Sabatini 
Exterior Painting That Survives a Pennsylvania Winter
Wood, stucco, aluminum and vinyl. Washed, scraped and primed before a drop of finish goes on, and priced by elevation so you can see exactly what each side costs.
Around here, paint does not wear out. It gets pushed off.
Almost every failed exterior we get called to look at failed for one of these four reasons, and all four are prep problems rather than paint problems.
Freeze and thaw, over and over
Water gets behind a coating in November, freezes, expands and lifts it. By spring you have a blister. This is why a September repaint over damp wood fails faster than the same work done in June.
The south and west walls go first
They take the most sun and the most weather. It is normal for one elevation of a house to be chalky and cracked while the north side still looks fine, and it is why we price by elevation instead of by the whole house.
Latex over cured oil trim
A lot of the older Main Line and borough homes have oil-based trim underneath. Put latex straight over it without the right prep and it will peel off in sheets, sometimes within a year. Knowing what is under there is most of the job.
Failed caulk nobody looked at
Open joints at trim, windows and corner boards let water in behind everything else. Paint over that and you have sealed the problem in rather than fixed it.
What we paint outside
Wood siding and cedar shake
Scraped, sanded, spot-primed and coated. Bare wood always gets primed, no exceptions.
Stucco
Common through Chester County and out the Main Line. Cracks get addressed before coating, and stucco needs a breathable system rather than whatever is on the shelf.
Aluminum and vinyl siding
Yes, and painted properly it looks like new siding for a fraction of replacement. On aluminum the method matters: a strong power wash to take off all the chalk, then two coats of a high quality 100% acrylic latex. Skip the wash and the chalk takes your paint off with it.
Trim, fascia and soffits
The parts that fail first and get skipped most. This is where we find the rot.
Doors, shutters and garage doors
Sprayed for a finish without brush marks, which is what people notice from the street.
Porches, railings and decks
Horizontal surfaces take the worst of it and need a different system than siding does.
How an exterior job runs
Four of these six steps happen before any finish coat goes on. That ratio is the job.
We walk the whole exterior with you
All four sides, up close. We are looking for soft wood, failed caulk, chalking and where water is actually getting in, not just what looks tired from the driveway.
You get the price in writing, by elevation
Broken out so you can do the front and the weather side now and the rest next year if that is what the budget wants.
Wash first
Dirt, chalk and mildew come off before anything else happens. Paint does not stick to a dirty house, and this step is the one most often skipped.
Scrape, sand, and make repairs
Loose paint comes off, edges get feathered, rotten trim gets replaced rather than painted over, and every open joint gets caulked.
Prime the bare spots, then coat
Bare wood and rust spots get primed. Then the finish coats, applied in the right conditions rather than the convenient ones.
The crew walks it, then your crew leader walks it with you
The crew goes around the house first and fixes what they find. Then your crew leader walks it with you, elevation by elevation, and we correct whatever you point at.
When we can actually paint your house
- April through October is the windowMost exterior coatings need surface temperatures above roughly 50 degrees and a dry surface. That is the honest season in this part of Pennsylvania.
- The shoulder months are workable, with careEarly spring and late fall are fine on the right days. It means watching dew point and quitting earlier in the afternoon, not pushing through and hoping.
- We will tell you to waitIf the wood is wet or the week looks wrong, we would rather move you than put a coating down that fails in eighteen months.
What moves the price
How much scraping there is
This is the whole ballgame on an exterior. A house with sound paint is quick. A house that has been peeling for three years is mostly labor before a drop of paint goes on.
Height and access
A two-story colonial, a three-story twin and a house on a slope are different jobs. Staging and ladder work drive more of the price than square footage does.
How much trim and detail
Shutters, corner boards, dentil molding, window sashes and railings are all slow, hand-worked surfaces.
Repairs found along the way
Rotten fascia or a soft window sill has to be replaced, not painted. We look for it before we quote so it is in the number from the start.
Exterior jobs, start to finish
Real houses in Bryn Mawr, Newtown Square, West Chester, Malvern and Chester Springs.
Exterior House Painting in Bryn Mawr, PA
A Bryn Mawr homeowner, referred by her handyman, needed her home's exterior brought back to life, dormer carpentry repairs, a full wash, and...
Exterior Stucco Painting in Newtown Square, PA
When a rushed DIY paint job failed across an entire stucco home, Sabatini Pro Painting stripped it back, primed it right, and recoated it,...
Exterior Siding & Trim Repaint in West Chester, PA
After a siding contractor botched their project with the wrong materials, this West Chester couple wanted a company that truly knew what it...
Exterior House Painting in Malvern, PA
This Malvern home had not had its exterior painted in about 20 years, and the paint was peeling badly, especially where a shed had sat...
Interior & Exterior Window Painting in Chester Springs, PA
A Chester Springs homeowner whose windows hadn't been painted in 15 years wanted the job done to last. We prepped every interior and exterior...
What homeowners say
"If you want your home painted with the same care you'd give it yourself, I highly recommend them. They truly take pride in their work."
"Very pleased. We recently purchased a home in the area and they took great care of it."
"Our full condo was painted. Very responsive, and even when there was a problem they were quick to solve it."
"Professional, friendly and prompt. They did a wonderful job."
"We are Realtors and have worked with Rick and his team multiple times."
"They did the crown molding and painted the living room, dining room and upstairs hallway. Great work."
Where we work
Every color below is a town we have actually worked in, sized by how much we have done there since 2020.
Questions we get asked
How long does exterior paint last around here?
On a properly prepped house, generally eight to twelve years on siding, and less on the south and west elevations and on anything horizontal.
Can you paint aluminum siding?
Yes, and it is one of the best value jobs on a house. The method is a strong power wash to get every bit of the chalky oxidation off, then two coats of a high quality 100% acrylic latex. The wash is the part that matters. Paint over chalk and it will come off on your hand. Vinyl takes paint too, with attention to color choice so the siding does not warp.
Do you pressure wash?
We wash every house before we paint. On chalked aluminum that means strong pressure, because the oxidation has to come off completely. On older wood siding and stucco we back it right down, because a strong wand drives water into the wall and tears up soft wood. Same step, very different settings.
What if you find rotten wood?
We tell you before we quote where we can see it, and if we find more once the scraping starts we show you and price it before we do anything. It gets replaced, not painted over.
What time of year should I book?
The season runs roughly April to October, and the calendar fills from the front. Booking in late winter usually gets you the date you want rather than the date that is left.
Do I have to be home?
No. Most exterior jobs run with the homeowner out at work. We just need access to water and to the whole perimeter.
Request your free exterior painting estimate
We will walk all four sides, tell you what we find, and put the price in writing, broken out by elevation.
Not sure if it can wait another year?
Send a photo or call and we will tell you straight. Sometimes the answer is wait.