Jordan wrote:
I have a problem with the paint on the exterior of my house. It just falls
off every couple of years. I suspect that somehow moisture is building up
behind the clapboard, but I can't seen to find where it is coming from. I
could see it if the problem was on one side of the house where there might
be an undetected leak somewhere, but this problem is on all 4 sides of the
house.

When I had the house inspected when I purchased it there was no diagnoses of
the problem other than the paint being old (which it was not). When I had a
pro painter come out to take care of this they did not take care of it
despite all the extra case I paid to have them fix the issue.

I need to know who I need to have check the house to find and fix the
problem.

Clapboard. Would you be talking about pine? If so, you may want to
call one of the better paint stores in your area and ask to have a rep
come out and look at the problem. He may or may not have a solution.

I have done a lot of painting on exteriors of wood, and in all cases,
moisture will get into the wall cavities simply due to humidity in the
air. With the case of wood siding, the moisture can easily enter the
back side of the wood (which is usually bare wood) then it will exit
through the front causing the paint to release prematurely. And the
paint just flakes off.

The paint rep will recommend a very good cleaning and scraping, then a
very good quality primer, then a very good quality latex paint. Then he
will tell you that it may fail anyway.

The best thing to do would be to follow his directions and see if it
works. If it doesn't, then you may need to replace the siding and use
either a Hardi product, or prime all sides of the wood siding before it
goes up. If you can, I would recommend using a rain guard system to
install your siding if you insist on wood. Rain guard system involves
placing a moisture barrier on the wall, then furring strips, then the
siding (with all sides primed). This allows for an airspace behind the
siding to allow equal moisture penetration and release on all sides.


--
Robert Allison
Rimshot, Inc.
Georgetown, TX