Exterior painting in San Antonio is mostly a fight with the sun. South Texas sun and heat wear paint down year after year, and a house can look tired long before any hail falls. PCG Roofing repaints home exteriors in San Antonio, Converse and Laredo, so the walls and trim can get done by the same company that does your roof.
Maybe the paint is just worn out after years of summers. Maybe a storm chipped one side of the house. Either way, it starts with a free inspection: we look at the walls and trim up close and show you what we see.
Richard, the owner, tells you what the walls need and why. The job goes into a plain-English contract, so you know exactly what's being done to your house before work begins.
What South Texas Sun Does to Exterior Paint
Paint on a home in San Antonio or Laredo faces strong sun most of the year. The color fades, the finish chalks, and caulk joints around windows and trim dry out and pull away. West- and south-facing walls usually go first. Once paint starts to peel or crack, it's no longer protecting the siding or trim underneath.
Heat adds to it. Siding and trim warm up through the afternoon and cool off at night, every day, and older paint that has lost its flexibility cracks along the joints. Dark colors soak up more heat than light ones, which is worth thinking about on a wall that takes full afternoon sun.
Signs it's time to repaint
- Fading. The sunny walls look a shade lighter than the shaded ones.
- Chalking. A white or colored powder comes off on your hand when you rub the wall.
- Peeling or cracking. Paint lifting at the edges of boards or splitting along the joints.
- Open caulk joints. Gaps around windows, doors and trim where the caulk has shrunk.
- Bare wood. Any spot where the wood shows through, since that is where moisture gets in.
Prep Is Most of a Paint Job
Most of what makes exterior paint last happens before the first coat goes on. In general, that means cleaning the walls, taking off loose and flaking paint, dealing with damaged boards and open joints, and covering windows, doors and anything else that shouldn't get paint on it.
Paint laid over dirt, chalk or flaking paint doesn't hold for long. The photo above shows one part of that work on a two-story house: the windows masked off before the walls were painted. On the inspection we point out what your walls and trim need before they're painted, so you can see what goes into the quote.
Colors, HOAs and Brick Homes
Many homes around San Antonio and Converse have brick or stone on the front and siding on the other sides. On those, a paint job usually means the siding and trim, while the masonry stays as it is.
If your neighborhood has a homeowners association, check its rules before you settle on a color. Many HOAs keep an approved palette or ask you to submit the color before the work starts, and it's easier to get that approval first than to repaint later.
Color also affects how a house handles the sun. Lighter colors reflect more heat and tend to show fading less, while dark colors can make a house look sharp but take the brunt of the afternoon sun.
Trim, Fascia and Eaves
Trim usually takes the worst of the weather. Fascia boards, window and door trim, and the soffits under the eaves catch sun and runoff, and wood trim starts to rot once its paint fails.
Painting trim in a contrasting color is a common way to freshen up a house, and trim is often worth repainting even when the walls still look fine. Aluminum fascia wraps and window trim can be painted too, though hail dents will still show through the new coat.
Painting After Hail
Spatter marks, chips and scuffs across one or two sides of a house are a common sign of which direction the storm came from. On older paint, an impact can knock loose flakes that were barely holding on. On wood, every chip in the paint lets moisture into the grain.
Paint only covers what's underneath it. If the hail cracked or holed the boards themselves, those need repair or replacement first, which our siding page covers. For what hail does to the roof, see hail and storm damage.
If the walls took hail, filing a claim is your call. The claim is between you and your insurer. If you file, we can meet the adjuster at your house, and the adjuster works for your insurance company. Our insurance claims page lays out the process in order.
How the Free Inspection and Quote Work
We look at every wall, the trim and the eaves, and show you where the paint is failing and why. If a wall is in good shape, we say so. You get a written quote after the inspection.
What exterior painting costs depends on the size and height of the house, how much of it is siding versus brick, how much prep the walls and trim need, and whether any boards have to be repaired first. That is why the quote comes after the inspection rather than over the phone.
We also paint interiors, so if the inside needs a fresh coat too, mention it when you call.
Paint, Siding and Roof, One Crew
Exterior painting fits naturally with a roof replacement. Doing them together means one company on your property, one schedule to plan around, and a house that looks finished when the job is done.
- The whole exterior at once. Roof, siding and paint from one company, so the work finishes together.
- A free inspection. It costs nothing to find out what the sun or the hail did to your paint.
- Patient explanations. Customers say Richard took the time to explain the work and taught them along the way.
- A clean property. Customers mention a crew that works quickly and leaves the property clean.
We work in San Antonio, Converse and Laredo, 7 days a week, 8 AM to 9 PM. Call (210) 598-8556 or send the form to set up a free inspection of your paint, siding and roof.