Exterior painting
Clapboard, shingle and trim, painted on the dry days
Vermont gives us late spring through early fall. We wash, scrape and prime in May and June, and paint when the weather holds.
Every exterior estimate lists each side of the house, the repairs before paint, the coats and the product. Windows and doors stay usable, and the plants are covered with cloth, not plastic.
The painting year
Book in winter, paint in summer
The usual calendar for a Burlington exterior. The owner edits the dates.
Booking the next season
Visits and written estimates for next summer's exteriors.
Nov-Mar
Washing, scraping and priming
Wet scraping, spot priming and the repairs before paint.
May-Jun
Painting
The dry days, side by side, in the order the plan lists.
Jun-Sep
Touch-ups and walk-through
Final trim work and a walk around the house with you.
Sep-Oct
What is on the estimate
Each side of the house, in order
Washing and scraping
Dirt and mildew washed off, loose paint scraped, with the lead rules applied on houses built before 1978.
Repairs
Soft wood, split trim and open seams replaced or filled before anything is primed.
Priming and caulking
Bare wood primed, joints caulked, with the products named on the estimate.
Finish coats
Two coats, in the colors and sheens on the estimate, brushed into the trim.
About exterior painting
When can you paint outside?
Late May to early October, depending on the weather. We book in winter, and the estimate gives a window, not a promised date.
What if it rains?
We stop and come back on a dry day. The plan lists the order of the sides, so a lost day moves the schedule, not the work.
My house was built before 1978. What changes?
Federal rules apply to paid work that disturbs paint in homes and child-occupied buildings built before 1978: the firm has to be certified by the EPA under its Renovation, Repair and Painting rule, and a certified renovator has to lead the job. Paint in a house of that age is treated as lead paint unless a test says otherwise. The work area is sealed with plastic, paint is wet-scraped or vacuumed rather than dry-sanded, and the floors are cleaned and checked before the room is handed back. Our firm number is listed under Credentials.
Book the summer in winter
A visit now gets you a written estimate and a place in the spring schedule.