Facade Painting

The south wall has started to flake. Not everywhere, but in patches beneath the windows and along the window sills, where the sun and rain have worked longest. The north wall has not flaked, but it is green-black. You know the house needs painting, and you also know that last time it was done, it did not last as long as it should have.

The reason is almost always the same. The paint was not the problem. The surface was.

What we actually do

A facade painting job is five jobs, and four of them happen before anyone opens a paint tin.

1. Washing. Full facade washing using the softwash method: eco-labelled detergent, low pressure, dwell time, hand scrubbing where needed. Algae and green growth must go, otherwise the paint bonds to the algae instead of the timber.

2. Drying time. The timber must be dry all the way through, not just on the surface. We do not paint on damp cladding, and we would rather move the working day than do so.

3. Scraping and sanding. All loose and flaking paint is scraped and brushed off until we reach a sound surface. The transitions are sanded so that old and new paint meet evenly, rather than as an edge you can see from the garden against the light. Paint that is holding well is left alone — scraping more than necessary is not thoroughness, it is removing protection that was still working.

4. Repair and priming. Rot-damaged boards are shown to you and replaced by agreement. Bare wood is primed, as are the most exposed areas. End grain — the open fibre end of a board — is sealed separately, since that is where moisture enters the timber and starts the rot from within.

5. Two coats of topcoat. Applied at the correct temperature and humidity, with coverage checked between coats. Window sills, verge boards, corner boards and trims are done by hand, not sprayed — these are the details that determine how the house looks up close, and they are also the ones most exposed to the weather.

Finally: tidying up, removal of waste, and photo documentation of every stage, so you can see what was actually done beneath the paint.

Why it pays off

Paint is not decoration on a timber house. It is the layer that decides whether rain runs off the cladding or soaks into it. When the paint fails, the timber absorbs moisture, and damp wood in the Norwegian climate rots — first in the end grain and beneath window sills, then in the board itself.

This is why the preparation is not where you save money. Two coats of good paint on a poorly prepared surface last less than one coat on a well-prepared one. This is the one thing that separates a paint job that lasts two years from one that lasts twelve.

Then there is the value. The facade is the house, seen from the road. No single maintenance job changes the impression of a property more — and few are as visible to a surveyor.

How often should you have it done?

Done properly, with washing, scraping, priming and two coats, we are typically talking about eight years or more before the next round, depending on aspect and exposure. Between paint jobs, facade washing every other year is what actually extends the interval — it is algae and moisture that break down the paint film, not sunlight alone.

How long does it take?

Several days to more than a week, depending on the size of the house and how much scraping is required. Washing, drying time, scraping, priming and two coats cannot be compressed. You will receive a schedule with dates in the fixed-price quote.

Book an inspection for facade painting — you will receive a fixed price in writing, and we do not start until you have approved it.