Wooden house: How to paint the outside. How to paint the outside of a wooden house: the preparatory stage of work, painting new and old buildings How to paint the outside of a house

The time comes when it becomes necessary to carry out repair work both inside and outside the house. I was interested in the question of how to paint the outside of a wooden house, what materials are better, how to choose the right one and how to paint the house. All these issues are important for housing built from logs or laminated veneer lumber. Let's figure out how to properly paint a wooden house and how to prepare the surfaces yourself, as well as what materials are best used for painting the foundation and pediment. In addition, I will tell you how to paint with water-based paint, what is special about the water-based mixture, why you need a compressor, and how to decorate the ceiling of a wooden house.

Color palette

I decided to touch on this topic first, since everyone is interested in what color the facade of a home can be painted. The choice of color depends on your taste preferences, as well as on the color of the roof of a wooden house.

You can choose a color according to standards not only for houses made of laminated veneer lumber or logs, but also for brick or concrete houses. So:

Light colors can be combined with dark ones. For example, for a dark roof, light coffee and beige shades of the facade are used
If your private house is surrounded by greenery, then you can safely improvise with the design. The color can be rich and bright, but even here do not forget about the combination of details. You shouldn't paint your house green if there is a lot of vegetation around it.
A painted house can stand out thanks to small details, that is, against the background of a light facade, contrasting window frames, cornices and slopes will look very nice. By the way, all additional elements, such as drainpipes, are also matched to the color of the overall design
The style in which you plan to decorate the facade will play a huge role. Therefore, stop your choice on those shades that accompany this style. Sample catalogs from manufacturers will help you choose a color.

The color of the roof should be combined with the design of the facade, so if you have the opportunity, then immediately opt for more compatible finishing materials. As a small example, here are some possible colors:

Bright red and soft yellow
Rich gray and canary
Cream color or cool yellow harmonizes perfectly with dark blue

A small table of shade combinations that will help you successfully paint your house:

Color of the walls below, roofs on the right	Blue	Dark blue	Dark green	Brown	Chocolate	Orange	Red	Cherry	Dark gray
Light blue	4	5	3	5	5	2	3	5	5
Turquoise	2	2	2	5	2	2	2	4	4
Light green	3	3	3	5	5	3	5	4	5
Yellow	5	5	5	4	5	5	5	5	5
Beige	5	5	5	4	5	5	5	5	5
Pink	4	5	5	3	5	2	2	5	5
Pearl gray	4	4	2	4	3	3	4	5	4
White	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5

The table is very simple to decipher: 5 is excellent, and 2 is bad. Give due consideration to the choice of color, since in the future the facade design will serve you for many years.

Important! Dark color attracts heat, so for northern regions you can cheat and install a roof of exactly that color. This will help, at least a little, to improve the microclimate in the house.

Selecting paint and preparing surfaces

Everyone knows that wood is a natural material that tends to age. Therefore, let's take a closer look at how to paint the outside of a wooden house with your own hands if it is already old and has lost its appearance. But first, you should remember that the key to successful painting is surface preparation.

Surface preparation consists of preliminary cleaning the walls from dirt and dust. This is very easy to do by hosing down the base with water. If mold or mildew appears on the base of the log, then the walls of the house should be treated with special impregnations. And if you notice resin in some areas, remove it with a spatula and cover the area with varnish.

Important! Preparing surfaces with your own hands is a rather labor-intensive process, but with quality work done, you will forget for a long time about the need to repair the facade again.

All fastener caps must be coated with metal primer solutions. When surface preparation is completed, you should leave the walls of the wooden house alone for several weeks. This is necessary for complete drying and subsequent high-quality painting.

For a log house and structure made of laminated veneer lumber, you can choose compositions from the following list:

Antiseptic
Acrylate paint
Oil paint

Painting the outside of a wooden house allows you to protect the structure from the effects of external negative factors. This allows you to slow down the aging process of the log. With the help of antiseptics, they achieve excellent protection against mold. It is better to use a glazing antiseptic, which is transparent and can highlight the texture of the log. Acrylate paint is quite weather-resistant and allows the material to breathe. A good advantage is that this type is elastic, which means that during thermal deformations of logs and even laminated veneer lumber, the coating does not crack and retains its appearance.

Oil-based paints absorb well and have excellent characteristics, but a painted house will take a long time to dry and ultimately the surface may become more matte.

Protecting wooden surfaces with paints

We paint a wooden house with our own hands

It doesn’t matter if your wooden dacha house is built from laminated veneer lumber or other material, it still loses its original appearance over time. The old look negatively affects the mood of the residents of the house, so don’t delay updating the facade. There are several reasons why houses made of laminated veneer lumber become gray and unattractive:

Firstly, water has a negative effect on wooden walls - they can be affected by mold and mildew
Secondly, ultraviolet radiation contributes to the destruction of the integrity of laminated veneer lumber, and this leads to a deterioration in the properties of the material

In order to update the facade of a wooden house made of laminated veneer lumber, you should follow these instructions. Preparing surfaces with your own hands and painting occurs in the following sequence:

Sanding - sometimes this is simply necessary for laminated timber, as it may not have a perfectly smooth surface
Sealing - acrylic sealant is suitable for these purposes, which is used to process the ends
Primer of laminated timber
Applying paint - it is best to paint the facade in at least three layers

We paint the outside of a wooden house with our own hands

Very often, preparation and basic work can be done with the help of qualified specialists. Since many people want to know in advance how much such services might cost, I decided to make an approximate table of the cost of all work separately:

All services can be performed separately, which means you can save money and carry out some work yourself.

Important! If you are interested in how to paint the lining outside the house, then you should also choose all of the above options. But if you stop at using glazing antiseptics, then you will not need further painting. By the way, facade paints that are resistant to atmospheric influences are also used for the gable of the house.

Paintwork for the foundation

Tool for painting a wooden house

The foundation of any building, be it a brick, wood or concrete house, needs good protection. This is due to the fact that the foundation experiences heavy loads and has the greatest impact on it, since water tends to accumulate at the base of the house.

It is best to use water-based acrylic paints, as well as latex paints, which are also water-based paints. In addition, epoxy and polyurethane mixtures can be used for the foundation. If you paint the foundation surface with water-based paint, you get the following benefits:

Acrylic and latex paint dries quickly and is not afraid of moisture
Acrylics become hydrophobic after drying, while latex ones are very easy to clean
Quite economical consumption of the water-emulsion mixture: for acrylic - 0.3-0.4 kg/m2, and for latex - 1 liter per 8-10 m2

Despite the fact that the use of a water-based mixture is in great demand not only for the foundation, but also for the general facade, attention should also be paid to epoxy compounds. Although water-based paint will last a long time, epoxy manufacturers claim that their materials have a service life of up to 25 years. To properly protect the foundation, it is best to paint it in two layers, each of which will dry within 24 hours.

Important! If a spray gun and compressor are used to cover the foundation with a water-based mixture, then choose paint with viscosity parameters not exceeding 20-25 St.

The surfaces of a plastered house, if it is brick or concrete, can also be painted using water-based paint. If you have a compressor, the speed of work can increase significantly.

A compressor is an indispensable assistant if you need to paint something.

Painting the outside of a wooden house yourself

A painted house will look even more attractive if a compressor and a spray gun were used to decorate it. If you often do painting work, then select both the compressor and the nozzles at the same time.

For domestic use, it is best to take a compressor with a continuous operating time of 15-20 minutes and a pressure of up to 8 bar. A semi-professional class compressor can operate for up to 40 minutes and is used more often at service stations.

On my own behalf, I would like to add that for home use it is better to have a mobile compressor that is not installed on a platform, but has special wheels.

How to decorate the ceiling of a wooden house

Painting a wooden house

Very often, the ceiling of a wooden house allows your imagination to run wild. This is due to the fact that attics are often not used in wooden structures. As with any finishing work, the ceiling needs preparation, so it should be covered with an antiseptic mixture. Next, the ceiling is insulated regardless of the insulation during the construction of the house.

You can decorate the ceiling in a wooden house using materials such as:

Wooden cladding, which occurs using lining boards, wooden panels, MDF panels
The ceiling can be decorated with more budget options: plywood panels with a decorative coating that imitates wood
Often a wooden ceiling is finished with sheets of plasterboard. After such covering, the wooden ceiling can be painted or wallpapered

Wood is considered an environmentally friendly building material, but without pre-treatment, a product made from it will quickly begin to deteriorate under the influence of external aggressive factors (precipitation, sudden temperature changes, the influence of microorganisms).

Painting a wooden house outside and inside performs not only an aesthetic function, because a protective layer of paint protects the material from possible destruction and deformation.

Requirements for facade finishing

The log walls of a residential building take the blow from exposure to sunlight, snow and rain, and wind currents. When designing and constructing a building, its owner must take into account the characteristics of wood.

The distinctive quality of the material is its ability to breathe. A wooden house creates a special microclimate that is comfortable for human habitation. At the same time, untreated products are prone to rotting, and wood may appear on the surface of the logs.

When painting the walls of a wooden building, the user tries not only to improve the appearance of the house, but also to protect it from various negative influences. The paint for the facade of such a building must have the following qualities:

be resistant to direct sunlight, do not fade;
repel atmospheric moisture, which will protect the material from the appearance of fungus and the proliferation of microorganisms;
it is good to pass steam through its structure. This will promote natural air exchange through the wood fibers.

A new wooden building stands for three years until complete shrinkage, although you can move into the house after 6 months from the date of construction. The material allows water vapor to pass through its structure well, which helps to increase or decrease the volume of the timber. Another disadvantage of the product is the possibility of damage by bark beetles.

To reduce the impact of all of these negative phenomena, it is necessary to treat wooden parts with special compounds.

What products can be used externally

Products for treating building facades can be divided into types according to the raw material composition, solvent, the possibility of adding a certain pigment dye and other parameters.

Antiseptics

These substances protect a plank or log house from rotting; they can rightfully be called full-fledged paints.

In appearance, the compositions can be coating (completely changing the surface of the material) or glazing - emphasizing the texture of the wood. After application, antiseptics penetrate deeply into the wood fibers. For normal impregnation, it is enough to cover the products with two layers.

Painting logs with antiseptics is carried out every two or three years, but the application of expensive, high-quality solutions is repeated every five years.

Without proper care, the walls of a residential building may turn gray. To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to choose antiseptics with special components (ultraviolet filters) for treating wood that prevent the coating from fading.

Acrylate (acrylic) paints

Acrylic dyes are supplied to hardware stores in the form of water-soluble emulsions and dispersions. The raw material composition of these solutions contains acrylic copolymers, acrylate resins, antiseptics and rubber.

The compositions can be transparent or white, they form a film of varying degrees of gloss, and are glossy, semi-gloss or matte.

When choosing acrylic paint for the facade of a wooden house, you can choose any color scheme. A tinting machine is used to mix primary colors until the desired shade is obtained. The advantages of such compositions include:

large selection of colors and shades;
good adhesion to wood;
no odor;
solutions are made from environmentally friendly raw materials;
low fire hazard of acrylic paints;
the solution can be used to paint the inside of a wooden house.

The main disadvantage of acrylic paint is its high price. It is more expensive than oil protective impregnations.

Alkyd dyes

Alkyd protective solutions are made from polycondensation resins, alkyds. The paints differ from their analogues in their good adhesion to wood, excellent coverage, and low cost. The compositions are used for painting wood cuts, planed boards and logs that have been cleared of bark.

After applying alkyd paint to a wooden surface, an elastic film is formed, which reacts to changes in the overall dimensions of the material. Swelling or drying of wood occurs under the influence of humidity and sudden temperature changes.

Many manufacturers include antiseptics and also (flame retardants) in the raw composition of dyes. The presence of these components can be determined by the composition of the paint. If they are not there, then the wood needs to be additionally treated with protective impregnations. If additional elements are present, the price increases, and at the same time the service life of the coating increases.

Alkyd paints are white or transparent solutions. To give the required color, a certain amount of pigment is added to the base composition. Alkyd enamels can withstand temperature changes from -50 to +50 degrees, maintaining their properties, so they can be applied externally to wooden houses in almost any climate.

Oil solutions

Paints made from natural oil or drying oil are often used in construction. When painting the gable or walls of a wooden residential building, many users use a spray gun.

To apply oil paint to a surface with a regular brush, you will need experience with a painting tool.

The compositions are inexpensive, absorb well into the wood structure, but take a long time to dry.

Painting over the old layer

If the old paint adheres well to the walls of a wooden house, there are no peelings or cracks on the surface, then for painting you can use the same composition that was used previously.

Pay attention! Alkyd paints can cover oil paints, while acrylic water-based paints cannot do this.

If the previously used type of coating is unknown, it can be determined by the appearance of the film. An old leathery layer with white flecks indicates previous acrylic paint. This composition often cracks in the direction of the wood fibers and easily rolls into a tube. An area of oil paint produces net cracks.

If the surface of the wood was coated with a glazing antiseptic, it must be repainted with the same composition. When covering old acrylic paint, the film must be removed to the very base.

Stages of processing a new house

At the preparatory stage of work, wooden logs or boards are cleaned of dust, and also get rid of mold and blue stains. After this, you need to sand the base. When treating wooden walls of a new building, it is necessary to apply an antiseptic or a selected primer to the surface. After the layer has dried, begin painting the material with the chosen paint.

The composition is applied with a roller or brush, and the movements of the painting tool should be along the fibers. Experienced builders can use a sponge to paint the surface. Using this material, various abstract patterns are created. To apply the composition evenly, it is advisable to use a spray gun.

If there is a need to “refresh” a previously painted house, then the amount of work carried out increases. First you need to remove peeling sections of the film, clean the surface of debris, and grind. After this, the walls are wiped with a dampened sponge or washed under high pressure water.

It is better to remove the old layer of paint with special scrapers, a brush or a metal spatula. In some cases, it is advisable to use a hair dryer or a special composition that will help remove peeling paint. After cleaning the surface, you can begin applying a new composition.

To paint wooden walls inside the house, you can use water-based paints or varnishes that will preserve the unique texture of the wood.

When carrying out interior work, just like when painting the facade of a residential wooden building, the following requirements must be observed:

the composition is applied to the surface when the air humidity inside the house is within 75-80% and the temperature is 5...25 degrees above zero;
It is recommended to carry out such work on a cloudy day, because direct sunlight on painted areas can lead to deformation and uneven drying of the layer;
Correctly apply the solution from the top of the wall. In this case, the builder processes each beam one by one. First, the inter-crown joints are filled with the solution, then the main surface is covered.

For each visit, up to 5 crowns are processed, then they move to a new area. Sometimes for uniform coloring it is necessary to apply several layers of the composition.

When working, you need to take into account that each subsequent application of the solution must be carried out after the previous one has completely dried. This usually takes 4-6 hours.

Hidden wooden elements (rafters, beams, sheathing, etc.) can only be treated with an antiseptic, without resorting to decorative painting. Sometimes a solution of copper sulfate or copper sulfate is used as an antiseptic, but it is always possible to purchase special material at a hardware store.

The range of paint and varnish coatings today is greater than ever, which cannot but complicate the choice in the eyes of an inexperienced user. Even when applied to wood coatings, manufacturers produce several categories of compositions, each of which is also modified with special additives and pigments. But the question of how to paint a wooden house is only part of the path to obtaining the expected result. Based on the criteria presented below, you can make the right choice of paint for a particular case. But even the right choice will not give the desired effect if you ignore advice from experts regarding the direct process of applying the product.

What paints are suitable for a wooden house?

Since Soviet times, the first thing painters tried to paint wooden buildings and structures with was oil paint. It remains relevant to this day, being presented on the market in new, improved versions. But by this time other options had appeared, fundamentally different in composition. For example, what paint should I use to paint a wooden house so that darkened spots do not form on it over time (a common sign of a poor-quality oil composition)? A weather-resistant product should be used. A solvent-based alkyd composition is ideal. The created coating can hardly be called optimal in terms of environmental and aesthetic properties, but it will cope with the protective functions.

One of the most popular options for indoor use is acrylic paint. It is based on water, so it can also be used in living rooms. But what paint should you use to paint a wooden house in order to preserve the widest range of positive properties? There are no specific formulations with specific solvents and fillers for universal use, but manufacturers offer many combined and modified products. Thus, in premium lines you can find paints with enhanced protective properties, which form a dense film that resists even mechanical stress. This coating will contain a UV filter, antiseptics and biological additives against fungus and mold. The presence of natural oils will indicate environmental cleanliness. Now it’s worth taking a closer look at the mentioned types of compounds that are in greatest demand on the market.

Oil paint for wood

As already mentioned, this composition continues the classic line of products intended for wood. But even today, such paints have a number of disadvantages that should be kept in mind before purchasing. These include the following:

Acrid smell.
Long drying period (about 24 hours).
Susceptibility to leaks.
It is not recommended to combine with other paints and varnishes.
Low resistance to mechanical stress.
Some mixtures are environmentally harmful.

But do such paints have any advantages? If the question is how to paint an old wooden house comprehensively and with minimal consumption of material, then oil compositions can help out. Such mixtures have the highest absorption coefficient due to the long drying time, but you can count on financial savings when purchasing. Another advantage is protection from rust, so you don’t have to separately paint metal parts and structures with anti-corrosion agents.

Alkyd paints

In many ways it is the opposite of oil paint. For example, alkyd mixtures are characterized by a long drying period (on average 10 hours) and shallow penetration into the wood structure. But in terms of savings, the effect will be the same, since the paint itself is inexpensive and you can quite count on high consumption. What paint to paint an old wooden house - oil or alkyd? If we take into account external influence factors, under which the process of destruction of the structure will only intensify, then the second option is better. Alkyd compositions are not only resistant to atmospheric conditions, but also tolerate prolonged contact with moisture, which is very important from the point of view of preserving wood. This composition is also suitable for residents of cold regions - the coating can withstand temperatures of about -30 ° C. During the work process, experts recommend applying this paint only to well-dried surfaces. This will eliminate the risk of bubbles forming and also prevent peeling of the paintwork.

for wood

The most modern means for painting, but it is also the most expensive. The advantages of this paint include environmental friendliness, elasticity and the absence of strong odors, since water is used as a solvent. But are these benefits worth it given the increased cost of the product? If you plan to use the composition for facade decoration, it will justify it. The fact is that acrylic provides a whole range of protective qualities, including resistance to wind, frost, moisture, high temperature and UV radiation. Moreover, the outwardly dense insulation does not create the effect of complete tightness - the wood base retains the ability to “breathe”. But we must keep in mind that this material cannot be kept at negative temperatures.

Another question is also important - what paint is better to paint a wooden house if the focus is on the decorative component? In this regard, the acrylic composition also shows itself well, leaving rich shades of the coating for many years. According to various estimates, we can talk about 5-8 years of operation of painted wood. Moreover, experienced painters also note the ease of working with such paint. The layers are laid easily, dry quickly and penetrate deeply into the structure of the material. The composition mixes well, which also makes it possible to create a variety of shades.

How to paint a wooden house for its restoration?

Repair and restoration often becomes mandatory when painting especially old wooden houses. The effect of restoration includes not only increasing the expressiveness of the textured qualities of the surface, but also stopping or preventing biological processes of destruction. How to beautifully paint a wooden house and at the same time extend the life of its surfaces? To do this, you should use the following tools:

Enamels and water-dispersion compositions intended for wood. The effect is to paint over the wood texture. Such compositions, as a rule, do not contain antiseptics, therefore, to prevent further destruction of the material, biological additives should be used separately.
Whitening products. Also, the main emphasis is on preserving external beauty, but while maintaining the fiber structure.
Texture compositions. It is possible to preserve the surface for a long time, but the coating will have a dark tone.
Soil antiseptics. Usually alkyd-based compositions with natural oils, but the main place in them is occupied by active covering and glazing resins. You can refresh the color of wood, strengthen the surface layers, and also preserve the natural texture.

For the interior space of a wooden house, constant air exchange is especially important, so paint should not clog the natural circulation channels. At the same time, it is important to preserve the natural texture of the wood. For such purposes, it is recommended to use glaze colors with varying degrees of darkening. They look good in rooms that are a little yellow, but this is even a plus. And again, do not forget about the protective properties. Log, panel and plank surfaces should receive a water- and dirt-repellent film, which will also protect the material from mold and other factors of destruction.

Now we can move on to the question of how to beautifully paint a wooden house from the inside? First of all, the surface is prepared for work. In addition to cleaning the base, it may need to be leveled. This operation can be performed with a special wood primer. It is more convenient to paint directly with a compact spray gun. Its reservoir should be filled with the prepared composition, then set the desired settings and begin the work process. When spraying, the feed nozzle is held at a distance of 25-30 cm from the target surface. In this case, the layers are applied thinly to eliminate the possibility of smudges. The lack of thickness can be compensated for in the next pass, but you should not try to give the surface a finished look at once.

Features of painting a wooden floor

The most demanding surface for mechanical protection. The floor of a wooden house is not always painted, but in any case it will need a special coating with a water-repellent effect, otherwise the structure will collapse or become moldy. What is this part? A win-win option would be water-based parquet varnish. It will serve as the base for the coating, similar to a primer. After this, you can apply several layers of acrylate polyurethane varnish. On the market you can find glossy and semi-gloss models of this product. Parquet floorers do not exclude the use of conventional polyurethane varnishes for wooden floor coverings. For example, urethane-alkyd compositions based on white spirit perform well as wear-resistant and tolerant coatings. These compounds can be used to paint a new wooden house and part of the facade, if the operation involves strong physical impact. If the task is to preserve the maximum expressed wood texture, then it makes sense to turn to enamels, also intended for wooden surfaces. It is advisable to choose from lines for industrial or commercial purposes - garages, sales areas, warehouses, etc. Such enamels are resistant to chemical and mechanical influences, which is optimal for wooden floors.

How and with what to paint the facade of a wooden house?

The process of painting external surfaces is also divided into two parts: preparation and direct application of the decorative coating. If the building is new, then surface cleaning of dirt and dust will be sufficient. This can be done using improvised abrasives. Old walls will have to be stripped of the previous paint layer, and then a basic preparatory layer of primer will be applied. How to paint the outside of an old wooden house in the first layer? Universal products include deep penetration acrylic paints and two-component polyurethane compositions. In this choice, it is important to consider that serious damage may require the use of putty. The topcoat must provide sufficient adhesion to the leveling coating and be consistent with its chemical properties.

Next, proceed to applying decorative paint. The finishing coat is applied after the base has dried. New layers are impregnated with antiseptics, the enzymes of which are present in primers for old wood. What paint to paint the outside of a wooden house as a finishing touch? You should focus mainly on protective properties. Alkyd-acrylic materials with molecules that penetrate deeply into the fiber structure are optimal. As for the application method, it is better to use a roller with large-format brushes, which will allow you to lay layers of sufficient thickness.

Once the type of composition has been determined, you can begin purchasing a specific product. How to paint a wooden house, choosing from a wide range of manufacturers? For facades, experts recommend Tikkurila and Alpina. High-quality universal mixtures can be found in the Dufa, Beckers and Dulux families. Further in the course of work, it is advisable to adhere to the following rules:

The composition is thoroughly mixed using an electric construction mixer.
Paint should only be applied in warm, calm and dry weather. But bright sun should also be avoided.
Before applying, it is better to test the color on an unnecessary piece of wood close to the texture of the house.
The topcoat must be applied in at least 2 layers.
Particular attention is paid to complex areas of the façade. How to properly paint a wooden log house? More paint should flow to the lower crowns. In this part, reliable biological protection of wood must be ensured. The ends of the boards must be coated with a primer.
Acrylic copolymers supplemented with non-washable biocidal components are produced especially for freshly cut logs. They should be used precisely on cut areas to prevent cracking and rotting.

Conclusion

Wood is a very capricious material in finishing and subsequent care. Each stage of preparation and painting involves a high share of the responsibility of the master, since the slightest miscalculation can cause a slow destruction of the structure of the material in the future. The most difficult part is the façade. How to beautifully paint the outside of a wooden house so that it retains both its appearance and structure for as long as possible? A lot depends on the preparation of surfaces. It would not be amiss to first carry out a comprehensive troubleshooting to identify weak parts of the structure. Only after this can you begin priming and laying the topcoat. There are also some nuances in painting interior walls. In the premises, emphasis is placed on creating a favorable environmental and microclimatic background. The selection of texture will be especially important. But even after completion of work activities, coatings should not be left without proper supervision. There are special mixtures and impregnations that will maintain the condition of the applied paint layer throughout its further operation.

Finishing the facade by painting is always more profitable from a financial point of view than the same type of finishing used for interior decoration. The thing is that in addition to the external walls, the house also has partitions, which doubles the area of the surface to be painted. Therefore, even if the price of facade paint turns out to be slightly higher, less money will still be spent on exterior finishing.

However, before painting the outside of the house, you need to choose the right paint and prepare the surface, because the quality of the finish as a whole ultimately depends on these two nuances. In this article we will talk about the types and compatibility of facade paints and varnishes, their protective and decorative properties. We hope that our instructions will become the best assistant for those who cannot make a choice.

What kind of paint should be used for the facade?

By and large, the standards impose requirements not so much on the paints themselves, but on the decorative films they form.

What is most important to them? The main indicator of good façade paint is the ability of the coating to maintain its integrity and original color for a long time under weather conditions.

Key indicators

For façade paints, indicators such as vapor permeability and moisture resistance are very important, and in fact, achieving them from one material is quite problematic. And without this combination, the coating will not be durable, since moisture attacks it not only from the outside, but also comes out in the form of steam from the wall.

Pay attention! When the steam has nowhere to go, it condenses and moisturizes the inner surface of the paint film. In winter, this moisture freezes, and when it thaws, it expands and peels off the paint. Keep in mind: the higher the vapor permeability of the structural material of the walls and their interior decoration, the higher this indicator should be for the façade paint.

So:

Paints with good vapor permeability are called “breathable”, and this characteristic is improved by introducing pore-forming additives into the paintwork composition.. But in order for the coating to be resistant to ultraviolet radiation, manufacturers have to use light-resistant film formers and pigments.

Peeling of paint from the base occurs not only due to its poor vapor permeability. The quality of the coating is largely determined by the properties of the primer, which must also be correctly selected. The main rule here is that the primer composition should be made based on the same components as the paint.

To a question like: “How to paint the outside of a log house?”, we can safely answer that the best option is self-priming paint, which is both a primer and a paint.

Simply, when applying the first layer, it is diluted with a solvent to a more liquid state, and the surface is primed. The second layer is applied as usual.

Choice of colors

When choosing paint for the facade, it is also necessary to take into account such indicators as hiding power and consumption per 1 m2. In fact, these are two related concepts - the better the paint covers the base, the fewer layers will have to be applied, and accordingly, its consumption will be lower.

The first impression that will form about our home, about ourselves, depends on what the appearance of our house will be. But if everything is more or less clear with the style of the rooms, and even a person who doesn’t understand anything about design will find a lot of materials and ready-made ideas for arranging the interior, then what to do with the facade of a private house?

We won't convince you to paint the outside of your house red or light yellow, but we will tell you the secrets of the professionals that will definitely influence your choice!

What can color depend on?

Ideally, the look of your home, both inside and out, should match your personality, preferences and tastes. But it turns out that this is not the only thing that determines the color of the facade.

“The appearance of the façade of a house most often determines the style of its interior; for example, a Victorian-style interior suggests the same design on the outside. It’s another matter when a house or townhouse is located in a cottage community, in which case the developer sets the exterior style, and the house owners have no choice but to adhere to it.

As for the choice of color, designers have the concepts of “feminine”, “masculine” or “neutral” interior, and the same applies to exteriors. So, a young married couple would rather try to choose something light and light. Very often the choice is influenced by memories associated with a joint vacation: they settle on the colors blue, white, sand. Women prefer red and pink, velvety surfaces, and elegant decorative elements. Men traditionally choose brown and dark tones, a brutal look for the facade of the house. A designer I know recently built himself a house from timber: all the wood is light, with black window frames, black flooring inside, red and black furniture. If there is a choice, the color of the house will definitely reflect the character, preferences and even gender of the people living in it,” says Alisa Semenova, designer of the interior studio LOFT&HOME.

Color selection algorithm

So how to choose the color of the facade? “At the initial stage of choosing the exterior of a house, it is very convenient to use special programs or online services that allow you to choose the color of the walls, windows, doors, roof, base of the house and decide whether you like the color combination or not. At the next stage, we recommend visiting a house exhibition [open-air exhibitions where samples of finished houses are collected, popular in large cities - approx. author], where you can see the selected color and texture of the material live on samples exhibited by manufacturers.

To make a final decision, it is advisable to paint a piece of wall approximately 0.5x1 meter in size and observe the sample during the day under different lighting conditions, and also, preferably, under different weather conditions - sunny and cloudy. In this case, the selection error will be minimized as much as possible.

As for practicality, light colors fade the least. White color fades the slowest. However, it should be remembered that white color may become yellow over time. Thus, the most practical in this case may be a gray, dim color. It does not turn yellow over time and dust is practically invisible on it.

Dark colors look very impressive on facades, especially those with simple architectural forms. However, remember that they fade quickly. The leader in fading is black. If there is a need to use dark colors on the facade of the house, then you should pay attention to the warranty card for the paint, which indicates restrictions on the period of fading. Usually this is 5-7 years for dark colors,” shared Roman Konyakhin, manager of the “Low-Rise Country” exhibition of houses.

How to paint a plastered facade

When choosing paints for brick and concrete plastered facades, the same principles for choosing colors apply. But besides this, we should remember that our walls need paint not only for beauty. Yes, of course, the facade, and the whole street, where the walls of the houses are painted in bright colors, are pleasing to the eye, but it’s not just about the color. Paint must protect the surface of the facade from destruction: the sun, frost, strong winds and unclean air can damage even the most durable materials.

How to paint a wooden house

Of course, you can paint a wooden house “tightly” using topcoat paints, for example, wood enamels. But most often in wooden construction translucent paints are used - azures, popularly called either impregnations or stains (we previously wrote about the accuracy of the terms).

“For wooden houses it is better to use materials that emphasize the structure of the wood. After all, ultimately, this is why we choose a house made of wood: for its color and texture.

The color option will depend on the chosen color and texture of the roof, the proposed platbands, the color of the drainage system, the option of finishing the base, the color of window lamination, log/beam exits (cuts at corners and in wall joints), as well as on the design of already built buildings on the site, for example, baths. In our practice, we offer clients a choice of 3-4 standard options for painting a wooden house.

It is better to use 2-3 colors for a house: the first for the facade, the second for the trim, front roof strips and pillars, the third color for the base and balusters.

You also need to understand that wood requires special protection: during operation, it is capable of both gaining moisture from rain and other precipitation, and releasing it under the influence of sunlight.

The facades that suffer most from environmental factors are those located on the sunny side, so they are required to undergo protective treatment first of all after construction; it is also very important to immediately treat the exits of timber or logs, since they are the main points of entry of moisture into the material. We advise clients to use light colors. The fact is that dark surfaces can heat up more, and in comparison with them, light ones are subject to less deformation from the heating-cooling process,” said Anton Shagiev, director of the company for the construction of wooden houses “IZHS-STROY”.

So, the choice of color, as well as the choice between paint and glaze, is yours, the main thing is to use high-quality materials. Owners of wooden houses are more concerned with the question of how to update a façade painted with azure over time: we have already talked about this (here is the link).