Peeling paint is a symptom
When paint peels in sheets or curls at the edges, the new coat isn't the expensive part of the fix. The expensive part is everything that has to happen before it: finding why the old paint let go, removing what's loose, and getting the surface back to something new paint can grip. Two houses of the same size can produce very different quotes because one is chalky but sound and the other is lifting off in flakes. This guide explains what a painter prices when the existing paint is failing. It names no figures.
Find the cause first
Peeling usually has a reason, and painting over it without dealing with it means it comes back.
- Moisture from behind pushes paint off wood. It shows up below leaky gutters, under windowsills, at the bottoms of walls and around bathrooms.
- Poor adhesion from painting over dirt, chalk or a glossy surface shows up as large sheets lifting.
- Too many layers of old paint can crack and lift as a stack.
- Incompatible products, such as a water-based coat over an unprepared oil-based gloss, can peel even when the wall is dry.
A careful bidder will look at where the peeling is and tell you what they think is causing it. If the cause is a leak or a gutter, that repair belongs before the paint.
What the rain and wind figures add
NOAA's engineering weather data for Vero Beach, near Sebastian lists a 50-year basic wind speed of 140 mph (3-second gust at 33 feet), a 100-year rainfall rate of 4.5 inches per hour and about 1 freeze-thaw cycles in an average year.
Those are the Vero Beach station's design figures, not Sebastian readings. Their message for a peeling exterior is that the work should concentrate on keeping water out: tight caulk joints, sealed cracks, primed end grain and sound trim. Wind-driven rain tests every one of those spots.
Older paint and the federal rule
EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule requires anyone paid for work that disturbs painted surfaces in homes built before 1978 to use lead-safe work practices; EPA says about three-quarters of U.S. homes built before 1978 still contain some lead-based paint.
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 a peeling exterior is the very definition of disturbing paint. If your house was built before 1978, expect a lead-safe plan in the bid: ground sheeting to catch chips, wet scraping rather than dry, restrictions on power sanding and open-flame removal, daily cleanup and proper disposal. That adds labor and material, and it is part of the job rather than an optional extra. You can ask whether the firm holds RRP certification.
The prep that drives the price
Scraping. Every loose edge has to come off. On a badly peeling wall this is the longest single task.
Feathering. Where scraped areas meet sound paint, the edge is sanded smooth so it doesn't show as a ridge through the new coat. This is slow, careful work.
Spot priming. Bare wood and exposed patches get a primer chosen for the substrate. On some jobs a full prime coat is used instead.
Wood repair. Soft sills, rotted trim ends and split boards need filling or replacement. A painter may handle small epoxy repairs; larger work is carpentry.
Caulking. Split or missing caulk at joints is cut out and replaced.
Washing. All surfaces are cleaned before primer, and allowed to dry.
Topcoat and coats
Once the prep is done, the finish is the more familiar part: a quality exterior product, applied in the number of coats the label and the color change call for. Our exterior painting page covers the product classes.
Reading the quotes
- Did the bidder identify why the paint is peeling?
- Is the scraping and feathering described, and over what areas?
- Is there a full prime coat or spot priming, and with what?
- What wood repair is included, and is there an allowance for more?
- If the home predates 1978, what is the lead-safe plan?
- How many finish coats, and of which product?
For the wider cost factors, see the pricing guide, and for preparation in detail, the surface preparation guide.