Exterior Painting in Phuket for Sun, Rain and Sea Air

What does the exterior painting service cover?

Exterior painting in Phuket by Phuket Pro Painters covers the masonry surfaces on the outside of a home: all exterior walls, eaves and soffits, columns, beams, decorative mouldings, balcony walls and rendered boundary walls. Exterior paint is what protects the skin of the house from the weather, and exterior work is a core part of our house and villa painting service.

Other outdoor surfaces need different paint and different preparation, so each is a separate service: painting tile and metal-sheet roofs, painting steel gates, fences and railings and staining timber slats and doors. All of these can be combined in a single quotation.

How does an exterior painting job run?

How long exterior paint lasts depends more on surface preparation than on the number of coats. The painters at Phuket Pro Painters carry out exterior work in this order.

1. Set up scaffolding or equipment for work at height on homes of two storeys or more, and cover paving, plants, glass and light fittings.
2. Wash the walls to remove dust, salt, moss, mould and chalk from the old paint, then let the walls dry fully.
3. Scrape and sand paint that is blistered, flaking or peeling, back to a firmly attached surface.
4. Fill small holes and hairline surface marks with an exterior filler and sand it level with the wall.
5. Apply an exterior primer matched to the wall: a primer for new render, or one made for old, chalky paint.
6. Apply the top coats, normally two, with the drying time as the paint manufacturer states on the label.
7. Inspect the work, take down the scaffolding and clean up around the house.

The painters choose which wall to paint according to where the sun is. They avoid painting a wall that is very hot in the midday sun, because the paint dries too fast and leaves visible lap marks.

What do Phuket's sun, rain and sea air do to exterior walls?

Exterior walls on a home in Phuket break down for three main reasons, and each leaves a different trace. Reading those traces shows how heavy the preparation needs to be.

Hillside homes open to the sea breeze, and homes close to the beach in places such as Rawai, Karon or Kamala, face all three causes at once. Owners of these homes should choose an exterior paint grade with good UV and mould resistance, and should accept that repainting will come round more often than for homes further inland in Kathu or Thalang. The principles of choosing paint are in the guide to exterior house paint that stands up to the weather.

Why must exterior paint never go on a damp wall?

Paint applied to a damp wall traps the moisture under the film. When the sun heats the wall, the moisture pushes the film out until it blisters and peels. After rain, and after washing, the painters always wait for the wall to dry before priming. During the monsoon, roughly May to October, rain is frequent, so an exterior job takes longer than in the dry season.

What problems does exterior painting not fix?

Phuket Pro Painters does not take on waterproofing, structural crack repair or leak repair. Exterior paint protects the wall surface from sun and ordinary driving rain, but paint is not a cure for a wall that lets water in or for a crack that keeps moving. If the painter sees wide cracks, swollen render or stains that suggest water is entering from behind the wall, we tell the owner to have a specialist fix the problem first. The exterior painting is then booked once the wall is dry.

The work inside our surface preparation scope is washing, scraping loose old paint, sanding, filling small holes and hairline surface marks, and priming.

What should a homeowner prepare before exterior painting?

Clearing the area around the house lets the painters put up scaffolding and wash the walls without obstacles.

1. Move cars, bicycles, garden furniture and plant pots away from the walls.
2. Trim branches and climbing plants that touch the walls and eaves.
3. Close windows and doors tightly on the day the walls are washed.
4. Tell neighbours who share a wall or fence, and pass on your estate's rules on working hours. Many Phuket estates restrict contractor hours and weekend work.
5. Make an outdoor tap and power point available to the painters.
6. Choose the colours for walls, trim and eaves. For ideas, see the guide to a two-tone grey exterior.

How is exterior painting hired and priced?

Exterior painting can be hired as labour only, where you buy the paint and we work out the quantity of primer and top coat, or as labour and paint together in the paint grade you choose. Labour only is a common way to hire painters in Thailand and suits owners who want to select the paint themselves. The painter surveys and measures the real wall area free of charge, then a written quotation is issued before work starts. In the quotation, surface preparation and scaffolding or work at height appear on separate lines from the painting, and the terms of the workmanship warranty after handover are stated.

This page shows no figures. Estimated rates are on the house painting prices per square metre page, or you can select exterior work, the number of storeys and the wall condition in the price calculator to see a range in advance.

When should the whole exterior be painted, and when is a partial repaint enough?

Painting the whole exterior makes sense when the paint is faded or chalky on every side, or when the owner wants a new colour. Painting one side only, or just the boundary wall, works when the other walls are still sound. Be aware that new paint and old, sun-aged paint usually differ slightly in shade even with the same colour code. The painters therefore recommend painting a full wall up to a corner or a moulding line, not in patches.

If the real problem is a faded roof or a rusty gate, starting with the roof or the metalwork gives better value than repainting the walls. The painter advises on priorities at the site survey.

How do I book a survey for exterior painting?

Call 063-004-0115, or send photos of all four sides of the house by WhatsApp, to arrange a free site survey. The team speaks English. All contact channels are on the contact the painting team page.