A repaint planned around the calendar
Jonesboro is the Craighead County seat, the largest community in northeast Arkansas and a regional center for education, retail, healthcare and industry. Whatever part of town your house is in, an exterior repaint comes down to the same thing: the paint has to go onto clean, sound, dry surfaces, in weather the label allows, and stay there for years.
Most exterior failures people see, such as blistering, peeling at the laps, or a color that chalks off on your hand, start with timing or preparation rather than the paint itself. This page walks through how to plan the job, what the work should look like day by day, and what to expect in a written proposal.
What the airport normals say
NOAA's current climate normals for Jonesboro Municipal Airport average 66.2 days a year with a high of 90°F or more, and give about 3,450.6 heating degree days and 1,994.3 cooling degree days in an average year. Those are the only weather figures on this page, and they come from that station, not from your street.
What they mean for a painter is practical rather than dramatic. Every can of exterior paint lists a range of air and surface temperatures for application and a time to wait before the next coat. A crew working on a wall in direct afternoon sun on one of those hot days can find the siding far warmer than the air, which can make paint dry too fast, show lap marks and lose its grip at the edges. On the cold side, the label's minimum temperature applies overnight as well as at noon, because the film is still forming after the crew leaves.
Questions about scheduling
- Which sides of the house will you paint first, and does that change with the time of year?
- What do you do on a day that turns out too hot, too cold or too wet for the product?
- How long does this product need before a second coat, and before rain?
- Will you work in sections so each wall gets attention while it's in shade?
A painter who has an answer for each of these is planning around the label rather than around a calendar alone.
How the work should unfold
Washing and drying
Siding, trim and soffits should be washed to remove dirt, chalk and mildew, then left to dry before anything else happens. Paint over chalk or grime sticks to the dust, not the house. Ask how long the crew waits after washing before they scrape or prime.
Scraping and sanding
Loose and flaking paint should come off back to a firm edge, and those edges should be feathered so they don't telegraph through the new coat. Glossy areas, such as old door and window trim, should be scuffed so the new paint can grip.
Repairs
Soft wood, split boards and failed caulk are cheaper to fix now than after they've been painted over. A good proposal names them and says whether they're in the price or charged separately. Our exterior painting page covers the usual repairs in more detail.
Priming and caulking
Bare wood, patched spots and stains get primer. Gaps at trim joints and around windows get a paintable sealant once the primer has dried. Caulk that goes on over dirt or into wet joints tends to fail first.
Finish coats
Body color, then trim, then doors and shutters is a common order. Ask how many finish coats each surface gets and how the crew protects plants, walks, windows and fixtures while they work.
What Arkansas's licensing office says
The Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing says a home improvement license from the Contractors Licensing Board is needed for specialty work such as painting on a single-family residence when the project is more than $2,000, including labor and material. That is the state's own wording, shown in the card below with its link. If your project is over that amount, you can ask the painter about it directly; the state's page is the place to read the rule in full.
Reading the proposal
A written proposal is the best tool you have for comparing painters. Look for:
- every surface listed: body, trim, fascia, soffits, doors, shutters, railings;
- the preparation for each, in plain words rather than "prep as needed";
- the primer and finish products by name and sheen;
- how many coats each surface gets;
- repairs, and whether they're priced separately;
- cleanup, and what happens to leftover paint;
- a payment schedule tied to work done.
If one bid is far lower than the others, the gap is often in the preparation lines. Our pricing guide explains the usual cost drivers, and the sheens guide helps you choose finishes for siding and trim.
Before the crew leaves
Walk the house with the crew lead in good light. Look for thin spots at the trim edges, drips on sills, paint on glass and hardware, and missed spots behind downspouts. Keep a note of the product names and colors, and ask for a labeled can of each for touch-ups.