Painting A House

[jyl]

It is getting about time to paint the house. There are some areas of paint failure on the most exposed side, and I hate the color anyway.

Around here, getting a house this size (3 floors, wood siding) painted can be anywhere from $6K to $45K.

One neighbor did the $6K economy job, this is a Korean guy who had been painting in the neighborhood for years, brings his whole family to do the work, wife does the trim, takes less than a week).

Another neighbor did the $45K full-blown job (professional looking company, multiple nice logo vans parked out front, burn paint off, strip house to bare wood, took two months).

The $45K job looks about 1.5X nicer than the $6K job, is my subjective assessment. And some of that could be down to nicer colors. I don't expect it to last 7X longer.

So my plan is to get the $6K Korean family job. But before they come, I was thinking about first doing full-blown prep (strip to bare wood) on the parts of the exterior that I think I'd notice the most: from head to waist level, near the entrances and at the porch and back patio.

Idea is, I don't think I will care so much if the painted surface is smooth on the second and third floors, or down by the shrubbery; but right in front of my face, there I might care.

I experimented by stripping paint off the garage today. Took about 5 hours to strip and sand 25-30 square feet. I used a heat gun, a sharp pull scraper, an orbital sander. The heat-bubbled paint scraped off pretty easily. At that rate, seems I have about 50-75 man hours of work ahead.

Whaddya think?. Does this plan make any sense?. What would you do?

[john70t]

Treating the first floor the same will blend the entire house a bit better.
I wouldn't go overboard.

Forget the heat gun if you want quick-n-easy.
Unless there are 10 layers of paint with deep gashes in the boards, it won't be necessary.
That old paint has been sticking and sealing great for a very long time.
Leave it alone.
Go with a bigger grit on the sander and be sure to power wash the dust before final.

I hate to ask but: 3 stories + ladder + uninsured = ???

[HardDrive]

Korean family is welcome.....if they are licensed and bonded. Like hell you should let anyone on your property get on a ladder without insurance.

[look 171]

Not sure about the law in OR but in CA, if the owner is doing all the work himself, then he checks the self insured , but if has one workman (family or not), then he must have insurance. Make sure to check it to protect yourself.

I am not if taking it down to bare wood is necessary as long the under layers or primer is in good condition. My painter uses a lil' Makita random orbital sander and 80 grit all the time.

[jyl]

Okay, so no need to reach bare wood unless the paint is seriously failing?

[chapo]

I think you should go with the Korean job, especially being in the Bay Area. It's totally unfair to a struggling Korean family to have to compete with Workers comp laws, con tractors license laws, and insurance. What's the worst that can happen? Those consumer protections put in place by the our elected officials are only for other people.!
Sorry, my 02$

[drcoastline]

Originally Posted by john70t

Treating the first floor the same will blend the entire house a bit better.
I wouldn't go overboard.

Forget the heat gun if you want quick-n-easy.
Unless there are 10 layers of paint with deep gashes in the boards, it won't be necessary.
That old paint has been sticking and sealing great for a very long time.
Leave it alone.
Go with a bigger grit on the sander and be sure to power wash the dust before final.

I hate to ask but: 3 stories + ladder + uninsured = ???

I agree no need to go bare wood if the paint is staying put. Sand it so it has tooth to accept the new paint. Areas that have peeled should be sanded feathered and primed prior to painting.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by jyl

I was thinking about first doing full-blown prep (strip to bare wood) on the parts of the exterior that I think I'd notice the most: from head to waist level, near the entrances and at the porch and back patio.

You are a man after my own heart. I only polish the toes of my shoes and the wax the hood of my car.

[GWN7]

How old is the existing paint? Have you had it tested for lead? Big can of worms to take it back to wood if it's lead paint. Cheaper to go over it with new siding if it is.

[Scuba Steve]

Originally Posted by GWN7

How old is the existing paint? Have you had it tested for lead? Big can of worms to take it back to wood if it's lead paint. Cheaper to go over it with new siding if it is.

Yup. Lead regulations were the reason why the Doninican family was half of the next closest contractor when we had one repainted.

About insurance... since dealing with the crushed roof situation with one of our rentals I'm absolutely sticking with licensed/insured types. Unfortunately insurance does not mean good insurance, and contractor's crappy insurance is why the lawsuits started flying. I'll be amazed if things are settled within a year and a half of the incident, let alone rebuilding the house. As much as that absolutely sucks I couldn't imagine trying to go after someone with no insurance.

[mreid]

In PA, this is the Amish. Great workers, but questionable insurance. As an aside, they can't have electricity and other modern conveniences, so they don't drive and hire "Christian" drivers to pilot their trucks and equipment. However, as soon as the trucks pull up they all jump out and get on their cell phones.

Ask for a copy of their insurance, but make sure you have an umbrella policy.

Also, in the northeast these "permanent house paint" places started popping up several years ago. Here's an example: Ceramic Paint, House Paint, Exterior Paint, Quality Paint, Ceramic Coating, Permanent Paint, Best House Paint, Best Lighthouse Paint

Is this an option or simply more snake oil?

[recycled sixtie]

Originally Posted by GWN7

How old is the existing paint? Have you had it tested for lead? Big can of worms to take it back to wood if it's lead paint. Cheaper to go over it with new siding if it is.

Is yours the kind of neighbourhood where if you had vinyl siding it would stand out too much?If so then stick to painted wood. If not then vinyl siding lasts forever with no surface maintenance required.

In over 30 years with the same vinyl siding this is the first maintenance we had to do after a wind storm. True the vinyl siding does not have the pleasing appearance of wood but no or low maintenance is the norm.

[dad911]

Recycled: No paper under the siding? If so, I'd yank the siding, put up tyvek or insulation board, tape all the seams and re-side the house.

JYL- Don't let anyone burn or sand without testing for lead! My painter won't touch a pre-1978 house.

[jyl]

The house was built in 1911. The most recent paint job was in 2002 or so.

I will test for lead. Not taking it to bare wood will certainly make my life easier.

Suppose I have an area of paint that, while not coming off at all, is alligatored or chipped or cracked. Would I lightly sand, then fill the cracks, then prime and paint? What filler compound do you like.

[GWN7]

You have lead paint. No need to test. My house was built in 1907. I'm putting vinyl on this summer.

1" Styrofoam SM, tyvek wrap and then the vinyl. No need to sand, patch or worry about the lead.

[jyl]

Putting vinyl siding on this house would really harm its value. In this neighborhood, any way.

Every house in this neighborhood was built before 1970 and, I guess, has lead paint. That is true for the majority of close in Portland. They get painted all the same.

I'll chat with my neighbors and see how their painters dealt with the old paint.

[fanaudical]

My method for painting my house (two story, cedar siding) - use quality paint:

- Wait for hot weather in July/August
- Pressure-wash exterior (flat fan from several angles) to find loose paint and clean surface
- Wire brush/scraper in areas of loose paint until feathered back to solid paint
- Let things dry in hot weather for a day
- Apply fresh primer by brush to the exposed wood
- Apply one coat paint with brush to entire house
- Apply second coat with sprayer (multiple angles) to ensure I've driven paint into every crack/seam

Last painted ~13 years ago - still looks good and should survive another few years...

[flatbutt]

Wait...$45k for painting? How big is the house?

[GWN7]

Originally Posted by fanaudical

My method for painting my house (two story, cedar siding) - use quality paint:

- Wait for hot weather in July/August
- Pressure-wash exterior (flat fan from several angles) to find loose paint and clean surface
- Wire brush/scraper in areas of loose paint until feathered back to solid paint
- Let things dry in hot weather for a day
- Apply fresh primer by brush to the exposed wood
- Apply one coat paint with brush to entire house
- Apply second coat with sprayer (multiple angles) to ensure I've driven paint into every crack/seam

Last painted ~13 years ago - still looks good and should survive another few years...

Only thing I would add is scrub with a brush and TSP when washing. And cover ground with big blue tarps to collect any loose paint that comes off.

[jyl]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

Wait...$45k for painting? How big is the house?

That was what one neighbor spent. His house and mine are about the same size. 3K sq ft. But no way I'm spending that much.