Painting Standards: When is painting needed?

Started by VytasR • 10 replies • 1848 views

💬 Join us to post & get advice from 50,000 HOA & Condo leaders.

⚡ Takes 30 seconds

Already a member? Log in

VytasR (Utah)
Posts: 3

Posted:

We are a fairly new HOA. We have decided that the home owner is responsible for painting their home. Our CC&R's allow the HOA to paint if the owners does not and assess the owner for the cost incurred. The question I have is, what standard have others used to define when painting is needed? I believe there is a functional and aesthetic part to any painting standard. Please comment.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

When to paint would vary by State to State and even town to town due to climate differences.
The average is 7 to 10 years I believe.

We don't worry about painting until the paint is chipping or too faded. Nor do we have a specific time between paintings. It's a judgment call. Most people can't really define when a paint job is needed but know it when they see it.

As a side note, many CC&Rs have language that allows the Association to make repairs and charge the owner. My Board has been advised to not enter the property to perform any repairs without a court order unless it's a safety/hazard to others. Otherwise, you may be defending yourself against trespassing charges.

Here are some links on painting:

How often should you paint the outside of your house? a 2015 article

How Long Should It Last? (exterior) from contractor talk.com

Hope this helps,

Tim

JohnC46 (South Carolina)
Posts: 14,265

Posted:

Vytas

One thing you should establish is what colors are permitted. One way is to get a paint palette from a major paint supplier and limit choice to that palette.

SheliaH (Indiana)
Posts: 6,964

Posted:

What Tim and John said.

To follow up on John's comments, you might want to get several paint palettes and let the homeowners vote on which ones they like - the top two or three (or however many the board selects) will be the approved color choices.

If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it. Marcus Aurelius

DouglasK1 (Florida)
Posts: 2,046

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By JohnC46 on 06/09/2015 3:26 AM
Vytas

One thing you should establish is what colors are permitted. One way is to get a paint palette from a major paint supplier and limit choice to that palette.

Around here is it common to get the original color book from the builder and use that.

Escaped former treasurer and director of a self managed association.

VytasR (Utah)
Posts: 3

Posted:

Thank you all for the comments. We have colors defined and all are in compliance.

The board and I discussed your comments and came up with the following approach.

Since painting has two general functions (protection and aesthetic)and at our HOA we are only trying to protect the aesthetic, we are going to have a group of home owners walk the properties on an annual basis and provide comments to the home owner on the aesthetic status of their home. If modifications are necessary the board will inform the home owner and they will have two years to address. The group will represent 30% of all the owners (about 5 owners).

In this way it will not be just the board being the bad guy.

What do you think?

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

Very similar to what we do.

We do annual inspections where the Architectural committee checks each property from the common area (sidewalk, common area behind home, - they do not enter the property itself).

We look for violations and good repair. The process is:

1) Violations - 30 days to correct.

Violations include unauthorized exterior changes and painting of railing leading to porch.

2) Maintenance required - 1 year to correct. If not corrected by next annual inspection the item becomes a violation.

Maintenance required include painting, fence repair, etc.

3) Concerns - Just a courtesy notation in case the owner was unaware of the issue. The association requires no action, simply letting the owner know of something the inspector discovered.

Concerns include things like loose fence pickets, the start of mold on brick work, rodents (chipmunks, etc.) seen around the home, bird nests in gutters, etc.

MelissaP1 (Alabama)
Posts: 13,836

Posted:

There are 3 ways of paint applications. The appearance and need to repaint can be effected. There is brush, roller, and spray. A good brush job is labor intesive, expensive, but good long quality. The roller method is also a good faster way than brush. It is a little less labor intesive and less expensive. However, there can be places uneven or missing. Spray is the fastest and cheapest. It also can cause issues with messiness. The paint is watered down and last less time.

So you may want to consider paint applications. It can cause issues. My ex used to use a sprayer and the house paint in a year started looking bad again. Plus it missed places. It is good for a quick sale fix but long term want better quality in applications.

Former HOA President

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By MelissaP1 on 06/10/2015 8:32 AM

So you may want to consider paint applications.

Although good comments, I think that how the paint is to be applied should be a decision between the owner and the contractor. If the owner makes the wrong choice or chooses the wrong contractor and it has to be painted again in a year or two, then those are the consequences of their decision.

LarryB13 (Arizona)
Posts: 4,099

Posted:

Paint manufacturers have been known to drop colors, or use the same name for a different color, or keep the same color but change the name, or just go out of business. Since most major retail paint dealers are able to mix paint to a specific formula, it seems like it would be better to require that the paint be mixed to a specific formula rather than a specific name of a color from a specific manufacturer.

MelissaP1 (Alabama)
Posts: 13,836

Posted:

I think it should be a decision between contractor and client. However, if you are doing a paint inspection the application type can effect the "view". Meaning you can tell the difference between some applications. It may make the inspection of the paint job a bit harder. I know in our situation that I could clearly tell which homes had been spray and which ones were rolled. I don't think it's fair to those who choose to spray subject to more failures to meet paint standards more often. May want to explain that upfront to those who may chance it that the quality of the job may cause them later to fail inspections.

Former HOA President

🎯 You've read this entire discussion

Join the conversation with 50,000 HOA & Condo Leaders:

✓ Ask follow-up questions
✓ Share your experience
✓ Get expert advice
✓ Access 350,000 discussions

Create Free Account →

⚡ Takes 30 seconds

Already a member? Log in here