No local weather figures on this page
Many of our city pages quote NOAA weather station data. For Lakeland we don't publish any, so this page doesn't describe the local climate. Instead it focuses on two things every painting job in the city shares with jobs anywhere: getting surfaces genuinely ready, and handling old paint correctly.
Dry before you paint
Paint is a poor cure for a wet wall. When a pipe leaks, a window lets water in or a roof drips onto a ceiling, the stain is usually the first thing a homeowner wants gone. Painting over it too soon tends to bring the stain back, or worse, traps moisture behind a film that later bubbles and peels.
EPA advises drying water-damaged areas and items within 24 to 48 hours to prevent mold growth. That advice is about mold, not paint, but it sets the order of work: stop the leak, dry the area, and only then think about color.
Once the cause is fixed and the area is dry, a painter's job typically looks like this:
- cut out and replace any drywall or trim that stayed soft, crumbled or swelled;
- clean the surface and let it dry fully;
- seal the old water stain with a stain-blocking primer so it doesn't bleed through;
- patch, sand and prime any repairs;
- then apply the finish coats, carried to a corner or edge so the repair doesn't show.
Our surface preparation guide explains each of these steps in more detail.
Paint in homes built before 1978
EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule covers paid work that disturbs paint in homes built before 1978, the year the federal government banned lead-based paint for homes; EPA says about three-quarters of U.S. homes built before 1978 still contain some lead-based paint.
The words to notice are "disturbs paint." Rolling a fresh coat over an intact wall isn't the issue. Scraping, sanding, cutting out a damaged section of wall or removing trim is. If your house was built before 1978, a painter doing that kind of prep should be planning containment: plastic sheeting, no dry sanding of old paint, and a careful cleanup at the end of each day. Ask how they will handle it before the job starts, not after.
Interior projects worth doing well
- Ceilings show every flaw under raking light. A flat finish hides more than a sheen.
- Kitchens and baths need a finish that tolerates steam and scrubbing; our sheens guide compares the options.
- Trim and doors are slow, detailed brush work, and they take a lot of wear, so a harder enamel is often used.
- Cabinets are a project of their own. Degreasing, sanding and the right primer matter more than the color. The cabinet painting page walks through it.
Outside the house
Exterior paint fails first at edges and joints: window sills, the bottoms of doors, the ends of trim boards and anywhere water sits. A quote for an exterior job should say how those spots will be scraped, filled, caulked and primed. Decks and fences are a separate kind of job, usually with stain rather than paint; see deck and fence staining.
What Florida's sources say
Florida's Department of Business and Professional Regulation lists paint and wallpaper among examples of work that do not require state licensure. Florida law also lists painting among job scopes for which a local government may not require a license (Florida Statutes s. 489.117(4)(a)). We quote both as their sources word them and draw nothing more from them.
When water damage is involved, painting is often the last step after other repairs. Ask each person you hire to describe in writing exactly what part of the work they will do.
Before you sign
- What is included: walls, ceilings, trim, doors, closets?
- If there was a leak, how will you confirm the area is dry, and how will you block the stain?
- If the home was built before 1978, how will you contain and clean up any disturbed paint?
- What primer and finish will you use, and how many coats?
- Will you show me proof of liability coverage?
The pricing guide explains what moves the cost of a job, and the interior painting page covers the work itself.