What actually makes exterior paint fail
Paint rarely fails because the color coat was too thin. It fails because water got behind it. Water soaks into bare end grain, an open joint or a crack in old caulk, then works outward and lifts the film. A climate with many freezes and thaws speeds that up, because each freeze expands whatever water has found its way in. That's why most of an exterior bid in Fargo, as anywhere, should be about sealing and priming, and why it pays to ask how a painter deals with water before you ask about color.
Fargo/Hector Field figures
NOAA's engineering weather data for Fargo/Hector Field lists a 50-year basic wind speed of 90 mph (3-second gust at 33 feet), a 100-year rainfall rate of 3.3 inches per hour and about 62 freeze-thaw cycles in an average year. NOAA's U.S. climate normals for Fargo's Hector International Airport give 8805.5 heating degree days and 542.4 cooling degree days in a normal year.
The wind speed and rainfall rate are engineering design values, not forecasts. For a paint job, the freeze-thaw count is the useful one: it's the number of times in a typical year that water caught in a joint or a soft board can freeze and expand. The degree-day normals measure demand for heating and cooling, and in Fargo's normal year the heating figure is by far the larger of the two.
Where a painter should spend the time outside
- Joints and seams. Old caulk that has cracked or pulled away from the siding should be cut out, not covered. New caulk needs to cure before paint goes over it.
- End grain and bottom edges. The lower edges of siding boards and the ends of trim boards drink water. A careful painter primes them, not just the faces.
- Bare and gray wood. Wood exposed long enough to turn gray needs sanding back to sound fiber before primer, or the new coat sits on a weak surface.
- Window sills and door bottoms. Flat surfaces that hold water fail first. Ask how many coats they get compared with the walls.
- Peeling areas. Loose paint must be scraped back to a firm edge; painting over it only seals in the problem.
Our exterior painting page explains each of these steps in more detail.
A long heating season means indoor work has a season too
A house that's heated for much of the year is a house where interior painting can go ahead in any month. That suits jobs such as ceilings, stairwells, cabinets and whole floors of rooms, which don't depend on outdoor weather. What a painter will need is steady heat, some fresh air for ventilation, and enough time between coats. Patching and sanding, explained in our drywall repair and surface preparation guide, are often a bigger share of an interior job than the painting itself.
What the state statute says
North Dakota's contractor rule is in the Century Code, and on this page we quote it and nothing more: North Dakota law requires a contractor license from the Secretary of State when the cost, value, or price per job exceeds $4,000; the definition covers repair and alteration of buildings and does not name painting. The fact card links to the statute text.
Questions that sort bids
- Which surfaces get primer, and which product?
- Will old caulk be removed or only covered?
- How will bare end grain and sills be treated?
- What's the lowest temperature the paint allows, and what happens if a cold night comes during the job?
- Is cleanup of paint chips included?
The answers explain more of the difference between two prices than the paint brand does. Our pricing guide covers the rest.