Deck Staining – OK in humid heat?
While springtime and early summer is the best time to stain your deck. it’s still better to stain now rather than in late September. Whether you’re going with a solid color stain or semitransparent tint from a great brand such as Cabots, Sikkens or Penofin, at least the product will dry properly during this time of year. We recommend Anderson Paint Company for excellent selection and pricing on all those products, and use Anderson frequently. Cold humidity – while not affecting most house painting projects – is slightly detrimental for decks.
The combination of temperature and moisture can slow drying times, especially on surfaces that absorb higher levels of morning dew. Staining can be done in late September – Elysium stained an entire condo complex several years ago to great success – but you should take the following precautions:
1. Don’t stain when rain is pending. Unlike trim or siding on houses, decks get hit with water directly. If the deck’s surface isn’t completely dry, your new stain could run slightly if hit with raindrops before fully curing.
2. Don’t walk on the deck within 72 hours of staining. While normally we would suggest 24-48, high humidity and low temperatures may make the deck more vulnerable to foot traffic. Small animals and falling twigs are far more gentle, so they shouldn’t be much of a concern.
3. Feel the deck with your palm before staining. We always do this, but for do-it-yourselfers or to test a questionable handyman you may have hired, do the palm test. 75% of the time, wood that is colder on some spots means those spots have water that hasn’t fully dried out from the wood. By checking for uneven temperatures, you can determine where water hasn’t fully dried out of; these areas shouldn’t be stained immediately. Note that if the entire deck feels slightly cool and it hasn’t rained within the last 24 hours, this is just likely caused from shade or low heat absorption by the wood itself. (Or, of course, it’s night time or very early morning.)
Good luck, and happy staining!
August 14, 2010 at 11:52 am | Uncategorized | No comment
Exterior Painting in Summer Heat & Humidity
Yes, it’s hot and humid. Should you paint your house? Even with good prep work, will the job still last as long? These thoughts and more wander into people’s heads during the hot August and September months, and safe to say, you don’t have to worry.
To maximize job longevity and minimize the chance paint could dry out too fast without properly curing, painters shouldn’t paint in direct sunlight during the hottest part of midday. Elysium Painters follow the shade around the house, so even at noon, we’re not painting the hottest, most extreme areas. Exterior house painting can go on without concern, especially if the crew starts early or works strategically loooong days when it’s overcast, as we tend to do.
The only thing we don’t recommend in high humidity and heat is deck staining, especially if you live near a lake. Stay tuned for our next blog article to cover this specifically.
August 14, 2010 at 11:51 am | Uncategorized | No comment
Elysium on a Client’s Blog!
See “Nora of the Blue House” for photos and a story of an amazing home transformation on Pontiac trail:
http://www.rubberducky.org/blog/2010/05/01/nora-of-the-blue-house
The house in question used to be Violet, and after some intense prep work, we revolutionized the color scheme to a brilliant and beautiful blue. This exterior painting project took approximately 10 days, and the paint cost was actually slightly under budget. We were happy to be the painting contractor of this Violet-turned-Blue House in Ann Arbor, and hope you get a chance to see it – along with the rest of our work – soon!
The Violet House - a Before Shot
The Blue House - Job Complete!
May 17, 2010 at 1:53 pm | Uncategorized | No comment
Is it warm enough to paint?
Is it warm enough to paint? Could it be too humid? If you’re planning to paint your exterior this spring, you can be confident that we will only work on days that are appropriate for the paint to cure properly so the job can last as long as possible. We try to avoid painting within 12 hours of light rains and 36 hours of heavy rains so moisture can fully dry out from the wood siding, trim and other areas of the house.
Additionally, as long as the temperature is consistently above 45 degrees, the paint will cure properly and there will be almost no chance of the resins and binders in the house paint to freeze overnight. A good test is the presence or absence of frost: if the grass is dotted with white in the morning, it’s too cold to paint! Overcast and sunny days are best to commence with residential painting, and you absolutely don’t want your deck stained when expecting rain.
Some homeowners ask about the heat of midsummer and potential risks of painting above 80 degrees. Truth be told, there are many more factors to consider. First, high humidity can affect drying times (increasing the amount of time between coats if you are planning on a two-coat paint job). Second, darker colors tend to absorb more heat, and should best be painted either very early or very late during sunny days in August and September.
The beauty of hiring Elysium is that we keep watch of all these factors for you! While some painting contractors would rush to get the job done, we are committed to only commencing with work when we know it is proper to do so. We check humidity levels, pay attention to the sky, and know the differences in the chemical compounds between brands. Benjamin Moore and Graham Ceramic are generally very durable products, and are requested by a majority of our customers. If you are on a tight schedule and can’t wait for ideal conditions, we may suggest Resilience by Sherwin Williams; this paint is specifically formulated to cure properly during higher humidity and low temperatures. If the day is extremely hot, we will either recommend painting in multiple layers of thin coats, or we will arrive early and stay late to take advantage of the cooler early morning and early evening times.
Since your goals are our goals, you can take heart that we will do our absolute best to ensure:
1) Your paint job will last as long as possible
2) The project will not be compromised by easily avoidable weather conditions
3) Your job is completed on deadline, even if we have to begin several days early to rule out the chances extreme weather may delay the project
Questions about whether the weather will affect your paint job? E-mail us today!
April 8, 2010 at 11:40 am | Uncategorized | No comment
How Elysium Compares to the Competition
August 6, 2009 at 2:47 pm | Uncategorized | 2 comments
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