Height changes the job
A one-storey exterior can mostly be reached from short ladders and the ground. Add a second storey and the job changes: taller ladders, more moving and setting up, often scaffolding or a lift on the highest walls and gables. The paint is the same, but the hours to put it on are not. This guide walks through what drives the price.
Wall area and gables
The total area of siding is the starting point. On a two-storey house, gable ends add tall triangles that are slow to reach. Dormers, bump-outs and bay windows break the walls into small sections, each needing its own setup. A plain box is quicker than a complicated shape of the same size.
Access equipment
Painters reach upper walls with extension ladders, ladder jacks and planks, rolling scaffolding or a lift. Which they choose depends on height, ground slope, landscaping and what sits below the wall: a deck, a roof, a driveway. Scaffolding and lifts may be rented and delivered, which shows up in the price. Ask what equipment each painter plans to use.
Siding type
Smooth lap siding rolls and brushes quickly. Rough-sawn wood, shakes and board-and-batten soak up more paint and need more brushing into grooves. Stucco and masonry take different products and tools. Each type changes material and labor.
Trim, soffits and fascia
On a two-storey house, the fascia and soffits are high and run all the way round. Window trim on the upper floor is reached from ladders one window at a time. Trim is often painted in a contrasting color, which means careful cutting-in against the siding. It's common for trim to take as long as the walls.
NOAA's Coeur d'Alene figures
NOAA's engineering weather data for Coeur d'Alene lists about 44 freeze-thaw cycles in an average year, a 50-year basic wind speed of 90 mph (3-second gust at 33 feet) and a 100-year rainfall rate of 1.0 inch per hour. In an average year at Coeur d'Alene, NOAA counts about 27 hours at 93°F or hotter, no hours with the wet-bulb temperature above 73°F and only about 28 above 67°F: a dry summer climate. Those are the station's figures, as NOAA states them.
They bear on the job two ways. Freeze-thaw cycles work at any joint where water gets behind the paint, so open seams and cracked caulk should be fixed before finish coats. And in dry summer air, paint can dry fast enough to leave lap marks, so crews work in sections, follow the shade and may start early on the hottest days. On a big two-storey wall, keeping a wet edge from top to bottom takes planning, and sometimes an extra painter.
Preparation
Washing, scraping loose paint, sanding edges, priming bare wood and caulking joints all scale with the size of the house and its condition. On upper walls each of those steps happens from a ladder or scaffold, which slows it down. Our exterior painting page describes them in order.
Coats and color
Two finish coats are usual on a repaint, and a strong color change may need a primer coat first. On a large house the extra coat is a big share of the material.
Protecting what's below
Roofs, decks, plants, walkways and cars under the work area are covered. Spraying, if used, needs more masking. That protection is work too.
Questions to compare proposals
- Wall and trim areas included, upper and lower.
- Access equipment planned for the highest walls.
- Preparation steps named, including caulking.
- Product, coats and how the crew will handle hot afternoons.
See our pricing guide for the main cost drivers on any paint job.