peeling, fading, warping or worse? Let’s talk about siding. Staining or painting your home’s exterior is one of those projects that often gets pushed to the bottom of the to-do list from year to year, but when it comes to maintaining your home’s exterior, time is not your friend.

“People tend to put it off, especially staining, thinking they have time, and it doesn’t look that bad,” Painting Solutions owner Dan Peck says. “Siding needs to be cleaned and stained every four to six years and maybe even sooner if surrounded by large trees and dense shrubbery. There’s still time to get it done this fall or get on the list for next spring. Once you’re on our list, you can cross it off yours.”

Taking away that worry is why hiring professionals like Painting Solutions is the way to go for a project like staining or painting your home.

“Like most other home improvement projects, it’s harder than it seems because as the saying goes, ‘The Devil is in the details,’” Dan says. Whether you’re staining or painting, the surface must be properly prepared to receive the product. This means the surface must be clean and free of debris, mold or mildew buildup and loose nails, screws and boards that can allow moisture to get in and cause irreparable harm.”

Damage to the wood is also why Dan advises against power washing for any wood siding. He has seen the harm that can be done by a well-meaning power wash that damages the surface, leaving cracks that allow moisture to seep in and cause even more problems.

“A professional, gentle cleaning of the wood, getting rid of all debris the right way, then spraying and back-brushing the surface is the proper way to maintain cedar,” Dan says. “We get rid of any mold and dirt buildup by hand, then spray the stain, which is then back-brushed into the woodgrain. Before those areas are fully dry, we apply another coat with a sprayer or brush to allow the wood to absorb more stain to really seal it up. The back-brushing is a critical step to make sure stain is evenly applied for a seamless finished product.”

Dan says Painting Solutions doesn’t hire subcontractors and his crews use the highest-quality products.

“The stains are made to sink into the wood and then weather over time,” Dan says. “Depending on the exposure of your home, certain areas may weather more quickly than others. In that case, we can come back out for periodic maintenance of your staining job. My crews are knowledgeable, efficient and take pride in getting the most longevity out of everything we do.”

Painting Solutions services all surfaces of your home, including decks, patios and fences. And nothing around our homes takes a harder hit than the deck. Between weather, furniture, grills and pets, the deck absorbs a lot of stress all year round.

“Nowhere else is your home exposed to the elements like the deck, where rain, snow and dirt just sit on the surface,” Dan says. “Every couple of years it needs a thorough cleaning and staining.”

Whether working inside or outside of your home, Painting Solutions takes great care to create as little disturbance as possible.

“We have been painting and staining since 1997,” Dan says. “And we’ve perfected the process of getting the job done professionally, efficiently and leaving your home better than we found it.”

To get on the schedule call Painting Solutions at 440-342-4552, email contact@paintingsolutions.com or check the website PaintingSolutionsOhio.com.