The Augusta/Bush Field record
NOAA's engineering weather data for Augusta/Bush Field lists a 50-year basic wind speed of 90 mph (3-second gust at 33 feet), a 100-year rainfall rate of 4.0 inches per hour and about 40 freeze-thaw cycles in an average year. In an average year at Augusta/Bush Field, NOAA counts about 1,242 hours with the wet-bulb temperature above 73°F and about 2,890 hours above 67°F.
Engineers use those numbers to design buildings. A painter reads them differently: as a list of the forces a finished coat has to put up with. Below, each figure is taken in turn and tied to a decision you or your painter will make.
Freeze and thaw: the joint is the weak point
A freeze-thaw cycle is a swing from above freezing to below and back. The station counts about 40 of them in an average year. Each swing matters to paint mainly where water can get in. Water that has soaked into an open joint, a split board or the end grain of a cut piece of trim expands when it freezes, opens the gap a little more, and lets in more water on the next rain. Over time, that pushes paint off from behind.
What that means for your job:
- Old caulk that has shrunk or cracked comes out and is replaced with a flexible sealant, not smeared over.
- End grain on boards, rails and trim is primed before it is painted, since it drinks water fastest.
- Soft wood is cut out and replaced, not filled and painted over.
- Horizontal surfaces such as sills and railing tops get extra attention, because water sits there longest.
Humid hours and recoat times
Wet-bulb temperature folds heat and moisture into one reading. The more hours it sits high, the slower a waterborne coat gives up its water. On site, that shows up as recoat times that run longer than the label's best case, and as finishes that stay soft in shaded corners. A painter who rushes the second coat onto a first that hasn't released its moisture can trap it, and the result is poor adhesion or blistering later. Ask how the crew judges when a coat is ready, and whether they'll move to a sunnier side of the house while a shaded one catches up.
Indoors, damp air in a bathroom or laundry room calls for a moisture-tolerant finish and good ventilation while it cures. Our interior painting page covers product choices room by room.
Downpours and wind
A rainfall rate of 4.0 inches per hour is a design value for a rare cloudburst, not an everyday storm. Still, it's a reminder that paint isn't a roof. Water that overflows a gutter, splashes off a step or runs behind a missing drip edge will find the bottom edge of siding and trim again and again. A good exterior proposal points out those spots so you can fix the water source before the new coat goes on. The 90 mph design gust is about the building; for paint, wind mainly means overspray risk, so ask whether the crew will brush and roll rather than spray on gusty days.
The exterior painting page explains washing, scraping and priming in more detail.
Georgia's consumer office on painters
Georgia's Consumer Protection Division says certain specialty occupations, such as roofers, painters, drywall contractors and repair handymen, are exempt from state contractor licensing, and that most contractors are also subject to county or city licensing requirements. We print it as the division states it and add nothing about Augusta's or Richmond County's own rules.
Before you choose
Line up proposals that describe caulking, priming of bare and end-grain wood, wood replacement and the number of coats in the same terms. Then compare like with like using the pricing guide.