Height changes everything
A single-storey house can be painted from the ground and short ladders. Add a second floor and the job changes: extension ladders that have to be moved and re-footed every few feet, planks or pump jacks, sometimes a lift. Gables at the peak, dormers and trim above a porch roof each need their own setup. A painter's price for a taller house reflects that time, and it's often where bids differ most.
Access, wall by wall
When you read a proposal, look for how the painter plans to reach:
- the upper walls on each side, especially above slopes, decks or plantings;
- gable ends and the trim at the peak;
- soffits and fascia at the roofline;
- second-floor windows and their trim;
- anything above a porch roof or bay window.
Ask what equipment each side needs and whether a lift rental is in the price or extra.
Prep from top to bottom
Preparation on a tall house takes as much reach as painting does. Washing, scraping, sanding and caulking at the roofline all mean climbing. A typical sequence:
- wash the house and let it dry;
- scrape loose paint and sand the edges smooth;
- repair or replace soft wood;
- prime bare wood and repairs;
- caulk the joints that should be sealed;
- apply finish coats, usually the body first, then trim.
A proposal that lists each step for the whole house, not just the walls visible from the yard, is easier to compare.
La Crosse station figures
NOAA's engineering weather data for La Crosse lists a 50-year basic wind speed of 90 mph (3-second gust at 33 feet), a 100-year rainfall rate of 3.0 inches per hour and about 61 freeze-thaw cycles in an average year.
These are design values used by engineers, not forecasts. For a painter they point to two things in general. Upper walls and gables take the most wind-driven rain, so sound paint and well-sealed joints up high matter. And freeze-thaw cycles work on any water that gets behind paint, so failures often begin under the eaves and along the bottom edges of boards. Wind matters on the day too: spraying is hard to control in a breeze, and ladders and lifts have their own limits.
Rot found up high
Fascia, rake boards and upper window sills are hard to judge from the ground, and painters often find soft wood once they're up there. Ask how repairs found mid-job will be priced: a per-piece rate, time and materials, or a change order you approve first. Settling that before the ladders go up avoids surprises.
Paint, color and coats
A color change, especially dark to light, can need an extra coat over the whole body. More than one trim color adds brush time and more ladder moves. Ask how many coats each surface gets and which products are named. Our exterior painting page covers siding types and coatings.
Older paint at height
Scraping a tall house sends chips a long way. 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. If the house was built before 1978, ask the painter whether the firm holds RRP certification and how ground covers and cleanup will reach as far as the chips fall. That work takes time and materials, and it's part of a fair comparison.
Weather days
A full exterior on a taller house can keep a crew busy for many days, and the paint needs the conditions on its label for each of them. Ask how weather days are handled, whether you're charged for a crew sent home, and in what order the sides will be done.
Comparing bids
- Same sides, same trim, same number of colors?
- Access equipment named and included?
- Each prep step listed?
- Repairs priced the same way?
- Lead-safe steps included where needed?
The pricing guide has the wider list.