With more time spent in the confines of our own homes than ever before, the last year has proved the importance of updating our home to fit our needs, our lifestyle and our environment.
As we head into the warmer months, it’s time to start paying more attention to the outside of our homes. Whether it’s the garden patio, front door colour or wall paint choice, refreshing your house exterior not only improves your paint and DIY skills, but it can also reignite your sense of style, love and pride.
Johannesburg-based mom Karen Kelly recently embarked on a DIY project to revamp her garden wall. Her family moved into their house a couple of years ago and as time passed she noticed areas that concerned her. She was planning to paint, but most importantly do the right fixes this time around to ensure the beauty of her home lasts as long as the protection of Dulux Weatherguard®. Preparing the walls was essential — just as vital as the complete colour makeover on the wall.
The issues
Karen’s exterior boundary wall had become an eyesore; it was flaky and cracked due to the Highveld weather extremes that had over the years resulted in the appearance of hairline cracks. Rising damp was a past problem that also needed attention. A complete refurbishment including wall repair, damp and moisture proofing, and of course repainting.
Before she got started, a technical expert from Dulux® came over and gave her some great advice on how to do it herself the right way, and he was also able to measure the moisture content of the wall.
Preparation
Before any painting can begin one first needs to do a proper assessment to establish if there are any existing issues such as damp, cracks (structural/non-structural), friable/loose surface material, mould growth and any other contamination. Once the issues have been identified, it must be repaired/remedied as part of the preparation stage. The preparation is the most important part of the entire paint process. If the preparation is not done correctly, the paint system will fail. Karen’s specific wall had rising damp, cracks, and loose, flaking paint and plaster.
The recommendation from the Dulux® expert was using Dulux Dampshield® as a barrier for rising damp with up to 50% moisture content, and Dulux Rainshield® to prevent water penetration at the top of the wall before applying Dulux Weatherguard® Fine Textured with Maxiflex™ technology, which is also water and weather resistant, with a 15-year guarantee and APEO free formulation that delivers long-lasting protection. Dulux Weatherguard® has provided almost 50 years of trusted performance.
Karen’s inspiration
One of Karen’s favourite places to visit is Garden Bleu in Parkhurst. She loved their use of dark colours on the exterior walls — and that sparked the idea for her — the swallows she has on her wall were also purchased from them.
Colour choice
A colour expert from Dulux® did an online colour consultation and guided Karen through the best colour options, based on her preferences and the style she was considering. Grey was her colour of choice. What’s amazing is that Dulux Weatherguard® Fine Textured has a great range of five ready-mixed trendy greys from a selection of over 27 colours: Grey Wind, Summer Showers, Veld Storm, Berg Cloud and Cape Fog.
Karen wanted a darker pure grey. The colour expert recommended Dulux Forged Metal®, which is a dusty charcoal with no visible undertones. It complements modern and traditional styled homes and complements the warm neutrals of her existing walls, the greenery as well as the play area. Dulux® offers convenient ready-mixed colour as well as a choice of tinted colours that can be mixed in-store in any product, including Dulux Weatherguard® Fine Textured matt paint.
Dulux Weatherguard® is formulated with a special blend of premium binders known as Maxiflex™ technology that makes the paint more flexible than conventional exterior paints. Dulux Weatherguard® with Maxiflex™ provides lasting elasticity to cover hairline cracks. Maxiflex™ also helps the paint coat to remain flexible while covering walls that expand and contract due to varying fluctuating temperatures. This ensures that the premium paint film over time does not crack or peel off as easily. Maxiflex™ technology makes hairline cracks a problem of the past, providing maximum stretch for coverage and long-lasting protection.
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