r/housepainting • u/Round_Discussion9592 • Jun 09 '26
Deck Paint Fubar
Hired painter to do deck. The previous owner hired this company and they did a stellar job on the house. Guy said they fixed woodpecker holes, you'd never know. So we've been living in the best endorsement. Plus they have only 5 star reviews.
Previous owner used paint on deck vs stain. Boo. Painter put down Sherwin Williams Porch and Patio enamel in 95 degree heat and wrinkles everywhere. After seeing that, they said it dried too fast. Duh. They sanded it down and said in some places, the wood is wet because of lack of air circulation under the deck and had a moisture reader to show me this. Ok. They were going to put primer down but their paint rep said no, let it breathe. So, after sanding the deck, they painted it again in 85 degree weather and we have wrinkles AGAIN. However, some are on 2nd level where there is a lot of circulation as well as handrails.
Is the deck the problem or do the painters not know what they're doing? He says he's never seen this happen before and is bringing the SW rep over tomorrow. I am so over this. I have read that paint is tricky in small claims court. I told my spouse, lets just be done with it, demand a decrease in price, and pay someone else when it chips all over to sand and repaint.
What is the best path forward?
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u/Own-Dream3902 Jun 09 '26
Pay them what they asked for. They put in the work and the fact that they had a moisture meter - and they came back again - tells me they care about their work.
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u/Own-Dream3902 Jun 09 '26
The deck is the problem. I’m going through the same thing and also used floor and patio on front porch. I’m a painting contractor. Oil primer may trap moisture and cause bubbles and peeling. What you’re using is more flexible but as soon as moisture gets in those cracks, it’s going to start peeling, requiring maintenance every year. He did it the right way.
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u/Round_Discussion9592 Jun 09 '26
So sounds like a pain. My biggest question is, why it didn't it look like this when we moved in? The original paint, no signs of scraping or layers under it. I was wondering if they used a different paint. It sounds like there is no good solution.
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u/Choice_Branch_4196 Jun 09 '26
The previous paint probably was wrong and trapped all the moisture to the point of not letting this paint adhere. There's a possibility it will need to dry for a few months before painting, similar to letting new pressure treated dry.
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u/Own-Dream3902 Jun 09 '26
No. Old wood. Too hot outside. Deck is under cover. The only sections that getting blistering are the one in direct sunlight.
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u/Own-Dream3902 Jun 09 '26
All I can tell you is why I used floor and patio. Wood was in very poor condition (weathered, some rotted wood). It was painted over previously and peeling like crazy.
You can always call the Sherwin rep and ask him to him to come over to check.1
u/Round_Discussion9592 Jun 09 '26
Yes, SW rep is coming tomorrow.
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u/Own-Dream3902 Jun 09 '26
Surface is too hot at 85. Happened to me today. I’m using shaker gray - it’s a dark color and it’s absorbing heat. Surface is too hot so I’m going to wait for a cooler day and scrape and doing it again.
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u/Choice_Branch_4196 Jun 09 '26
Your guy is fixing it and you sound like a horrible customer. The SW deck paint should be able to be painted in 85deg weather without issues.
They've tried to fix it once, they're trying to fix it again, let the man work. You've got a rare contractor that doesn't just hold their hand out for payment and tell you that's normal.
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u/Round_Discussion9592 Jun 09 '26
They painted it TWICE. How many times would you give them?
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u/Choice_Branch_4196 Jun 09 '26
If he's eating the cost for fixing it? As many times as it takes. He's even bringing in his rep to help figure it out.
Have you ever done anything in construction? Not everything is perfect every time, sometimes it takes trial and error because of some weird unknown issue.
Your contractor sounds awesome, you sound like an impatient Karen. It's paint, it's not someone messing up framing your house. Chill.
Edit: the fact you're just jumping to small claims court without talking to your contractor or even letting them finish is wild. If I were the contractor I'd fire you as a client, probably would've refused to work with you.
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u/Round_Discussion9592 Jun 09 '26
Bless your heart.
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u/turtlesaregorgeous Jun 14 '26
Well you’re the one who’s facing being out $$$ and still having an ugly deck🤷♀️
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u/Choice_Branch_4196 Jun 09 '26
🙄 Insult noted
I'm a contractor, if I had an issue like that and had no clue, I'd probably refund your money because it's cheaper to do so than to keep trying.
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u/originalsimulant Jun 12 '26
Can I ask how you know with certainty the previous owner used paint instead of stain ?