Before the color: where the house sits
Most people start a painting project by thinking about color. In Staunton, it's worth starting one step earlier, with the question of where the house sits. The City of Staunton has created five nationally registered Historic Preservation Districts: Gospel Hill, Beverley, The Wharf, Stuart Addition, and Newtown; the Historic Preservation Commission reviews and approves repairs and modifications in the five districts under Section 18.85 of the Staunton City Code.
The commission's role, as the city states it, covers repairs and modifications. A painting job often includes repairs: rotted sills, split clapboards, a porch rail that needs a new baluster. If your home is in one of the districts, read Section 18.85 and settle what it means for your project before the work is scheduled, so a crew isn't left waiting half way through.
A city of many households
Staunton, VA counts 11,309 households in Census QuickFacts for 2020-2024, with 2.14 persons per household. That's a lot of homes, each with its own surfaces, its own paint history and its own repairs waiting under the old coat. No two will scope the same way, and that is why a painter needs to see the house before writing a number.
Repairs come first, paint second
Paint protects wood; it doesn't fix it. When a painter walks a house, the first job is finding the places where paint has failed because the wood under it has. Look for:
- soft wood at the bottom of door casings, on window sills and on porch floors;
- split or cupped boards where water has worked in from behind;
- open joints at corners and around windows;
- loose glazing putty on old wood windows;
- peeling down to bare wood, which usually means moisture rather than bad paint.
Each of those needs a repair before priming. A proposal should say who does it: the painter, a carpenter they bring in, or you. It should also say what happens if the crew uncovers more rot than expected once scraping starts.
Wood siding and trim
On painted wood, preparation decides everything. Loose paint comes off to a firm edge; the edges are feathered so they don't telegraph through the new coat; bare wood is primed the same day if possible. Glossy trim is scuffed so the new coat can grip. Caulk goes in joints that move, not in gaps that should drain. Our exterior painting page goes through each step.
Porches take a beating
Porches are often the hardest-working painted surfaces on a house. Floors take foot traffic, furniture and standing water; steps and rails take weather from every side. A porch floor usually needs a coating made for floors, not wall paint, and it needs to be completely dry before it goes on. Ceilings, rails and columns are slow to paint well because of all the edges. Expect a porch to be priced separately from the walls, and ask how many coats each part gets.
Older paint and lead
Under EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule, anyone paid to do work that disturbs paint in homes, childcare facilities and preschools built before 1978 must hold RRP certification, firms included, even sole proprietorships, and their workers must be trained in lead-safe work practices.
Scraping and sanding disturb paint, so on a pre-1978 house this rule shapes the whole prep stage. Ask whether the firm holds RRP certification, and expect containment on the ground, wet methods and careful cleanup.
Putting a Staunton proposal together
A clear written proposal for an exterior should list:
- every surface and its condition, wall by wall;
- the repairs included and who will do them;
- how loose paint will be removed and contained;
- the primer and finish coats, by product and sheen;
- the schedule, and what happens if repairs or weather delay it.
Our pricing guide explains how repairs, access and coats drive the price, and paint sheens and finishes helps you match a sheen to siding, trim, doors and floors.