Why Sunlight Matters More Than Most Homeowners Realize
The sun does the work of enlivening a home’s exterior. Also, it is the key player in the dryness, stability, and overall clean look of surfaces. If large areas of the house are left in shade for great lengths of time by nearby trees, fencing, other buildings, or the home’s orientation—those areas see a very different moisture play than do sunlit areas.
In the absence of regular sun exposure, siding, trim, brick, and other exterior materials will stay wet for great lengths of time after a rain, morning dew, or high humidity. This steady state of dampness changes the way surfaces age, which in turn brings about different colors, textures, and levels of cleanliness. Over time what may appear are areas of the home that are weathered in comparison to the rest even if the materials are in great structural health.
In that which regards the exterior of a home, they see how low light plays a role in which areas of the house seem to collect more buildup and which other areas do not.
Moisture Lingers Longer in Shaded Areas
The first-order result of less sunlight is slower evaporation. After rain or dew sets in at night, which has formed, exposed walls will start to dry out as the temperature goes up. But shaded areas will stay cool and wet much longer.
This occurs because of the heat energy from the sun, which causes evaporation. In its absence, moisture only has what its adjacent air and environment temperature does for drying. If airflow is also an issue, the drying process is even further reduced.
Thus, it is the shaded siding and brick that remain wet for hours at a time as compared to the brighter sections of the home. Also, in some cases areas that are behind shrubs, under roof eaves, or on north-facing walls may completely fail to dry out between humid mornings and cool evenings.
These continuous long moisture cycles create perfect conditions of visible surface change.
How Airflow Limitations Increase the Problem
Lack of sun also goes hand in hand with poor air circulation. They see this in areas that are shaded by trees, dense plantings, or fences or that are surrounded by nearby homes.
Air movement is a factor that causes moisture to be drawn away from materials. Should airflow be limited, water drops and wet air are held near the siding and trim. This creates a microclimate in which moisture is present for long periods of time at corners, under eaves, and behind decorative exterior elements.
Even out of what they think of as durable materials like fiber cement, vinyl, painted wood, and brick, damage is still present. Although they may not see action right away, what they notice is that which parts of the material do not have proper air flow also do not see this issue at the same scale.
In many cases what they see is one side of the home will have a greater buildup of that which is shaded out and still air as compared to the other side.
Surface Changes That Develop Over Time
Long time periods out of the sun don’t typically see immediate damage. Instead, the results are progressive and take to materialize over the course of months or years.
One common issue is that of uneven color. The shaded sides of the structure may go into a state of appearing darker due to that area being wet for long periods, and also they collect fine environmental particles more so. Dust, pollen, and other airborne debris have a tendency to stick to wet surfaces, which in turn produces dry areas or streaks.
Brick will be shown to have the same issues. Mortar joints may gray out unevenly, and in the bottom sections next to the landscaping, they see patchy growth due to moisture issues.
Trim boards and corners are also a special case, which they see often has more joints and edges that act as a surface for moisture to collect at. In these areas they may notice very mild discoloration, water marks, or blotchiness, which stands out on the brighter, sun-exposed parts of the house.
They also report that they put out a search for Liberty Lake house washing for siding and brick, which is a result of shaded areas of the home’s exterior that have begun to really stand out from the rest of the property.
Why Some Materials Show Changes Faster Than Others
Not all exterior materials react the same to reduced sunlight.
- Vinyl siding is the first to show off dirt and dark spots.
- Painted wooden trim can also see inconsistent fade or water marks.
- Brick surfaces see the development of darkened mortar lines and patchy color changes.
- In some dark corners composite trim boards may collect.
Texture does too. What they see is that rough surfaces that have small pores and cracks in them retain moisture better than smooth finishes that do not. This makes the changes more apparent over time.
This is the reason that textured brick, stucco-style panels, and wood-grain siding appear to fare less well in shaded conditions, as do smooth vinyl or metal surfaces.
Corrective Cleaning and Long-Term Maintenance
While light and slow drying is the primary cause of these changes, cleaning in many cases will bring back a more even look.
A thorough pressure washing or soft washing treatment will remove surface buildup that has resulted from prolonged dampness. But what they do is they put out symptoms; they do not address the environmental issues that caused them.
To avoid the same issues in the future, they see to it that they improve airflow by removing some shrubs, thinning out tree branches, or increasing the gap between the siding and the landscaping. Also, small changes in the home’s sun exposure and air movement can greatly reduce drying time.
Over time they see that better drying-out cycles have improved the uniformity of color and finish in sidings, trim, and brick, which in turn better ties the home together.
Final Thoughts
Over time they see that extended shades of no sun take their toll on a home’s exterior. Shaded areas stay wet for greater periods, which in turn see more rapid collection of debris and less air movement. In many cases they note different colored patches forming, visible films of growth, and in some areas the home’s aesthetic age appears to speed up.
By looking at how sunlight, air flow, and moisture interact, they are able to see what causes one side of the house to appear older than the other and what can be done to maintain a more even and attractive exterior.
