Painting exterior walls in Hong Kong
If you find some crack and the paint start peeling off from your exterior wall,
If you want to repaint the exterior wall of your house, want to know how to treat the fungus on wall, how to treat the crack and how to avoid the odour.
Interior and exterior painting and decorating contractors. Private and
commercial work carried out by a team of project managers, design team
and tradesmen. Established in HK in 1996.
Painter and decorator offering services including colourwash, plain wall finish, wallpapering and borders or staccu finish.
NE WAY TO tell if your exterior paintwork is due for a touch up -
apart from the tell-tale signs of cracking and peeling - is to stand on
the street and look at it critically as if you were a potential buyer.
If the house looks tired and outdated, or simply unappealing, then a
fresh look might be in order.
Repainting a whole house can be a major job. Unlike individual rooms
that can be redecorated one by one, the exterior requires total
commitment. Apart from the time and expense involved, it is important to
choose a colour you can live with because, if you do the job properly
the first time, it can last for up to 10 years.
The state of the exterior will give you an idea of the size of the task.
If the old paint is peeling, you will have to resign yourself to the
tedious business of scraping it off with a wire brush, or blasting it
away with a pressure hose before applying the new look.
It is common in Hong Kong, because of the humid climate, to find spots
of mildew, green mould or moss on your masonry walls. It is vital to
find these spots and scrub them clean, then treat the area with a
fungicidal solution or bleach. If you don't kill the fungus, it will
soon reappear to spoil the new paintwork. Some people use ordinary
household bleach, but solutions sold at paint shops are stronger,
costing up to about $45 for a litre.
Because the weather in Hong Kong makes exterior walls flaky, Fanny Lui
of Yuen Fat Ho paint shop on Hollywood Road recommends using a base coat
of waterproof primer or stabilising solution. If the surface is not too
chalky, a primer will do, but if it is powdery you will need to remove
the old layers and put on some stabilising solution, otherwise your new
paint will soon flake off.
Check for structural cracks that should be filled with a rubber or
elasticated filler that expands and contracts with the movement of the
building. Do not use regular plaster, of the type you would use inside,
because it will only crack again.
The cost of exterior paint varies greatly, from $82 to $110 for four
litres of Viva, the cheapest brand, to $170 for five litres of the
mid-range Please Coat. Five litres of the premium brands Sandtex and
Dulux Weathershield cost $295 to $320 and $350 respectively.
Sandtex comes in a rough or smooth finish. As the name suggests, sand is
added to one variety to achieve a Tuscan look. Five litres of paint
covers an area of 250 sq ft. If you're weighing up the cost of premium
brands, it's worth considering that Sandtex, if applied properly, is
guaranteed for 10 years, while the cheaper brands may last only one or
two years.
You can apply exterior paint with brushes, rollers or by spraying with
compressed air. The latter is normally only done by professionals, since
a compressor is required and neighbouring houses make it harder to
apply. Either way, take the time to mask with tape and newspaper around
the windows or other areas you want to shield from stray paint. If by
now you have decided it sounds like too much hard work and prefer to
employ someone to do the job, expect to pay from $800 a day for a local
painter, or up to several thousand for an expatriate service.
Once your two layers of topcoat are applied, there are other
considerations. For instance, if you live near a bushy area you may want
to paint on a solution to repel insects. Clear, colourless and
odourless, this can be a useful addition around windows and doors and
can last for several years.
Or you may want to use a dirt repellant, which costs more than $200 for
five litres. Because this should be applied over the whole area, it
means one more procedure.
Another optional extra is to apply a waterproofing membrane, which is
quite thick and dries like a plastic film, and is sometimes used on
balconies and other outside areas.
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