External paint does not fail on a fixed timetable. It fails when the coating's protective capacity is used up by weather, and that happens faster on some elevations than others. A cyclical interval is a working estimate, useful for budgeting, that should be checked against the fabric rather than trusted blindly.
A north-facing wall that stays damp longer after rain, and a south-west wall that takes the worst of the weather, do not degrade at the same rate even on the same building. Treating them identically means one gets repainted too early and the other too late.
Chalking, colour loss, hairline cracking in a masonry paint film and early corrosion bleed on metalwork are all signs the coating is nearing the end of its useful life. These are visible before failure is obvious from ground level, which is why a proper close inspection beats a drive-past assessment.
Once elevations are graded, the intervals can be staggered so the whole building is never due at once. This spreads cost across service charge years and avoids a single enormous bill landing when several elevations coincidentally fail together.
From a close inspection of the current coating's condition, the substrate underneath, and how exposed that face is to prevailing weather, rather than from a single rule of thumb for the whole building.
Generally yes, but exposure matters more than most people expect. A premium system on a heavily exposed elevation can still need attention sooner than a standard system somewhere sheltered.
Yes. Scaffolding removed nearby, trees felled or new structures built close by can all change how an elevation weathers, so the interval should be revisited.
Request an elevation-by-elevation inspection and we will return realistic intervals rather than one blanket figure.
External redecoration intervals should follow exposure and coating condition, not a single number applied to a whole building.
Speak to a Hampshire commercial decorating contractor that turns up, communicates clearly and delivers a finish that lasts.
