Painting Roofs White

IN 2009 I wrote about the value of painting roofs *white*, which would cool the interior of the house, by reflecting light and not absorbing the light as thermal energy (heat). I also mentioned that the colour didn't have to be white, as long as a heat reflective coating was used.
Well, it has been two years, and we finally found a client who wanted their roof painted in a heat reflective roof paint. We choose to go with the Dulux Infracool Roof Paint, and the colour chosen by the client is Colourbond Monument (a dark colour). It will be a real test to see how effective the Infracool Paint is... The client told us that the attic was not habitable in summer because the space got so hot. We are confident that with the cool roof paint, the attic will be up to five degrees cooler.
The picture at left shows the cleaning process in December 2011: the cement render tiles were cleaned with a high pressure wash, and mould was treated with bleach.
December turned out to be the wettest and coldest "december" since 1060, so we haven't had a chance to apply the new Infracool. We plan to do this in January 2012, when we resume after the Christmas break. This is a work in progress...

Painting Problems

Cracks, Peeling Paint and Water Damage

We are very pleased to finally get some frequently asked questions information up on the website...

For more information, go to www.meninwhite.com.au

Cracks are caused by movement in the material that is painted. Commonly, the crack occurrs in the weakest part of the object, eg between pieces of timber in windows and doors, and between the ceiling and the wall. We can make cracks dissappear by 'caulking' with a flexible sealant like no-more-gaps, and in some cases a flexible cement based filler. We can't guarantee that the crack will not reappear sometime in the future.

PeelingPaint: oftern occurs in old houses that are painted in Kalsomine, which was commonly used on ceilings and walls up to the 1950's. Kalsomine is an organic material derived from milk, and with age, its adhesion can fail, especially under a coating of quality acrylic paint. The loose material and Kalsomine needs to be removed, sealed and filled.

Water Damage: this is the hardest problem, as the source of the leak needs to be fixed before repainting. Water usually enters a house from the bottom up (rising damp in old masonry buildings) and from the top down (from blocked gutters, and holes around the roof). Once the source of water has been fixed, we can remove the water damaged paint and materials, seal and make good!

Idea Paint Sydney

Men in White has been the Approved Installer of Idea Paint since April 2011. This means that Men in White is guaranteed by the Australian supplier of Idea Paint - Baresque.

Rohan Calvert spoke at the recent Council of Educational Facility Planners International (CEFPI) 2011 International Congress Conference held in Sydney in June. Rohan spoke about Idea Paint and the value in being able to draw directly on Idea Paint walls.

A recent successful project was a three level fit out for the NSW Department of Education and Training offices in Redfern. It involved 900 square metres of Idea Paint, of which half were curved walls and would not have supported conventional flat white boards. The specifying architect was KannFinch.