Softwood is the most common exterior joinery material across the region, and also the most likely to be under-prepared, because a lick of paint can look fine over rot or moisture for a season before the real problem shows through.
A moisture meter reading before any coating tells us whether the timber is genuinely dry enough to seal. Painting over damp softwood traps that moisture and accelerates decay, which is a more expensive problem than the peeling paint that eventually reveals it.
Soft, spongy timber at joints, sills and end grain needs cutting out and repairing with a suitable timber filler or splice, not filled over with standard exterior filler and hoped for the best. We tell the client plainly when a section is beyond repair rather than paint over it.
A microporous or breathable exterior system lets residual moisture escape rather than trapping it, which matters more here than inland given the humidity and driving rain off the Solent. Colour choice also affects surface temperature and expansion, which we factor into the specification.
A moisture meter reading gives an objective figure rather than a guess based on how the surface looks or feels.
It depends on how much sound timber remains. Small areas repair well; where decay has spread through a whole section, replacement is the honest recommendation.
Darker colours absorb more heat and can increase surface expansion and contraction, which affects coating life on south and west-facing joinery in particular.
Send us photographs of your worst window and we will flag any repair needed before we quote the repaint.
Softwood needs an honest moisture and rot check before repainting, or the new paint just hides the real problem.
Speak to a Hampshire commercial decorating contractor that turns up, communicates clearly and delivers a finish that lasts.
