Exterior House Painters
near YouEstablished in Amherst NY in 2010, we are a locally owned, family operated residential painting company located near Clarence NY.
Our goal is to empower you to make informed decisions about your home.
We use power tools whenever able, dedicated exterior oil primers, and top quality latex paints to ensure the most durable, longest lasting paint job! Whether its the front of your home, or just the windows and doors, or maybe the whole house? We have the equipment, man power and experience to handle it, on time and with in your budget.
Professional House Painting
Many of the surfaces on the outside of your home are paintable. However some surfaces should not be painted. Speaking with an industry professional can help you determine what should, and should not be painted.
- Gutters & Downspouts
- Exposed foundation
- clap-board siding
- aluminum siding
- wood siding
- stain cedar shake
- paint windows
- We re-glaze windows
- Metal garage doors
- wood garage doors
- exterior entry doors
- Bilco door re-finishing
The reason we no long offer deck services is due to the inability to acquire quality materials that will last longer than 1 year before there is a substantial degradation of the coating.
We don't Paint over dirt
We pressure wash the exterior of your home to remove dirt and dust prior to painting. Contrary to popular belief, paint won't actually penetrate dirt. Instead it will lay on top of it. Which is why we thoroughly wash all surfaces to be painted first.
Scrape, Sand, Prime, Caulk, Paint
Always in that order.
Scraping: We scrape loose pealing paint from siding, windows & frames, soffits, fascia. We remove old failing caulk, chip out old damaged window glazing.
Sanding: We use power sanders when ever possible. Power sanding is much more efficient, and provides a superior job to hand sanding. However sometimes hard to reach areas may require hand sanding. Paint and primer forms a better mechanical bond to sanded surfaces.
Priming: We spot prime exterior bare wood, and bare metal surfaces with dedicated oil primers. Exterior oil primer is superior to latex primers.
Caulking: Whatever old caulking we remove, after the area is primed we re-caulk those areas. We always prime prior to caulking. The reason being that in almost every instance where caulk failed, its due to a lack of primer under the caulk. What happens is the wood gets wet, swells and the latex caulk looses adhesion to the wood. By priming first, the caulk never loses adhesion to the primer which sticks better to bare wood than caulk due to the penetrating properties of primer. Exterior oil primer penetrates barewood much more deeply than latex primer or shellac primers.
Quality House Paints: We always apply 2 full coats of paint. The reason being the first coat of paint acts like a primer, and the second coat of paint provides the needed protection against Buffalo winters. All exterior wood surfaces are always painted with 2 coats of paint.
Prep work is vitally important when it comes to exterior painting projects. A sanded surface will allow paint to have a stronger mechanical bond with the existing surface if its not glossy, sharp and jagged.
However in some cases, such as cedar shake, or aluminum siding, sanding first will damage the substrate. The same is true with clapboard siding as the siding itself will turn to dust as you sand it, forever changing the profile of the siding (bad).
Knowing what to use, and how to prepare the many different siding materials found on the exterior of homes in Western New York, requires extensive experience in the local painting industry in order to avoid causing unintentional damage.
Something to Remember:
At the end of the day, when you re-paint the exterior of your home, the new coating must rely on the adhesion of the existing paint it is going over. If the existing paint is flaking off, bubbling, pealing or otherwise losing adhesion to the substrate whatever primer, or paint you put over it, will rely on the adhesion of the previous coating. This is why prep is vitally important, especially on exterior re-paints.
Affordable Exterior Painters
The cost difference between lesser quality paints, and more expensive paints on most projects is marginal when you consider the savings on labor and longevity. For instance, a good quality paint will cover in 2 coats and last 7-10+ years in WNY. However a lesser quality paint may only last 2-5 years. The savings in labor and longevity out weighs the higher cost of better paint.
So why not use the better quality products for the longevity and best coverage? Good quality house paints are also easier to work with and increase overall efficiency. We continue to use dedicated exterior oil primers on all bare wood surfaces.
Daily Clean up
We clean up at the end of each day. Which includes picking up paint chips by hand, using the vacuum (nicknamed Dino) when ever possible, and sweeping up debris. At the end of each day, we pick up and neatly stack our ladders and equipment somewhere out of the way. This location will deviate so we don't kill your lawn. A clean job site is a safe jobsite for both our painters, and the family that owns the home.
Vinyl siding is paintable
Painting vinyl siding may not always be your best option. It may be cheaper to have a siding company come in and re-side your house instead. (This coming from a Painter!) At the moment -assuming your siding isn't painted, it's maintenance-free. The moment you paint the siding, you turn virtually maintenance-free, cost-free siding into an expensive maintenance item. Not only that, but due to expansion and contraction, it can lead to holidays in the paint job requiring touch-ups.
Also, you're limited on your color selections. Light-colored vinyl siding is chemically different from dark-colored vinyl siding. They're literally two different products. The reason for this has to do with the heat from the sun. If you paint light-colored siding darker, you run the risk of warping the siding, causing irreparable damage. Once it's warped, your only option is to replace it.
Below is an example of warped siding. Don't make this costly mistake!
We had NO involvement with house pictured below!!
Given the increased costs associated with painting exteriors of homes, you can spend thousands of dollars every 7-10 years repainting your siding or spend the money once and just have the house re-sided.
Re-siding the home has other benefits, like housewrap and added insulation behind the siding, leading to lower energy bills. Also, it will allow you to inspect the outer shell of your home and repair any damage that would go unnoticed had you just painted the siding.
But if you still want to paint the vinyl, give us a call. We would be happy to give you a free exterior painting quote. We just want you to be well informed.
We are Professional House Painters
We are not carpenters. I am probably the worst carpenter you will ever meet. But we work with very skilled carpenters and a handyman to handle those aspects of your project that are outside of our scope of expertise. We prefer to not paint over rotted wood. However we also realize that sometimes a rotted window sill isn't in the budget. In such cases we will do our best to weatherproof the area and will advise the homeowner of the needed repairs.
Why is exterior painting so expensive?
Exterior painting often requires the extensive use of extension ladders and scaffolding which carries more risk of injury than interior painting. Also insurance for anything over 2 stories costs substantially more for the Contractor. Exterior paints also cost more due to their need to withstand changing environments and weather. All of which adds to the cost of the job.
How much does it cost to paint exterior of 2000 sq ft house?
That depends. How big is the house? Ranch? Cape? 3 Story? What kind of siding? Age? Lots of questions. For us, it can be anywhere from $7,000-$20,000. Which includes pressure washing, dedicated oil primers, and 2 full coats of paint on all painted surfaces.
How long does it take to paint a 1500 sq ft house exterior?
7-10 days depending on the preparation required. Wood siding with 80 years worth of paint typically requires more work to get the home ready for painting than aluminum siding. Plus the erection of equipment to reach the high parts of your home safely, all requires time.
What is the best time to paint house exterior?
Spring and fall. As long as we have dry weather, and overnight temps are above 50F we can paint outside. When temps drop below 50F condensation can become an issue and lead to premature paint failure. Sure you can paint down to 35F according to the can, doesn't mean you should. In the summer, high tempuratures can cause the paint to flash-dry which can leave an undesired finish among other problems.
Is it necessary to powerwash a house before painting?
Yes. The removal of years worth of dirt from the areas to be painted is required for primer and paint to properly adhere to the underlying surfaces. Contrary to popular belief, paint wont penetrate dirt, but instead lay on top of it. Also pressure washing can aid in the prep stage of the job by loosening/removing pealing paint.
How many coats of paint does the exterior of a house need?
We always do 2 full coats of paint. Plus primer where necessary. This provides the optimum coverage and environmental durability we demand from our exterior coatings.
