Painting weatherboard, plaster and brick homes

Weatherboard, plaster and brick each need a different repaint. Timber weatherboards need sanding, priming of bare wood and paint that can move with the timber. Plaster needs cracks repaired and a paint that lets the wall breathe. Brick usually needs only a clean, and painting it is a long-term choice, because once painted it has to be repainted for good. Most North Shore streets have all three, from weatherboard villas in Devonport to plaster and brick homes in Albany and Glenfield. This page explains how painters prepare each one. For the full job, see exterior house painting on the North Shore.

Painting weatherboards

Wash the boards, scrape and sand back to firm paint, cut out and replace any rot, fill gaps, prime bare timber, then put on two coats of an exterior paint made for timber. Resene's systems for exterior timber start with a primer or sealer on bare wood. The lap edges and board ends, where water sits, need the most care.

On villas and bungalows built before the 1980s, Health New Zealand advises presuming lead in the old paint. BRANZ advises against power sanding, water blasting and open flames on lead paint, so the weatherboards are prepared by hand with wet methods and the debris is contained.

Priming weatherboards

You need to prime any bare timber, new boards, replaced sections and new filler. Sound old paint that has been cleaned and sanded usually doesn't need a full primer coat, only spot priming where the timber shows. Primer seals the wood and helps the topcoat stick. Skipping it on bare timber is one of the main reasons paint peels early.

Painting cedar weatherboards

Cedar weatherboards can be painted or stained. Cedar contains natural oils and tannins that can bleed through some paints and stain a light colour, so painters use a primer suited to cedar before the topcoats. Cedar that has been stained for years can usually be painted once it is cleaned and primed correctly, but going back from paint to stain is much harder.

Western red cedar is the cedar most often used for New Zealand weatherboards. If your cedar is currently stained and you are unsure whether to paint it, ask the painter to look at the boards first. Stain soaked deep into weathered cedar sometimes needs a specific primer.

Painting plaster

Plaster painting means repainting a plastered exterior wall. The painter washes it, rakes out and fills cracks with a flexible filler, seals any repairs, then puts on two coats of a paint made for masonry or for that plaster system. Many modern plaster claddings have a maker's recommended paint system, which keeps any warranty on the cladding valid.

Plaster homes from the 1990s and 2000s can have weathertightness issues that a painter can't fix. If you see soft areas, swelling or stains around windows, ask a builder or surveyor to look before you repaint.

Whether to paint brick

Paint brick only if you are sure. Natural brick needs very little care, and a wash every few years keeps it looking good. Painted brick needs repainting every several years, and removing paint from brick is hard work. If the bricks are tired, mismatched or have old patches, painting can lift the whole house. If they are sound and you like the colour, a clean is usually the better choice.

Spray painting brick

Spraying suits brick well, because the paint gets into the mortar joints and the rough face of the brick quickly. Windows, roofs, paths and plants have to be masked, and many painters back-roll the sprayed paint while it is wet to work it into the surface. Calm weather matters, because overspray drifts on the wind.