Special offer

Don't hire a painter to do this

By
Home Builder with Winslow Homes

Ok, I like painters, at least some of them.  They make your house better looking and protect all that wood and cardboard, I mean hardboard siding.  (Yes, I have it on my house, too.)  They caulk things and make the gaps go away and keep water out of the house.  And that's a VERY GOOD THING.

But hiring your painter to replace some trim or siding...not usually a good idea.  At least check in front of them (get references and call them specifically about REPAIRS they have done), and certainly check behind them!

A customer called us recently and had a leak in an area we had previously removed some improper flashing that was leaking.  In other words the flashing was nailed on top of the shingles in a long continuous sheet and the exposed nail heads were letting water in like a sieve...but I digress.  We had fixed that in the past and I was pretty confident that shouldn't be the leak.

When we got there, the leak was showing in a slightly different area on the inside, so I was again reassured it probably was a different leak.  So I went on the roof to see what could be going on, not knowing my customer's house had just been painted.  I got on the roof, and was very surprised to see this:

Bad corner board repair, we didn't do this!

 

 

 

Something about this told us it wasn't done correctly.  I know it may look right at first glance, but my intuition told me it probably wasn't done right.

Maybe it was the large 1/2" of caulk vertically between the two pieces of corner board.  Maybe...

Or maybe it was that the nail heads weren't caulked/painted over.  Maybe...

Or maybe it was the fact that the back of the angle was a little too steep leaving the flashing exposed to the large volume of water coming down the roof valley angled directly at this corner.  (Can you say "Design Flaw?  Very good, class.)  Maybe...

Or just maybe it was that there was a huge crack in the wood above the "repair" (I hesitate to call it that) that was in rotted wood.

I guessed that it was all of the above, since I'm really good with intuition.

So we told the home owner we might have found the problem, and could certainly repair it.

 

 

This is what a repair should look like!

 

 

 

 

And our repair looked like this!  So pretty...

We used PVC trim and assembled it on the ground by nailing and cementing it together with PVC cement.  That way a 1/2" bead of caulk shant be necessary, as the boards are now essentially one board!  PVC cement tends to do that to PVC.

We even cut it on the right angle.  I know, call us crazy, but we like to do things the right way, weirdos that we are and all.

So if you must hire a painter, maybe you should call your local insured, experience, highly recommended carpentry contractor/handyman (wow, that sounds just like Wrenn Home Improvements!) to make sure the repairs are done right!

You might even be lucky enough to get a handyman with a little humor!  (Let me know if you find one, I want to meet him.)

Comments (5)

Melissa Zavala
Broadpoint Properties - Escondido, CA
Broker, Escondido Real Estate, San Diego County

Yes, your repair does look much prettier than the original work you show above.

Dec 23, 2010 05:57 AM
Lori Bowers
La Quinta, CA
The Lori Bowers Group

Great photos - interesting

Dec 23, 2010 05:57 AM
Victor Zuniga
Berkshire Hathaway Home Services California Properties - San Diego, CA

Always check references on contractors or handymen before you decide on who to go with.Cheaper is not always better nor cheaper.

Dec 23, 2010 06:00 AM
Charles Perkins
Charles G. Perkins, CPA - Burien, WA

Certainly an improvement over what was there.  The simple fact that it no longer leaks is more rewarding than the look.

Dec 23, 2010 06:05 AM
Jeremy Wrenn
Winslow Homes - Youngsville, NC
VP of Finance, Winslow Homes

Melissa, thanks!  We were pretty shocked when we saw the "repair" originally.

Thanks, Lori!

Victor, I agree!  You would be surprised that no one ever seems to check references.  But most of our work is via referral, so in essence at least one of our references has usually been checked.

Charles, I think it looks a ton better if I do say so myself.  But of course I'm biased, so I'm glad you agree!

Dec 23, 2010 06:30 AM