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Our ProcessWhen a paint job fails early, look at the prep first. It was skipped, or it was rushed. That’s where most of our project time goes.
Why Prep
It won’t hold to dirt, to old gloss or to wood that’s breaking down. Why does prep take 70 to 80% of our time? Because that’s where a paint job succeeds or fails. See what drives project cost.
The Six Steps
DataSix stepsPrep 70 to 80% of project timeWritten workmanship warranty
We check the condition of every surface, photograph it and test adhesion per ASTM D3359. On a pre-1978 house we screen for lead paint.
Scope, product specifications, timeline, and a payment schedule tied to milestones, with the down payment capped at 10% or $1,000, whichever is less.
We paint sample boards with the products we specified and look at them in the rooms where they’ll go. A chip under store fluorescents tells you very little.
PDCA Level 5 means a full skim coat, then sanding. That takes out the flashing and shadowing you’d see under raking light. It’s 70 to 80% of project time.
The technique follows the surface. Vapor-permeable coatings on stucco, moisture-mitigating primers on Eichler radiant slabs, period-appropriate methods on Spanish Revival.
We walk the job with you, finish the punch list, photograph the work and hand over the written workmanship warranty.
Application
A stucco wall, an Eichler slab and a Spanish Revival facade each fail in their own way, and each gets its own method.
Stucco
Vapor-permeable coatings
Stucco has to breathe. Paint that won’t let vapor through traps moisture in the wall, and the result is blistering, efflorescence and early failure. We specify coatings with the right vapor permeability for California’s climate zones.
How long a stucco repaint lasts depends on exposure, surface prep, the coating and upkeep.
Eichler Homes
Moisture-mitigating primers
Radiant slabs carry moisture. Moisture coming up through a radiant-heat slab can lift the coating on floors and lower walls.
We use moisture-mitigating primers and breathable systems there. We learned that in the Palo Alto Eichler tracts.
Spanish Revival
Period-appropriate methods
Old materials, old methods. Textured stucco, terracotta and wood on Spanish Revival and Mediterranean houses call for period-appropriate methods.
We match the textures, specify compatible coatings and keep the character of the house.
Environmental Requirements
50 to 95 °F
The range a coating needs to cure. Below 50°F many won’t coalesce. Above 95°F they skin over before they level.
< 80%
Above it, paint foams, sags and cures slowly. We check relative humidity on site and stop painting when it moves out of range.
2 hr
Typical between latex coats. Oil enamels like FPE Hollandlac need 14 to 21 days to cure before they’re in service.
We’ll tell you in writing what the house needs, how long it will take and what it will cost.
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