Key numbers
103 verified hail storms with stones of 1.5 inches or larger reached El Paso County, which includes Colorado Springs, from 2000 to 2025 in the storm records we keep; the largest measured 4.5 inches (softball size) on July 13, 2011 (NOAA NCEI).
| Hail storms by decade, 2000 to 2025 | 2000s: 35, 2010s: 44, 2020s: 24 Source: Storm library: El Paso County hail history |
|---|---|
| Largest hail | 4.5 in. (softball), July 13, 2011 Source: NOAA NCEI |
| Costliest hail storm | $352.8 million insured losses (2016 dollars), July 28, 2016 Source: RMIIA |
| Up to 10 | One topcoat of paint on properly prepared wood should last four to five years, and two topcoats up to 10 years, per Purdue/USDA Forest Products Lab guidance. Source: Purdue University Cooperative Extension / USDA Forest Products Laboratory, 1988 (revised) |
| 103,000 | EPA's national VOC rule for architectural coatings was estimated to cut VOC emissions by 103,000 megagrams (113,500 tons) per year. Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1998 rule |
A storm counts when the library lists El Paso County among the areas it hit. Each hail size is the storm's largest report, which may have fallen in a neighboring county, and insured losses cover every area the storm hit.
Repaint your Colorado Springs house when the paint stops protecting the siding: when a dark cloth comes away chalky, caulk joints are open, paint is cracking or peeling, or bare wood shows at the trim and bottom edges. Fading alone is cosmetic; the other signs mean water can reach the surface underneath. Because sun is so strong here, the south and west walls usually reach that point first. Catching it while the paint is still sound keeps the job to washing, caulking and coating instead of scraping and wood repair. Integrity Roofing and Painting repaints Colorado Springs homes with Sherwin-Williams and Behr exterior paints.
Five checks you can do in an afternoon
| Check | How | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Chalk | Rub a dark cloth on the south wall | Color on the cloth means the surface is eroding |
| Tape | Press tape on the paint, pull it fast | Paint on the tape means poor adhesion |
| Caulk | Look at joints, corners, window and door trim | Gaps and cracks let water in behind paint |
| Edges | Check bottom courses and board ends | Bare wood or swelling means water is getting in |
| Color | Compare sun side to shade side | Big differences make spot touch-ups show |
If two or more checks fail on a wall, that wall is due. If paint lifts on the tape test across the house, plan for more prep, because new paint will only be as good as the old paint under it.
Read the failure, not just the age
Purdue Extension’s paint-failure bulletin, written with the USDA Forest Products Laboratory, sorts problems by cause. A few of them change what the repaint has to include:
- Moisture blisters come from water moving through the wall: rain, ice dams, leaks or indoor humidity. Fix the moisture source first, or the new paint blisters too.
- Temperature blisters form when fresh paint is heated by direct sun, especially dark colors and thick coats.
- Peeling between coats comes from painting over dirty or chalky paint.
- Cross-grain cracking is paint built up too thick over many repaints; the fix is stripping, not another coat.
More on diagnosis is in peeling and blistering, chalking and fading and mildew on paint and siding.
Colorado Springs timing factors
- Sun. UV at over 6,000 feet erodes paint fastest on south and west walls; see exterior paint in high-altitude UV.
- Hail. A storm can chip paint and expose wood or fiber cement long before the paint would have worn out. Check after every hailstorm, and see Colorado Springs hail damage if you find chips.
- Freeze-thaw. Open caulk and bare edges let water in, which freezes at night and pushes paint off.
- Siding type. Fiber cement holds paint well but needs sealed cut edges; wood needs the most attention. See Hardie board painting and stain vs paint on wood.
- Season. Plan the repaint for weather the paint is rated for; see the best season to paint.
When repainting is not the answer
If boards are soft, swollen or crumbling, paint will not fix them. Rotted trim needs replacing first (rotted exterior trim), and siding that is failing across whole walls may be ready for siding replacement instead of paint.
Get a repaint assessment
Integrity Roofing and Painting is veteran-owned and family-run since 1990, an Owens Corning Platinum Preferred roofing contractor with 650+ Google reviews. See our Colorado Springs painting page, call (719) 488-2800 or book a free walkthrough; we respond the same business day.
Sources: Cassens and Feist, Paint Failure Problems and Their Cure (Purdue NCR-133); Williams, Weathering of Wood (USDA Forest Products Laboratory); Williams, Testing Painted Wood (USDA Forest Products Laboratory); Behr, Premium Plus Exterior Flat Paint No. 4050 data sheet (ASTM D3359 adhesion test); EPA, UV Radiation and Sun Exposure.
