Wash it down and let it dry
Dirt, mildew and chalky old paint all stop new paint sticking. We wash the house and give it time to dry — putting paint on a damp wall is how you end up with blisters.
Exterior painting
Exterior house painting in Lakewood Ranch & Sarasota.
Out here an exterior repaint is protection first and looks second. Sun, summer rain, humidity and salt air are working on your walls year round, and the paint is most of what stands between them and the block underneath.
That means the prep matters more than anything. Washing, filling cracks, sealing and priming are what decide whether a finish lasts — and they're the parts you can't see once the job is done.
What's covered
What this work includes.
- Stucco, block and siding
- Trim, soffits, garage doors and front doors
- Gables, arches and decorative detail
- Lanais, pool cages and railings
- HOA communities and multi-property exteriors
How it's done
The work, in order.
Fill the cracks
Little cracks in stucco are normal down here, since the block moves with the heat. We fill and seal them before any color goes on so they don't come back through your new paint.
Seal around the windows and doors
Old caulk pulls away over time, and that's where water gets in. We cut out what's failed and reseal it. It's as much about keeping the house dry as it is about how it looks.
Prime where it's needed
Bare stucco, patched spots and any stains get primed first. Not the whole house out of habit — just where the wall actually needs it.
Paint, with the sun in mind
West and south walls take the worst of the afternoon sun and fade first, so we use coatings rated for it. That's especially true with deeper colors, where one wall going light stands out.
Common problems
What people call us about.
Paint peeling or blistering off stucco
Usually moisture behind the paint, or a coat that went on over a dirty wall. Repainting without sorting out the cause just buys you a couple of years.
Cracks showing up again
The crack got painted over instead of filled. Stucco moves, so a crack that wasn't properly sealed opens right back up along the same line.
Chalk that comes off on your hand
The old paint has broken down in the sun. Nothing new will stick to it until it's washed off properly, and it's the most common reason a repaint fails early around here.
Rust stains running down the wall
More common closer to the water, where salt gets at screws and railings. It needs treating and priming, or it bleeds straight back through the new paint.
What to expect
Timing, and living with the work.
How long it takes
Most houses run a few days to a couple of weeks, depending on size, how many stories, and what shape the walls are in. Weather sets the real pace — we'd rather lose an afternoon to a storm than put paint on a wet wall.
While we're working
Exterior work hardly affects you at all. We need to get around the house, the driveway clear where we're working, and the sprinklers off on whichever side we're on. Keep the windows shut on that side for the day and otherwise carry on as normal.
FAQ
Exterior painting questions.
How often should a Florida house be repainted?
It varies more than people expect — sun exposure, how close you are to the water, the color, and mostly how well the last paint job was prepped. Two houses on the same street can be years apart. We'd rather look at yours than give you a number: chalking, cracks in the stucco and fading on the west side are the things to watch for.
Do you pressure wash before painting?
Always, and then we let it dry properly. Washing isn't just to make it look nice — it takes off the chalk, mildew and salt that stop paint from sticking. Skipping it is the most common reason a repaint doesn't last.
Can you paint during the summer rainy season?
Yes, we just plan around it. We work with the afternoon storms rather than against them and keep an eye on drying time. It costs the odd afternoon, which beats putting paint on a damp wall.
Our community has to approve the color first. Can you help?
Happy to. Most villages around Lakewood Ranch have an approved palette and want the color signed off before work starts, and we can walk you through what yours allows and help you pick something you actually like inside it. Just ask us about the paperwork side and we'll tell you where we can help.
Our promises
What you can hold us to — in writing, on every job.
Written price, held
You get a clear written quote after the walkthrough, and that is the number you pay. Scope changes only ever happen with your say-so, in writing.
Clean at the end of every day
Floors and furniture protected, drips caught, site tidied before we leave — not just on the last day, but every day we're in your home.
Walkthrough before final payment
We walk the finished job together and fix anything you point out before you settle up. The job isn't done until you say it is.
Coatings picked for this climate
Sun, humidity, and salt air decide how long a finish lasts here. We specify weather-rated, low-VOC products chosen for the Gulf Coast, not whatever's cheapest.
Exterior quotes are hard to compare because the preparation is where they differ and it is the part nobody itemizes. Ask us what we would do to your walls before any color goes on — the answer is the quote.
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