Failing paint

I have looked through many post and not found anything that resembles this.

Every wall on the house is starting to oxidize very lightly but if you look closely you can see where the studs are in the picture.

I haven’t heard back from the home owner yet to see what the home was painted with so, this post may be jumping the gun a bit. If anyone has input for this it would be much appreciated.

It could be thermal bridging. The studs have a lesser R-value than the insulated part of the wall. When the heating unit is turned on, heat escapes through and adjacent to the studs, warming and drying those areas faster than the rest of the wall. The morning dew evaporates from there first and the studs make a shadow on the wall until the rest of the wall is also warmed to the same temp. Does it go away and reappear or does it look permanent?

4 Likes

Oh man, there was a post last year with the same issue, someone washed a house and the studs were ‘showing’ through. Sorry can’t remember the exact keywords.

1 Like

The pictures were taken in late afternoon on a dry and very warm day so I am guessing they are permanent.

Ok thanks, I will look a little harder.

Maybe the process has repeated so many times that they are a permanent shadow now :man_shrugging:

That is a very good possibility.

Hopefully she has an answer for the type of paint used. I would really like to do a little more research before pricing the job.

Forgive me if you already know this but I think I remember you saying you’re new to washing. Be careful washing painted houses. Sometimes it’s best to just use a little surfactant and that’s all. If there are any organic stains and, you have to use some SH, do a test spot in an inconspicuous area to make sure it doesn’t permanently lighten or stain the paint.

2 Likes

I’ve been wondering about that for years. I have a house I drive by everyday with mold/algae growing in square sections on a 90 year old (renovated) painted house. I figured it had to be something like that. I like “thermal bridging”. Sounds smart. :wink:

2 Likes

Yes, I am new to the trade and with a lot of help from reading what you all have had conversations on I didn’t think this is something I should go into blind. Thanks for the non use of sh info. I figured you all could help on this and thank you for that!

https://inspectapedia.com/exterior/Stains_on_Exteriors.php

1 Like

There is a lot of reading on that post. Thank you!

1 Like

You’re welcome! @Plumbcrazy

1 Like

This is something that came up back when I used to frame houses, vinyl siding was almost melting in some places where the studs were. This was a regional issue discussed in a trade magazine I used to subscribe to.
Anyway the reason for the failure was the nail heads which are holding the siding to the studs were getting hot and damaging the siding (it was one really crappy type of siding). I would assume it is the same issue, the nail head heat up and cause damage to the paint.

Another line of thought is that studs hold moisture lines longer because there is no air flowing like it does in a wall cavity.

Just my two cents

Joe

1 Like

@bubbad2u Thanks Joe!

I see a lot of this on the vinyl siding house I’ve cleaned. It’s even on my own house. It sure does make it easier to hang a garden hose reel on the side of the house! :laughing:

2 Likes

If your ever curious, check into insulated siding. It isn’t cheap, but that plus a decent house wrap may…MAY…solve your issues. I don’t know how old your house is, but if it is older they may have used a rigid foam board instead of sheathing outside of the corners to reduce costs, and it causes this too. Saw a whole development like this, every house built by the same builder and you could see the studs in every one.

1 Like