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My question would be why is there wood rot in 10 year old houses? Especially if the wood was originally painted. A decent paint job should last 10 years under most circumstances.
I never understood why people in other geographic regions like to describe what happens or should happen in the triangle area climate?
Anyway good luck with the 10 year paint job plan around central NC. That will work if it's not wood at all, like fiber cement siding and PVC board trim. It might work with wood if it's wood that was harvested 60 years ago and was originally covered with lead based paint, but these days wood is grown by using science to cheat nature, and is not of the same quality, and also we use "environmentally friendly" chemicals that do not protect wood as long.
I never understood why people in other geographic regions like to describe what happens or should happen in the triangle area climate?
Anyway good luck with the 10 year paint job plan around central NC. That will work if it's not wood at all, like fiber cement siding and PVC board trim. It might work with wood if it's wood that was harvested 60 years ago and was originally covered with lead based paint, but these days wood is grown by using science to cheat nature, and is not of the same quality, and also we use "environmentally friendly" chemicals that do not protect wood as long.
You're right, I only have to deal with salt spray and sand blasting from the beach. Obviously I have no experience with negative conditions.
You did pick up that I was sort of asking a question, right?
And even "new" wood with "new" paint shouldn't rot in 10 years.
IMO, unless you're a moneybags with spare change sloshing around to repaint every 8 to 10 years, Vinyl is the answer. You don't really have to power wash any more often than with wood or hardiplank (Every ~2 years seems about right), and you never have to paint. Paying somebody to power wash is a lot cheaper than hiring painters, and it's also something that can be feasibly DIY'd if you have, and are comfortable using, an extension ladder.
If you coat fiber cement with even half decent paint you can often go longer than 10 years assuming your caulk and everything else is holding up. You might have other reasons for painting (like if you have red mud splashing up on white siding that stained it) but in terms of protecting the home it is nothing like taking care of wood. It is not unreasonable maintenance at all, and you don't have to deal with the crappy faded look and warping of vinyl that occurs over time, and you have the option of changing colors if you like. Some vinyl is better than others but as you get into the better quality the price is about the same as fiber cement and protection from fire and elements is a lot better. I'll take fiber cement any day over vinyl.
You're right, I only have to deal with salt spray and sand blasting from the beach. Obviously I have no experience with negative conditions.
What you've failed to realize is that salt spray and sand blasting are conditions we don't deal with. So just because your wood rots in one way and show susceptibility to one source of decay/wear does not mean that your opinion applies everywhere else in the US. Your wood expansion/contraction profile is going to be very different at the ocean than ours here, and that's only one factor.
What you've failed to realize is that salt spray and sand blasting are conditions we don't deal with. So just because your wood rots in one way and show susceptibility to one source of decay/wear does not mean that your opinion applies everywhere else in the US.
My area of MD is as humid and damned nearly as hot as where you are.
My area of MD is as humid and damned nearly as hot as where you are.
But you've already conceded that you have sand and salt issues we don't have, so not only are you flying completely blind about what our wood decay situation might look like, you're oblivious to the fact that you admitted that fact outright as a side effect of your attempt to argue this with me.
Do you think, maybe, possibly your paint might need a different level of attention frequency due to the other factors? You know, the ones you admitted you have, as well as wind from the ocean, etc?
To answer the OP's question: No, you are not the only one who maintains their property. A year and a half ago, we moved into a neighborhood with most homes newer than 7 or 8 years. Most in our neighborhood do routinely maintain their lawns, landscaping, driveways, etc., and there's an implicit neighborhood tone to doing so (even beyond that of the HOA). Most of the residents are northern transplants, who (like myself) probably just appreciate having more nice days available outside throughout the year to perform such chores ourselves.
Same in my neighborhood. Even simple driveway pressure washing is apparently too much to ask. One guy - I kid you not - on the corner of my street entry (the only way in) literally had a yard of weeds until we all complained enough to get them to do something about it. He's been living there at least 15 years!
(But, I had a small tire trailer hidden behind my trash cans years ago and the HOA was on my back about it constantly...)
I hear ya. Moved in to a new house tract development a little over a year ago. The builder put down sod front sides and rear for every home. Where I used to live everyone took care of their lawns at least. Where I live now? UFB. How do you kill a new sod lawn in one year? Unkempt properties no problem. My wife leaves the garbage cans at the top of the driveway for a few days and I get a letter from the HOA. Huh?
Sad to say, at the risk of sounding elitist -- you should not own a house without a sinking fund to cover repairs.
We've learned this the hard way with our 1920s house. Most folks who try to budget for these things generally talk about keeping a 1%-2% savings fund earmarked just for home repairs. We're definitely at the 2% mark. It comes in handy when, say, we had to replace our 90 year old water line and again when we had bats get into the chimney, both in the same month.
We have some houses on our street in need of TLC, though buyers have no problem snatching those up and gut-rehabbing them. Our main gut rehab is done so we just need to be ready to spend when needed.
That's the cost, literally, of homeownership. We may consider a condo in the future as more downtown options come up in order to reduce that impact, but that's some time away.
I think that when brand new homes are built, the paint is thinned and sprayed on. The builder is not gonna invest in very expensive paint or even 2 coats of paint in most cases. Brand new homes are gonna need a paint job in 6 to 8 yrs. if you don't get that paint job, you will have wood rot. It's cheaper to paint your home than to wait till you have extensive wood rot and have to replace all your trim work. I guess when we sell our home, the new owners will be very happy that we kept up with maintance. We are staying put for a while though.
Perhaps many folks don't understand that the mortgage is not all you need to pay when you own rather than rent.
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