The Bucks County seat
Painting & drywall in Doylestown.
A borough of fieldstone, plastered brick and porched Victorian frame, next to a township built mostly from 1960 to 1999. Old plaster needs repair before paint; newer drywall needs a finish that holds up under raking light.
Doylestown and its houses
Doylestown grew from William Doyle's tavern of 1745 and became the Bucks County seat when the courts arrived in 1813. Its center went up in two bursts, the 1830s and 1840s and again in the 1870s and 1880s. The National Register nomination counts frame, brick, stucco and stone side by side, and notes that the early fieldstone houses were often plastered over.
About three in ten homes in the borough were built before 1940, and the median house dates from 1962. Doylestown Township, next door, is another place entirely: four in five of its homes went up between 1960 and 1999.
That split shapes the work. In the borough it is plaster on stone and brick, painted trim, shutters and porches. In the township it is drywall from the decades of builder finishes and textured ceilings, often ready for a smoother, quieter wall.
The houses
What Doylestown’s houses ask for.
Fieldstone and plastered brick
Before the mid-1830s, fieldstone was the usual material, often plastered outside; brick, both exposed and plastered, followed for the better houses of the mid-1800s. Inside, plaster laid straight onto stone or brick cracks where old patches meet it, and it has to be made sound before any color goes on.
Late-Federal side-hall houses
The 1830s, when Doylestown became a borough, left a town of two-and-a-half-story, three-bay houses with side halls and double parlors. Rooms open into one another, so color and sheen have to carry from room to room, and the doors and casings deserve as much care as the walls.
Victorian frame and porches
After the Civil War, frame became fashionable for larger houses. Neighborhoods of the 1870s to 1900, East Oakland and Maple Avenues among them, are mostly frame, often with front porches, and contrasting shutters run through them. Exterior work here is mostly preparation: sound wood, tight joints, and porch floors and rails that take the weather first.
Township houses, 1960 to 1999
Doylestown Township grew from about 1,400 people in 1930 to nearly 18,000 by 2020, and most of its homes date from 1960 to 1999. Drywall of that age shows its seams under dark paint or low light, and a popcorn ceiling applied before the mid-1980s should be sampled and tested before it is disturbed. A Level 5 skim and a smooth ceiling bring those rooms up to date.
Services
In Doylestown, specialty first.
Each service, written for Doylestown’s houses: what it involves here, what to check, and what people ask.
- Level 5 drywall finishA skim coat over the entire surface, for walls that hold up under raking light and dark paint.
- Skim coatingRough, patched or uneven walls resurfaced smooth, often after wallpaper comes down.
- Plaster repairCracked, loose and failing plaster in older homes, repaired and made sound.
- Interior paintingWalls, ceilings, trim, doors and millwork, prepared properly and finished clean.
- Exterior paintingSiding, trim, porches, stucco and brick, prepared to stand up to Pennsylvania weather.
- Drywall installation & repairNew drywall hung, taped and finished; cracks, holes and water damage repaired invisibly.
- Drywall texture matching & removalTexture matched so repairs disappear, applied where you want it, or taken off for a smooth wall.
- Popcorn ceiling removalOld acoustic texture taken down and the ceiling finished smooth.
- Wallpaper removalOld wallpaper and wall linings stripped without tearing up the wall beneath.
- Wood stainingDecks, porch floors, doors and trim, inside and out, stained by hand.
From clients and job sites
“We recently had Randy paint and wallpaper our bathroom. Extremely reasonable price. We were very pleased and asked him about painting our dining room…”
“Randy's Painting Service is highly professional, efficient and reliable. Attention to detail is an integral part of Randy's brand. Randy's estimate was as good as his price. Randy is the rarest kind of man…”
Questions
Asked in Doylestown.
Do I need HARB approval to repaint a house in Doylestown's historic district?
Not for paint alone. The borough says its Historic Architectural Review Board does not regulate repainting or color as long as no other construction is planned. Other exterior changes that can be seen from a public street, such as new siding, windows or an addition, go to the board first, so check with the borough before anything beyond paint.
Our borough house has cracked plaster on its stone walls. Does it have to come out?
Often not. Plaster that has cracked but still holds can be repaired: loose areas are reattached or cut back, cracks are opened and filled, and the wall is skimmed so the repair disappears. Randy walks the rooms with you first and explains what can be saved and what cannot.
Do you work in Doylestown Township and Buckingham, or only the borough?
Both. Randy is based in Easton and serves Bucks County, including the borough, Doylestown Township, Buckingham, Plumstead and the villages between them, such as Furlong and Fountainville.
Is a Level 5 finish worth it in a 1970s or 1990s township house?
In the rooms where light matters, yes. Most houses are finished to Level 4, where tape joints and patches can show once you choose a dark or glossy color, add wall washers or open a room to big windows. A skim coat over the whole surface takes those lines out before the paint goes on.
Nearby
Neighboring towns.
Consultation
Request a private consultation.
Private walkthrough & written estimate, complimentary. Tell us a little about the house and the rooms, and Randy will be in touch to arrange a time.
- Hours
- Monday – Friday8:30 AM – 5:30 PMSaturday10 AM – 3 PMSundayClosed
- Service area
- Easton, Bethlehem, Allentown and the greater Lehigh Valley; Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Fully insured — proof on request. Residential and commercial.