Exterior Painting in Alpharetta, GA
Exterior repaints in Alpharetta mostly land on 1980s and 90s houses with brick or stone fronts and lap siding everywhere else. That siding might be hardboard, cedar or early fiber cement, and some homes carry stucco, so the first step is knowing what you have. Around Windward, the back of the house facing the lake or a slope often needs the most attention. In Alpharetta Estates, expect more eave and sill repair on the older wood-sided ranches.
Fulton County · Alpharetta, GA
Exterior Painting for Alpharetta homes
The bulk of Alpharetta's houses went up between the early 1980s and the early 2000s. Windward, the Mobil-developed lake community that began selling in 1983, is the clearest example: 44 neighborhoods in a variety of styles around Lake Windward, many on sloped lots with full daylight basements, some still unfinished and stubbed for a bath. Fronts tend to be brick or stone, with hardboard, cedar or early fiber-cement lap on the sides and rear, and some later homes in the area were clad in synthetic or three-coat stucco. Older still is Alpharetta Estates, built roughly 1972 to 1982 on large wooded lots near downtown, where the ranches carry four or five decades of wear. Downtown keeps a handful of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century homes, from Greek Revival to the 1912 Queen Anne Mansell House, with clapboard and old plaster. The newest stock is the townhome and condo infill around Avalon and City Center, where the work is mostly interior: paint, flooring and finish upgrades.
Areas we work in Alpharetta
- Windward
- The Spinnakers at Windward
- Alpharetta Estates
- Downtown Alpharetta
- Avalon
Near Avalon, Wills Park, Big Creek Greenway and across the rest of Alpharetta.
Recent exterior painting work
Exterior Painting on Alpharetta houses
Most Alpharetta exteriors are the mixed-material houses of the 1980s and 90s: brick or stone on the front, lap siding on the sides and back, and wood trim everywhere. On Windward's lake lots and wooded streets, the shaded walls stay damp and grow mildew, and the back elevation facing the water or a slope is usually the one in the worst shape. The lap siding on these houses can be hardboard, cedar or early fiber cement, and each one takes paint differently. Some homes carry synthetic or three-coat stucco instead, which needs its own repair and coating. The older ranches in Alpharetta Estates tend to be simpler wood-sided houses with more rot at the eaves and sills after four or five decades.
What usually gets missed
Back walls and lower courses are where the trouble hides. A painter working from the front of a sloped lot can miss that the rear elevation, three stories tall over a daylight basement, has swollen hardboard and soft trim at the bottom. On stucco, fresh paint over a crack around a window can hide water getting behind the cladding. We walk every elevation, including the basement level, and probe the bottom boards and window corners before pricing anything.
On a Alpharetta job we check
- Walk the rear and basement-level walls, not just the street side
- Identify each siding type: hardboard, cedar, fiber cement or stucco
- Probe window corners and bottom courses for soft or swollen material
What the job actually involves
Exterior paint fails from the outside in: sun, rain, mildew and wood that moves. In west Georgia the work is mostly about drying the house out, stripping what has lifted and sealing every joint before a drop of finish goes on.
We use exterior acrylic paint rated for sun and moisture, an exterior primer on bare or repaired wood, and elastomeric or high-quality paintable caulk at joints, because the caulk and primer do most of the work keeping water out in a humid climate.
How we run a exterior painting job in Alpharetta
- 1
Inspect for rot, moisture and failing paint
We probe soft spots in trim, fascia, sills and the bottoms of siding boards, check caulk lines and look at where gutters have been overflowing. Rot gets replaced or repaired before painting. Painting over it just hides it for a season.
- 2
Wash the house
Mildew, pollen film and chalking are washed off with a low-pressure rinse and a cleaner. High pressure drives water behind siding, so we avoid it on wood. The house then needs to dry fully, often a day or more in summer humidity.
- 3
Scrape, sand and spot-prime
Loose and peeling paint is scraped back to a sound edge and feathered by sanding. Bare wood and patched areas get an exterior primer. On older homes, lead-safe work practices apply to paint disturbed before 1978.
- 4
Caulk and repair
Gaps at trim, corners and window and door casings are caulked with a paintable exterior sealant. Nail holes and splits are filled. We do not caulk the bottom of lap siding, which has to breathe.
- 5
Paint in the right weather
Two coats go on, brushed and rolled or sprayed and back-rolled, with trim last. We watch the forecast and the sun. Painting in direct heat makes paint dry too fast, and painting before the dew burns off or ahead of rain ruins the film.
- 6
Final walkthrough and cleanup
We check for holidays, drips and missed spots, remove masking, and clean the yard and driveway of debris. Plants and shrubs that were covered are uncovered.
What moves the price
We will not quote Alpharetta blind over the phone — these are the things we look at on site that decide the number.
- Size and height of the house. Two-story homes and steep gables need ladders or lifts and take more labor.
- Siding material: wood, fiber cement, brick, vinyl and stucco each need different prep and paint.
- Rot repair. Replacing trim boards and fascia adds carpentry before any painting happens.
- Condition of the existing paint. Heavy peeling or many layers means more scraping and sanding.
- How much gets painted: body only, or trim, soffits, shutters, doors, garage door and railings too.
- Access issues such as dense landscaping, slopes or close neighbors that affect staging and masking.
From a exterior painting customer
“The entire inside of my home was gutted and remodeled. … When the home would give us unexpected surprises, Dan would calm me down and give me several options. … The workmanship is impeccable!!”
Whole-interior remodel, exterior trim
Want a real number for your Alpharetta exterior painting job?
The only way to price it honestly is to see it. We come out, walk the job and put it in writing — free, and with no obligation to book.
Call and we answer 24/7. Forms sent during the day get a call back the same day.
Exterior Painting in Alpharetta — questions we get asked
- What time of year is best to paint a house exterior in Georgia?
- Spring and fall, when it is mild and dry. Summer works too if we paint the shaded sides in the afternoon and the sunny sides early, but heat shortens drying time and storms interrupt. Pollen season in spring can dust wet paint, so we wash and schedule around the worst days.
- How long does exterior painting take?
- A typical house takes several days to over a week, counting washing, drying time, repair and two coats. Weather can add days. We tell you plainly when rain pushes the schedule.
- Will painting disrupt my day?
- Some. There are ladders, noise from scraping and sometimes spraying, and we may ask you to park elsewhere or keep windows shut. We do not need you to leave the house, and we keep people and pets away from wet areas.
- How long will the paint last?
- It depends on prep, the surface and how much sun that side of the house gets. South and west walls wear fastest. Good prep matters more than the brand of paint.
- Do you fix rotted wood before painting?
- Yes. We replace or repair rotted trim and fascia first, and we point out hidden damage we find so you can decide. Rot that keeps getting wet will fail again unless the water source is fixed.
Planning exterior painting? Start here
- Choosing a house color around what you can't change A color does not live on the swatch, it lives on your house next to the roof, brick, and stone you are keeping. Name those first and the choice gets easier.
- What 'licensed' really means for a painter in Georgia Georgia does not license painters, so 'licensed' tells you little. The real protections are insurance you verify yourself, a registered business, and references.
- Does curb appeal actually pay off at resale? There is no reliable dollar figure for what paint adds. What a clean exterior really does is get the house seen and remove the neglect discount.
More in Alpharetta
Fulton County housing, neighborhoods and what we do there.
Painting & remodeling in Alpharetta →Other work in Alpharetta
- Interior Painting in Alpharetta
- Cabinet Painting & Refinishing in Alpharetta
- Deck & Fence Staining in Alpharetta
- Commercial Painting in Alpharetta
- Drywall Repair & Patching in Alpharetta
- Kitchen Remodeling in Alpharetta
- Bathroom Remodeling in Alpharetta
- Basement Finishing in Alpharetta
- Deck & Porch Building in Alpharetta
- Siding Replacement in Alpharetta
- Flooring Installation in Alpharetta
Prefer to talk it through? Dan picks up.
(470) 419-0922