Protection that honours the architecture.

Coatings need surface and air temperatures inside the manufacturer stated range for the full cure window, not only at the moment of application. In the Okanagan that usually means late spring through early autumn, with attention to overnight temperature drops at both ends of the season and to direct afternoon sun on south and west elevations.

Service life depends on substrate, exposure, previous coatings, colour, and preparation far more than on the product name. South and west elevations, unshaded lake-facing walls, and horizontal surfaces weather faster than sheltered elevations on the same house, so a single number for the whole building is misleading.

It depends on what is already on the wood and how the material is meant to look. Penetrating stains keep grain visible and tend to weather by fading rather than peeling, which makes recoating simpler. Paint gives a broader colour range and a film that hides more, but it requires more preparation when it eventually fails.

Washing, scraping and sanding failed coating, treating bare and weathered wood, addressing rot and open joints, caulking where it belongs and deliberately not caulking where drainage is needed, spot priming, and masking. Preparation is normally the longest phase of an exterior project.

Coating over a failing layer transfers the failure to the new finish. Where adhesion has already been lost, that material has to come off first. Sound, well-adhered coating can usually stay once it is cleaned, dulled, and spot primed.