The siding job, broken into its parts
Repainting the siding on a house is a bigger undertaking than repainting a room, and its price reflects many separate pieces of work. A painter quoting lap siding in Cape Girardeau, Missouri thinks about the size of the walls, how they'll be reached, how dirty and how damaged the surface is, how much has to be scraped and primed, and how many coats will go on. This page takes those pieces one at a time. No prices appear here, because each house and each crew differs.
Size and height
Painters estimate wall area from measurements or plans, then subtract large openings such as garage doors. Height changes the job more than area does. A single-storey wall can be painted from the ground and a short ladder. Upper walls, gable ends and areas over a porch roof need tall ladders, ladder stabilizers, roof work or scaffolding, and each setup takes time to move around the house. Ask how the painter plans to reach the highest walls.
Washing: the step everything depends on
New paint bonds to clean, dry paint. Siding collects dirt, chalk from aging paint, cobwebs and mildew, especially on shaded walls. Most crews wash with a pressure washer or a low-pressure sprayer and a cleaner, then rinse.
The rinse water itself is worth a thought. Cape Girardeau's 2025 Annual Water Quality Report lists carbonate hardness ranging from 121 to 155 mg/L, from a sample collected January 21, 2025. The city's main water plant is the Cape Rock Treatment Facility, with a capacity of 7.5 million gallons per day; its water passes through aeration, softening/iron removal, disinfection, pH adjustment and filtration, and the 2.8 million gallon per day Ramsey Branch plant runs mainly in the summer months. Those are the city's published figures.
On any job, mineral residue can be left behind where wash water dries on a surface, which is one reason a thorough rinse matters. Ask how the crew rinses, and how long the walls are left to dry before scraping and priming begin. Washing too hard can also drive water behind lap siding or gouge soft wood, so ask what pressure and nozzle they use.
Scraping and sanding
Once the walls are dry, loose and lifting paint comes off. The amount varies hugely: some walls need a few spots, others need most of the old coating removed. Edges are sanded so they don't show through the new paint. This is often the biggest single variable in a siding quote, and the hardest to judge from the ground. Ask the painter to point out which walls need the most scraping and why.
Older coatings
EPA runs the RRP program in states it has not authorized, and Missouri is not on the list of states printed on this page that run their own. If the house is old enough to have lead in its older layers, scraping and sanding are the kind of work the federal program is concerned with. The setup adds cost: ground covers, containment, misting or dust-collecting tools and careful cleanup. Ask how the bid handles it.
Repairs, caulk and primer
- Wood repairs. Split or rotten boards, especially near the ground and under windows, may need replacement before painting.
- Caulk. Gaps at corner boards, window and door trim and butt joints get filled with a paintable caulk. Note that laps between siding boards are generally left open so the wall can shed water.
- Primer. Bare wood, new boards and stained areas need primer. A big color change may call for a full coat of tinted primer.
Coats and product
Most repaints call for one or two finish coats over primed spots, depending on the condition and the color change. The product grade and sheen matter too: a better exterior paint often covers and wears differently. Ask the painter which product, which sheen and how many coats each wall gets, in writing. Our exterior painting page describes the full sequence.
Protecting the property
Covering plants, walks, roofs, windows and the driveway takes time and materials. So does moving outdoor furniture and grills and putting them back. Ask whether that's included.
Quick checklist for comparing siding bids
- The walls included, and how the highest ones are reached.
- The washing method and drying time.
- How much scraping is expected, and how extra scraping is charged.
- Repairs: which boards, and how surprises are handled.
- Caulk, primer and finish product, with the number of coats.
- Containment and cleanup for older paint.
The pricing guide shows how these lines add up into a total.