Painting the outside of a house in Ireland: when and how to do it

A fresh coat of paint makes a house look cared for, but in Ireland the weather decides whether that paint lasts five years or one. Exterior paint applied to damp walls, in cold air or just before a shower can blister, peel, wash off or grow mould within a season. Most of the work in a good exterior paint job is in the timing and preparation; the painting itself is the quick part.

This guide covers when to paint the outside of a house in Ireland, how to prepare rendered walls and woodwork, how to choose the paint, and how to stay safe working at height.

When is the best time to paint the outside of a house?

In most of Ireland the realistic window runs from late April or May to September. Within that period you are looking for a stretch of dry days rather than a particular month. In the south-west, where rain comes in off the Atlantic at short notice, flexibility is everything: plan the job so you can paint on the good days and do preparation on the doubtful ones.

The conditions that matter are:

• Dry walls. Render and masonry hold water for days after heavy rain. After a wet spell, give walls at least a couple of dry days before painting, longer on north-facing or shaded elevations.
• Temperature. Most exterior masonry paints and woodwork paints give a minimum application temperature on the tin, commonly in the region of 5°C to 10°C, and it applies to the surface as well as the air. Spring and autumn mornings can be well below that on a shaded wall.
• No rain or dew before it dries. Paint needs a few hours to become rain-resistant; check the tin. Start once the morning dew has gone and stop early enough that the last coat is dry before evening dew.
• Not too hot. On sunny days, follow the shade around the house. Paint applied to a wall in strong sun dries too fast, which can leave lap marks and poor adhesion.
• Not too windy. Wind dries paint too quickly, blows dust and insects onto wet paint and makes ladder work dangerous.

Met Éireann forecasts for your county are the best planning tool, and its rainfall radar is useful on the day for spotting showers coming in from the west.

Preparation: where the job is won

1. Inspect the walls

Walk around the house and look closely at the render. Common problems on Irish houses are:

• Green or black staining from algae and mould, especially on north-facing walls and below leaking gutters.
• Cracks, from fine hairline crazing to wider cracks around windows and at corners.
• Blown render, where the render has come away from the block behind. Tap it with a knuckle or the handle of a screwdriver: a hollow sound indicates it is loose.
• Chalky or powdery old paint that rubs off on your hand.
• Damp patches that point to a leak, a blocked gutter or a defective sill.

Paint will not fix a damp problem. If a wall is stained under a gutter or downpipe, fix the gutter first; our guide on how to clean gutters safely covers the basics.

2. Clean

Treat algae and mould with a fungicidal wash made for masonry, following the label, and give it the recommended time to work before rinsing or brushing off. A gentle wash with a hose and soft brush removes dirt and loose material. If you use a pressure washer, keep the pressure low and the nozzle well back: high pressure can force water deep into render and damage weak areas. Then let the walls dry out completely.

3. Repair

Rake out and fill cracks with an exterior filler or a suitable repair mortar. Fine crazing can often be bridged by a good masonry paint, but wider and moving cracks need proper filling. Areas of blown render should be cut back to sound material and patched. Large areas of hollow render, or cracks that keep reopening, may point to a structural problem and are worth having looked at before you decorate.

4. Stabilise and prime

Chalky, powdery surfaces need a stabilising solution so the new paint has something firm to bond to. Bare patches and new render repairs may need a primer or a thinned first coat; the paint manufacturer's instructions will say which.

5. Woodwork and metal

Scrape back flaking paint on fascias, sills, doors and gates, sand to a smooth edge, treat any bare timber with a primer and fill small defects. Soft, spongy timber needs cutting out and replacing, not painting over. Rusty railings and gates should be wire-brushed and treated with a rust-inhibiting primer.

Choosing exterior paint

• Masonry paint for rendered and block walls. Smooth versions suit plain render; textured versions help hide minor imperfections and fill fine cracks. Look for a product that states resistance to algae and mould and is suitable for exposed locations.
• Exterior gloss, satin or woodstain for timber. Microporous products let moisture escape from the wood rather than trapping it, which reduces blistering and peeling.
• Metal paint for railings and gates, often with a combined primer.

Pebble dash and other rough finishes need more paint and a different technique; see our separate guide on painting pebble dash.

The order of work

1. Clean, repair and let everything dry.
2. Paint the highest parts first, such as fascias and soffits, so drips fall onto areas not yet painted.
3. Paint the walls, working one elevation at a time and finishing each wall in one go to avoid visible joins.
4. Paint windows, sills and doors.
5. Finish with the lowest elements such as plinths, gates and railings.

Two coats are normally needed on walls, with the drying time between coats taken from the tin.

Working safely at height

Most exterior painting involves ladders, and falls from ladders are a common cause of serious injury. The Health and Safety Authority publishes guidance on the safe use of ladders: set them on firm, level ground at the correct angle, secure or foot them, keep three points of contact, and never overreach. For anything above a single storey, or long periods of work, a scaffold tower or proper scaffolding is safer and faster. Do not lean ladders against plastic gutters.

Planning and protected structures

Repainting a house is normally treated as maintenance. If your house is a protected structure, or lies within an architectural conservation area, changing the colour or finish may need consent; check with Kerry County Council's planning section before you start.

If you would rather leave it to someone else, painting and decorating is among the handyman services in County Kerry offered by Alpine Home Improvements.