Tips For Maintaining Your Building Facade
Exterior Restoration Tips For Facades
Of Bergen County, NJ Properties
Keep Your Building Looking Great
And Damage-Free
A building facade is the public-facing front of a commercial, residential, or retail business. It may be wider, taller, or a different style than the building itself. It is designed to make your property feel inviting and to make a good first impression on customers, partners, suppliers, and other visitors.
Facades are often the most ornate and decorative part of the building, even though they are usually functional. However, because it is the public face, the facade occasionally requires exterior restoration in Bergen County, NJ to keep it looking its best. Below are some important exterior facade maintenance tips to boost your property’s curb appeal.
Pressure Wash Your Bergen County, NJ Building
The first step in the proper exterior building restoration of a Bergen County, NJ property is to have it pressure washed or soft washed, which is a process where a lighter water pressure is employed but more detergent is used to perform the cleaning. Regular pressure washing offers numerous benefits. First, removing mold, mildew, mud, and other contaminants prevents them from staining the facade of your building.
Moreover, pressure washing removes dirt and grime that might conceal problems. It is far easier to discover damage by wind, hail, insects, rodents, or birds on a clean building than on a dirty one. However, after power washing, check your clean surfaces to make sure the high-pressure stream has not gouged the wood or peeled paint.
Because of the possibility of pressure washing damage, always hire a professional exterior restoration contractor to clean your facade.
Check Caulking Against North Jersey Weather
Because Bergen County, NJ experiences weather extremes from ice and snow to brutal sun and high humidity, check the caulking around the windows and doors of your building facade.
Caulking prevents drafts and heat transfer around the building penetrations, reduces HVAC costs, and keeps your property at a comfortable temperature.
After application, caulking is spongy and flexible so that it fills any gaps between the frames of doorways and windows and the door or sashes themselves. However, as it ages, the caulk turns brittle and hard. It may start to crumble on its own or break off under pressure washing. Inspect caulking regularly so windows and doors don’t leak.
Inspect The Paint Of Your Bergen County, NJ Property
Exterior paint usually lasts 5 to 10 years, depending on the type used, the number of coats, and the environment. However, once it reaches the end of its useful lifespan, chipped paint needs to be removed and the facade repainted.
Signs that it is time to repaint include the following:
- Moisture stains or mildew
- Peeling or flaking paint
- Bubbles or cracks
- Fading colors
If your facade is experiencing any of these symptoms, the current paint job is at or near the end of its expected lifespan and should be replaced. Contact a proven exterior restoration company for help.
Inspect And Repair Masonry In North Jersey
Masonry and brick can last for decades or even hundreds of years. However, they need occasional maintenance to keep the wall watertight, healthy, and attractive. Inspect your facade occasionally to see if you can spot areas that need repair. Signs of masonry distress include the following:
- Bowed or bulging bricks – Bricks may bulge outward under the weight of the wall and masonry above them.
- Compacted bricks – Bricks may appear narrow or squashed instead of bulging because of the pressure from the bricks above them.
- Vertical corner cracks – Masonry expands and contracts as temperatures swing, resulting in vertical corner cracks. These can be repaired with urethane and by installing an expansion joint to relieve weight off the corner.
- Staining – Moisture, mildew, and mold can all leave stains on the bricks of your building facade. If left unaddressed, these can set in and become permanent.
- Spalling – Spalling is when the face of the brick begins to chip or peel. It may mean you need to install a shelf angle behind the wall to let the building structure support some of the wall’s weight.
- Mortar deterioration – Mortar is the gray cement you can see between individual bricks. It can deteriorate, and bricks may loosen. Caught in time, it can simply be removed and replaced in spots before the entire wall is compromised.
