How Changing Weather Affects the Outside of a Home
The weather in the UK can hardly be called steady. When it is a dry morning it may turn into a rainy afternoon and the following day tends to open coldly. Our houses endure it, and the outside walls are the most affected. Rain, frost, sun, and wind can make a difference in the face of the property over time, altering the appearance of the property and the protection levels.
Rain is one of the most obvious culprits. Frequent downpours soak into brickwork and render, and the damp lingers long after the skies clear. Without protection, such as a good coating of masonry paint, this can lead to dark patches, peeling surfaces, and eventually, moss or algae growth if the wall never gets a chance to dry out. In older houses without modern coatings, water can seep into hairline cracks and create problems that grow season after season.
A cold environment presents another challenge. Frost is created when the weather becomes cold at night and any slight quantity of water that was present in the first place in cracks or joints, expands as it freezes. The stress points formed by even such small movements cause the wall to stretch out, slowly increasing the size of the gaps that enable water to get into the walls whenever it rains again. This cycle of choilling and thawing may over years lead to the destruction of render, loosening of bricks and visible cracks that are costly to mend.
Solar radiation is not a problem. Powerful rays lighten paint, leaving areas where the colour appears exhausted. Long periods of heat may result in uneven drying of surfaces and create flaking and blistering. Although these effects do not manifest themselves as quickly as the damages caused by rain or frost, they influence the appearance and they also shorten the life of exterior walls. Home owners usually realize that there are unequal colors on one side of the house where the entire house is facing the sunlight unlike other sides and therefore makes the house look old despite the maintenance.
Another aspect that erodes an exterior of a building is wind. The gusts force the rain into the cracks which would otherwise remain dry and with time this steady pressure causes the water to be forced deeper into the building. Salt deposited on the air and in coastal strips may accelerate metal fixing corrosion and paint corrosion. Even town structures in inland towns, fierce winds blow off dirt and grit against exterior surfaces making the subject have an older appearance than the real weathered age when the building was built.
A combination of these conditions and not one of them, is what causes the greatest harm. The climate of the UK is characterized by swift variations, and walls do not even have time to dry out completely before the subsequent wave of weather conditions strikes, the moisture that is still to be completely dry is followed by frost that stretches the cracks. Sun, which would dry a wall and at the same time fade the colour. And the cycle never really stops and exterior surfaces become an account of every season through which they pass.
To most homeowners, these can initially present as cosmetic alterations i.e. discoloration or peeling surfaces. They will otherwise grow into more serious problems. The liquid water that drips into cracks can ultimately finding its way to the inner walls forming damp spots within the house. Timber frames/ window fittings also tend weakening creating drafts and resulting in increased energy bills. What begins as a tiny spot on the exterior wall may thus evolve into a bigger issue that is much more expensive to deal with.
Caring for exterior walls is not only cosmetics. It is of maintaining the building dry under the incessant pressure of rain, frost, sunshine, and wind. All the houses in Britain are exposed to these conditions and with time the dents are evident. Having frequent checks and the necessary protection there is a far better possibility of a property remaining safe, efficient, and appealing, regardless of how many the weather conditions change. See more
The weather in the UK can hardly be called steady. When it is a dry morning it may turn into a rainy afternoon and the following day tends to open coldly. Our houses endure it, and the outside walls are the most affected. Rain, frost, sun, and wind can make a difference in the face…