Never Paint your Exterior Black

I am not a NEVER girl.

In fact, I am a never say never girl, but I may have found one exception.  

Never paint new exterior wood black or a dark color.  Your front door in particular...especially if it is south facing.

My plan here at My Soulful Home was to paint the saffron yellow & brick red wooden exterior white with black trim all around the house. 

Where it is red make it black.  Make the yellow white and the white stays white ~ just a fresh coat.  Ahhhh...nice!

A black front door, garage door, window trims & some details.  The rest of the three stories white.

Then I read the fine print on my new wooden garage door and my 5 new wooden windows.  All stated clearly in BOLD letters

"IF YOU PAINT THE SURFACE A DARK COLOR YOU VOID ALL WARRANTIES". 

Now, neither the door or windows were inexpensive.  I needed to rethink my plan, but first I wanted to learn why the paint choice could make such a big difference in the life of the new door & windows and the rest of my wooden house.

Well, all you need to do is stand in the blazing sun in a black outfit to understand the effect a dark color has under the heat of the sun.

Dark colors absorb UV rays causing heat to build.  The heat causes wood to expand.  The expansion causes distortion of the material & components.  Doors & siding warp, windows don't operate well and in most cases any warranty on the product is voided.  Bummer!

Is black the only color to avoid in sun drenched areas ?  Nope.  It is all dark colors with a Light Reflective Value Index of 55% or lower.  Have a look here to learn more about the LRV of colors.

Black is valued at 0% and white at 100%.

Hang on - all is not lost to whites & pastels.

Ok, maybe it isn't a NEVER.  Maybe the title of this post should be...

Don't Paint the Exterior of your House a Dark color Unless....

...but that is kind wordy for a title.

Unless...You live in house like the one Goldilocks discovered deep in the woods - by all means, slather on the jet black paint.  If barely a glint of sunshine beams down on your abode you are probably pretty safe from warping, cracking & distortion.  However, the attorney in me says you'll still be kissing away those warranties.

Unless...the wood is not new with warranties.  If not, go for it!  Use the absolute best quality paint & primer you can afford to protect the wood and enjoy your dark color choice.

This is what I will be doing in the front of the house where the windows & front door are protected by the porch.  Even the second & third story front windows will get a bit of black trim as they are north facing and old as the hills anyway.

Love this porch protected front door of Annie Diamond's at Most Lovely Things.  (not alone it was featured by Design Sponge - soak it up!)

But my new windows in the back & sides will be painted white as well as the garage door.

See really never say "never" - just get informed.

No one told me about the dark paint / voided warranty issue.  I just happened to see it when I was peeling the stickers off the glass of the windows.  The one time I was thankful the stickers were the really annoying kind that don't just peel off, so I had time to read it!  

Then I checked the paperwork on my newly installed garage door.  Same deal - paint it a dark color & you are on your own lady!  

So I thought I would pass what I learned on to you.  Also, I found the Light Reflective Value Index interesting.  That is helpful for inside paint color as well as exterior.   A paints color is not always indicative of the amount of light it reflects.

Paint - nobody said it was easy to choose.  But just like everything else, being informed helps you make better choices. 

If you are gonna blow the warranty you oughta know it!

Ok, who has a dark colored door?

** Kelly **