Jefferey Pouros
Newly painted white exterior walls and black trim bring clean contrast to the front entrance of architect Kristin von Zweck’s home in Encinitas. Before the professional painters started, von Zweck moved away items that were leaning against the house and protected some nearby planters.
You’re starting to see a little paint peeling or fading on the trim around your sun-drenched doors or chipping on the stucco.
Or you’re ready for an exterior face-lift to complement an interior renovation or new landscaping.
Whatever the reason, you’re ready to paint your house, and that means hiring a professional to do the job. When architect Kristin von Zweck decided it was time to paint her Encinitas home, it was providential that a painter literally showed up at her doorstep.
“The hilarious thing was that he came knocking on my door and it just happened to be at a time in my life when I was thinking about painting my house,” von Zweck recalled. Before the exterior repainting, von Zweck’s house had blue trim that was fading in color, as seen in this front-yard view. But von Zweck didn’t just book a date and hand over money. Before committing, she went online to make sure he had an actual company and was insured, bonded and licensed.
And she signed a contract, which listed the painter’s license and noted that he was bonded. A backyard view of the newly painted exterior walls of Kristin Von Zweck’s Encinitas home.
But there is a lot more to hiring and working with a house painter than practicing self-defense. At the homeowner’s request, the crew painted a shutter to match the newly black trim and incorporate more contrast against the white walls. When it comes to hiring that person, ideally, you’re going to hire a professional who knows the different types of paints suited to different types of surfaces, who can work with homeowners association requirements, if they exist, and who is thorough and skilled in prepping the surfaces ahead of applying paint. And you want someone who shows up when scheduled, has an experienced crew, is careful with your landscaping and lighting, cleans up and properly disposes of trash, and fixes any mistakes. For visual impact, Von Zweck also had the painters add a coat of black to the decorative metal gecko and light fixture on the white stucco wall. So are paint stores and review sites like Angi, Yelp, NextDoor, HomeAdvisor and Houzz.
Carlos Cancino, owner of La Jolla’s CertaPro Painters, emphasized that any person you are considering hiring should give you a written proposal. “It should specify the scope of work as well as the brand and quality and line of paint,” he explained. There should be detailed information about what kind of paint they’re using for windows, doors, siding. I think it’s super important to have crystal clear information about the cost and the scope of work. The fresh white walls and black trim at the von Zweck home serve as a clean backdrop to color-filled flower boxes and garden plants. Cancino said that in his company’s proposal, they request a clear area where they can work.
Move anything that you have leaning against the house, like garden equipment, bikes, or surfboards. “There was a planter bed that’s right up to the house and I didn’t want them to kill anything, so I laid boards over it that they could stand on,” von Zweck said.
According to Cancino, there are high seasons for house painting when you may find a scarcity of painters and higher costs.
