The bottom two feet of our exterior siding keeps peeling no matter how many times we repaint. We're in a ground-level townhouse in Burnaby. What's going on and how do we fix it for good?

Recurring paint failure along the bottom of siding is one of the most common exterior painting problems in Metro Vancouver, and it almost always points to a moisture issue rather than a paint quality problem. In a ground-level Burnaby townhouse, there are several likely culprits.

First, check your ground clearance. The BC Building Code requires a minimum 200-millimetre (8-inch) clearance between the ground or any landscaping and the bottom of the siding. If soil, mulch, or concrete is piled up against the siding, moisture wicks up into the wood through capillary action, pushing the paint off from behind. This is extremely common in townhouse complexes where landscaping has been built up over the years.

Second, look at your drainage. If rainwater pools near the foundation or if downspouts discharge too close to the building, the constant splash-back saturates the lower siding. Vancouver's heavy rainfall makes this worse than in drier climates.

Third, check for missing or damaged flashing at the base of the wall. Proper kick-out flashing and a starter strip direct water away from the siding. If these are missing or deteriorated, no amount of repainting will solve the peeling problem.

The fix involves addressing the moisture source first. Clear back any soil or mulch from the siding, ensure proper drainage slope away from the building, and repair or install base flashing. Then the damaged siding should be replaced or treated, primed with a moisture-blocking primer, and painted with a high-quality acrylic that can handle some moisture exposure.

If your townhouse is strata-managed, these exterior repairs typically fall under strata responsibility, so check your bylaws before commissioning work independently.

As a next step, pull back any landscaping touching the bottom of your siding and check whether the wood behind it is soft or discoloured — that will tell you how extensive the moisture damage has become.

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