Another curious Barbadian tradition has become entrenched across a generation. It is not a tradition that any human wants. But it has been forced on us. This tradition spoils the beauty of our communities and ensures that houses become dilapidated within a generation. The tradition is to leave masonry-walled houses unpainted.
Our bodies have a waterproof skin to protect our organ systems. Those systems include: (i) circulatory comprising the heart, arteries and veins, (ii) digestive including the throat, stomach and intestines, (iii) nervous including the brain and nerves, (iv) muscular including the skeleton, muscles and tendons, (v) respiratory including lungs and (vi) renal including kidneys.
Our masonry buildings also have systems that need protecting. They include: (i) structural comprising concrete and steel reinforcement, (ii) electrical including pipes and cables, (iii) plumbing including pipes, faucets and sinks, (iv) communication including pipes and cables and (v) ventilation including windows. They may also include air-conditioning and security systems. If not protected from moisture, they may degrade prematurely.
BUILDING’S SKIN.
Once a masonry house is built, its systems should be protected by painting the plastered exterior walls with a waterproof paint. This is the skin of the building. If this is not done, rainwater may penetrate the porous and cracked mortar plaster and be absorbed by concrete blocks, which may lead to: (i) dampness and mould in the interior, (ii) moisture in the electrical and communication pipes, (iii) termite infestation and (iv) corrosion of the steel reinforcement which normally results in cracked walls.
The mortar plaster typically has cracks if excessive water was used in the sand-cement mortar mixture. When the wet mixture dries, it shrinks and small cracks normally appear. An examination of any plastered wall in Barbados will likely reveal many of these shrinkage cracks.
ENFORCING PENALTIES.
All Barbadian homeowners want to paint the exterior walls of their houses, but if they do, they will be heavily fined through a significant increase in their land taxes. The maximum land tax demanded is $60,000 (US$30,000) each year. The more beautiful and spacious the house, the higher the tax demanded, because the tax is not calculated on the cost of construction, but the market value – what a buyer is willing to pay for it. In some residential developments, paying a $20,000 tax each year, for the privilege of living in your own mortgaged house for that year, is outrageously normal.
To force compliance, the Commissioner may sell the land by public auction to recover the tax due if the land tax has not been paid within approximately five months of the date of the annual Tax Demand Notice for that year (Land Tax Act, CAP 78A, Section 34). This dangerous law is not a vestige of colonialism. Rather, it is something that we devised after our Independence – which only harms ourselves. It seems to violate our Constitutional right to property since that property can so easily be taken away.
AN ECONOMICAL SOLUTION.
Barbadians tend to want beautiful, spacious and well-ventilated homes in our relatively hot tropical climate. However, high Land Tax is a penalty for those who dare to dream big and accomplish their dreams. Barbadians who cannot afford to pay heavy land fines every year are forced to leave their houses unpainted and unfinished – a common sight around Barbados. Tragically, they risk leaving their houses vulnerable to: (i) premature degradation, (ii) excessive maintenance and (iii) an unhealthy damp internal environment which may lead to and worsen respiratory ailments like asthma.
To significantly reduce these risks without attracting an excessive land tax demand, the external walls may be sealed in a manner that does not change their unfinished appearance. This may be done by cleaning the walls by power washing and then applying an SBR slurry to seal small cracks and waterproof the surface. SBR (Styrene-butadiene rubber) is a synthetic rubber that may be purchased at paint stores.
PROTECTING YOUR INVESTMENT.
The SBR slurry mixture by volume is: 1 SBR to 1 Water to 5 Cement. The water and cement should be mixed first, then SBR should be mixed in using hand (not motorised) equipment to prevent overmixing. The mixture should then be brushed (1 mm thick) on the cleaned walls. Since it dries quickly, only quantities that may be brushed on within 10 minutes should be prepared at any one time.
Modern Barbadian houses are so expensive to build that 30-year mortgages are normally required to fund their construction. That investment is at risk if the building systems are not protected. Those who regularly paint the exterior walls of their houses are heavily fined for responsibly protecting their investments. Those who never painted their houses avoided the heavy fines, but their investment will give them very low returns. Waterproofing exterior walls with an SBR slurry is an economical and effective way of protecting the investment while avoiding the heavy fines.
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