Our House  2010 - Before painting the aluminum siding

Our House 2010 (yes, that’s a 1982 truck – hubby refuses to retire it until he does)

Painting Aluminum Siding – Home Improvement

My husband has been cleaning the aluminum siding the last couple of days. It’s maintenance he does every few years and he’s done it since we moved in here in 1988. It turns out this time he’s planning on painting it because the siding can’t take another washing beyond this one. And that’s when things went south tonight….

You see he planned on painting the same color it’s been for 25 years. To make it worse, he planned on repainting the trim the same Krylite Green it’s been since 1988 as well. And being a woman, I looked at him like he was insane. Who chooses the same color the first time they get the opportunity to change it? Not me!

Oh wait. That’s not fair. It’s not EXACTLY the same. Some time in the 90’s I convinced him to go “crazy” with color and I talked him into painting the door and shutters in a contrasting trim color. Not an easy color to choose with a beige/tan house and glowing green trim. We settled on a nice redwood color instead of the dark brown left over from the previous owners….yep, baby steps.

House 1988 - before painting the door and shutters rust colored. Don't you love the hubby's stach :)

House 1988 – before painting the door and shutters rust colored. Don’t you love the hubby’s stach 🙂

I’ve always wanted a gray house. I don’t know why, I just like them. So I tried to convince him to do it my way. New trim colors and new body color, after all, haven’t I put up with colors I hated for 25 years? Um….yea. He’s not going for it. First because he chose the green and he still loves an and second because he thinks that as long as he paints the same colors the homeowners association won’t have to know about it. Yea, like they won’t notice.

But I suppose since it’ll be him up on the scaffolding on the 3rd floor he should be the one to make the decision. Our house is huge on the outside because it’s a tri-level built into a hill. There are 3 floors, lots of siding, and lots of trim.Still, selfish me wants a color that will attract buyers because after all, at this late stage in our life we really have to design our home for its next owner. Oh, and there’s the homeowners association to deal with.

Washing the Aluminum Siding 2013

Washing the Aluminum Siding 2013 – the hubby washes it by hand with a hose and a brush. A pressure washer is too damaging to the siding. 

Home DIY and Home Improvement are Tough on a Marriage!

Yea, I think my husband may have won the round on the base color because of the homeowners association argument, but I’m going to be pushing for the two new trim colors.

We’re researching tonight on the best paints to use for old aluminum siding. Ours in 35-years old and I can’t wait to see how much better our house looks when it’s got paint on it like real houses :).

Wish us luck during the planning process…here’s hoping our marriage of almost 30 years survives this one.

Have you ever painted aluminum siding? I’d love to hear how it worked out and please tell me we’re not the only ones saddled with this 1970’s eyesore.