A little bit of paint can go a long way. This is so true because a fresh coat of paint can do wonders for upgrading your home interior and will make your walls look bright and new. But wall paint alone just won’t cut it if your walls are all damaged. In fact, repainting your walls can be quite fruitless and will waste a lot of money if the wall itself is in questionable condition.
But when can you just repaint and when should you do wall restoration before you can paint? Here is a quick look at the top signs that you might need to do some repairs before you can paint.
Cracks
A number of different factors can cause cracks in your walls or in the plaster over a wall. This can happen due to weather conditions, unsafe construction methods, subsidence in the foundation, physical impact, or simply because of aging. Wall cracks aren’t something you can simply cover up with paint. In fact, a fresh coat of paint will probably accentuate the problem. If you see any cracks forming, these should be filled up as early as possible.
Wall Seepage
Wall seepage refers to a condition where liquids like water flows through porous materials, cracks, and holes inside your wall exterior. This creates dampness on the walls and can cause your paint to form discolouration marks or to crack and peel off. It can be tempting to cover up these spots with a fresh coat of paint but it will be a waste of time and money. The moisture trapped inside your wall will only seep through the new layer of paint and can slowly become a lot worse as mildew and mould keep growing inside your wall. If you notice black marks, discolouration, peeling paint, or mould like growth on your walls then you should get the source of the moisture treated, the wall exterior covered up and the wall interior should be thoroughly dried before the new paint layer can be applied.
Holes In The Wall
Holes in your wall are a pretty obvious sign that you should get your walls repaired before repainting. These holes can be caused by a physical impact such as furniture scraping or knocking against a wall, the holes can form in particularly old buildings or they can be caused by previous tenants who might have added picture frames or other structures on the wall. In any case, the mortar will first need to be patched up and smoothed before you can paint.
Cracks Around Wood Door And Window Frames
Cracks around the wood door and window frames usually occurs because of wood’s natural ability to shrink or expand through the different seasons. During rainy seasons, these frames will absorb more water and swell up. When it is dry season, the wood will dry out and contract again. This movement can cause cracks around your door frames. After some time, the wood will become seasoned and it will stop expanding or contracting. Once this happens, it is safe to proceed and fill out any cracks you might notice around these frames. Alternatively, you can always get the wood frames replaced with something a little bit more consistent like aluminum or metal frames.
Loose Plaster
If the plaster on your mortar walls starts to flake off in patches to expose the brick underneath it can make your walls look terribly unpleasant. This condition also leaves your walls vulnerable to natural elements like wind and rain. The longer these holes linger, the worse the issue will become because more moisture will get into your walls to soften up the concrete plastering and slowly, more pieces of plaster will start crumbling down.
If this happens, all the loose plaster will need to be stripped away from the wall. The surface will need to ve re-plastered and the new materials should be properly cured before the wall can be repainted.
If you notice these and any other signs of wall damage then you should give We Fix Walls a call. These specialists can fully restore any type of wall damage so your property will once again look flawless and beautiful.
