House painting in Dobbs Ferry, NY

What a full house painting job covers

House painting usually means one of three things: the exterior, the interior, or both in one project. Exterior work covers siding, trim, windows, doors, porches and sometimes gutters. Interior work covers walls, ceilings, trim and doors room by room. Some homeowners plan both together so the colors work as one scheme and the painter can schedule inside work for rainy days.

Whatever the scope, most of the labor goes into preparation. Paint only lasts as long as the surface under it is clean, sound and dry. On a house in Dobbs Ferry, that often means washing off mildew on the shaded north side, scraping loose paint on the sunny west side, and fixing any soft wood before primer goes on.

Older homes and the river setting

Many homes in the village are decades old, and plenty of them have wood clapboard or shingle siding, tall windows with many trim pieces, and porches with columns and railings. Those details take longer to prep and paint than flat modern siding, and it is normal for an estimate on an older house to reflect that.

Houses facing the Hudson take more sun and wind than houses tucked into the hillside. Paint on those walls may chalk and fade sooner, and caulk joints around windows can open up. A painter who works locally will usually look closely at those elevations and suggest a paint line that holds color well.

• Wood clapboard, cedar shingle and fiber cement siding
• Porches, columns, railings and steps
• Window sashes, casings and sills
• Front doors, shutters and garage doors
• Interior walls, ceilings, trim and doors

Lead-safe work

If the house was built before 1978, ask whether the painter's company is an EPA Lead-Safe Certified firm. Federal rules require it for paid work that disturbs paint in older homes. Lead-safe practice means plastic sheeting on the ground, limits on dry sanding, careful cleanup and safe disposal of chips. It adds some cost and time, and it protects the people living in the house and the soil around it.

What to expect from the estimate

A good written estimate names every surface to be painted, describes the prep, explains how wood repairs will be priced, names the paint brand and product line, gives the number of coats and sets out the payment schedule. If two estimates are far apart, the gap is almost always in prep and repair. Ask each painter to walk you through what they plan to do on the worst wall of the house.

Questions homeowners ask