One house, four different climates
Walk around any Durbanville or Aurora house that has not been painted in a decade and you will see it plainly. One elevation is chalked pale and slightly powdery. Another is still almost the original colour. A third has a green-black tint low down and a fourth has flaking around the windows.
Same paint, same day, same crew. What differs is what each wall has been standing in for ten years. Any spec that treats all four the same is leaving performance on the table.
The four attacks
| Force | What it does | Where it hits hardest |
|---|---|---|
| UV | Breaks down the binder holding pigment together. Surface chalks, colour fades, film thins. | North and west elevations, parapet tops, anything horizontal. |
| Driving winter rain | Forces water into hairline cracks and open joints under pressure, then into the plaster. | North-west facing walls, window heads, parapets, chimney junctions. |
| Southeaster wind | Abrasion from dust and grit, plus it drives rain sideways into details that would otherwise shed water. | South-east elevations and anything exposed on a ridge. |
| Coastal salt and moisture | Salt crystallises in the substrate and lifts coatings. Steel corrodes far faster. | Anywhere within a few kilometres of the coast, all elevations. |
| Shade and damp | Persistent moisture feeds algae and mould, and never lets the wall dry properly. | South-facing walls, under overhanging trees, behind boundary walls. |
What that means for the specification
- Sun-facing elevations need the UV resistance and the full film build. This is where the third coat earns its money, and where thinned paint fails first.
- Weather-facing elevations need crack detailing before coating. The paint is not a waterproofing layer, the crack repair is.
- Shaded and damp elevations need the algae and mould dealt with properly, a wash that actually kills it rather than smearing it, and full drying time before coating.
- Coastal properties need the steel handled seriously: degrease, rust treat, correct primer. Salt will find every gap.
- Horizontal surfaces, parapet tops and copings take the worst of everything and deserve their own attention rather than being coated in passing.
What we do about it
We spec by elevation, not by house. Sun-facing walls get the film build, weather-facing walls get the detailing, shaded walls get the biological treatment and the drying time. One fixed price for the whole job, with the differences written into the scope so you can see what each wall is getting.
Common questions
No pressure
If you would like a second opinion on your own property, we will come and look.
The inspection is free, you get the findings in writing with photographs, and you are under no obligation to do anything with them.