Staining or Painting: Key factors to consider
When it comes to changing or restoring the color of your home, it’s likely that you’ve heard of other D.C. area homeowners reference both painting and staining. If you’re not a contractor, it’s not uncommon to wonder whether you should choose to stain or paint your home.
Some of the most common questions homeowners ask our team are:
What’s the difference between painting and staining?
When should I paint or stain my home?
What types of paint or stain are there?
In order to keep up with a constantly evolving and competitive real estate market in towns like Potomac, Bethesda, and McLean, it’s no secret that you need to have a beautifully designed home. If that’s what you desire to achieve, you’ve come to the right place.
In this article, our team of experts breaks down three important considerations for choosing whether to stain or paint the wood on your home.
Factor 1: Type of wood.
Some types of wood may do better than others with staining depending on the condition, quality, and texture. A major benefit of using a transparent stain on your wood is being able to see the beautiful designs and texture on the surface.
However, painting over formerly stained pieces of wood can modernize your home and add value. A perfect example of this would be a recent comprehensive home remodel project our team completed in North Bethesda, Maryland, which included painting over stained wood panels in the family room to modernize the home.
Always consider the condition, texture, and design of the wood surface you’re working with when deciding whether to stain or paint it.
Factor 2: Interior or Exterior.
When making changes to the exterior of your home, paint will typically be more durable than stain. While both will require periodic upkeep and restoration, paint will always last longer.
The D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area is well known to have a high accumulation of mold, mildew, and pollen constantly growing on the surface of our homes, all of which unfortunately can significantly age the surface of your home and even cause health issues for your family if not properly remediated.
As a part of our expert exterior painting and staining processes, we always prioritize longevity for our clients. In preparation for every job, our team thoroughly pressure washes and prepares the surface of your home before our work begins.
When deciding whether to paint or stain your home, factor in the consideration that your exterior will take significant wear and tear from our local climate.
Factor 3: Type of stain.
While there are many different types of stains, all stains are transparent, semi-transparent, or solid.
Transparent stains allow you to see all of the wood grain, while semi-transparent stains are a bit less opaque, and solid color stains are minimally opaque and have a similar appearance to paint. While solid stain is cheaper to apply and buy than paint, our team highly recommends using paint for the longevity of your project.
The type of stain you are considering using is important, as you may value a balance between the texture on your surface and a moderate opacity over using a traditional paint. Keep this in mind while making your decision and always consult your contractor.
While there are many different choices to choose from, we hope this article will help guide you through the decision making and planning stage of your remodel.
Are you unsure whether to paint or stain your home?
